Nature's Healers

It’s a good idea to preserve quantities of herbs so you have abundant supplies during the winter months for teas, remedies and cooking.

Harvesting

The ideal time to harvest herbs is just as they begin to flower, on a dry day. Some say herbs should be harvested in the morning after the dew has evaporated, before the sun gets hot. This is probably fine for culinary use, but the best time for yielding the highest levels of active constituents is in the evening.

Pick only the tops of the plants so they will continue to grow. If you gather herbs outside of your garden, pick herbs that have not been sprayed with chemicals -- avoid farmland and roadside verges. The best places are derelict land, commons, heaths, moors and woodlands. Only pick herbs that grow in abundance -- there are laws protecting threatened species.

It is important to put only one kind of herb in a basket when harvesting, so they do not get mixed up. Keep herbs separate and clearly labelled. Don’t wash the herbs.

Three Easy Ways To Dry Herbs

1. Hang bundles of herbs tied with string upside down, away from sunlight. Cover with paper or paper bags to prevent bits falling and protect them from dust.

2. Spread the herbs out on trays, in tiers in an airy room, away from sunlight. Cover the trays with fine muslin or paper to protect from dust.

3. My favourite method is to put bunches, or cropped herb tops, loosely into paper bags, or envelopes from junk mail. Write the name of the herb on the bag, make a few small air holes around the top, and hang them on hooks in a dark, airy place for a few weeks. An airing cupboard is ideal; or hang the bags with paper clips from a string. This way the herbs are protected from light, dust, spiders and pets. This method takes up the least space, which is important if you dry a lot of herbs.

Airtight Jars

Whatever method you use, turn the herbs once or twice so they dry evenly. Let them dry naturally away from any direct heat or light. When they are dry enough to crumble in your hand, put them into airtight jars and label them. Keep the jars in a dark cupboard, or use dark jars, or cover the jars with dark paper. Take care that the herbs are absolutely dry before putting them in jars or they will go mouldy.

Most cultivated and wild herbs can be dried and will preserve their essential oils and flavour well. I dry enough oregano, rosemary, sage, mint, bay, marjoram, thyme and lemon balm to last all winter. Blackcurrant, raspberry and strawberry leaves can be dried too. I also dry wild herbs such as dandelions, coltsfoot, nettles and goose grass (cleavers), which I put in teas, infusions, soups and curries. Flowers such as marigolds and chamomile dry very well too.

Some herbs don’t keep their flavour so well when dried: basil, parsley, tarragon, fennel, dill, chervil and chives. These are best put into in the freezer or ice compartment of the fridge. Frozen basil is wonderful to flavour your spaghetti sauce in the winter. Any herbs that need to be washed are best frozen rather than dried.

Herbs for freezing should be picked off the stems and put in plastic bags. You can chop herbs like parsley and dill and put them in little foil packages ready for cooking. Some people chop herbs, mix them with water and freeze them in ice cube containers. I like to make lots of pesto, which freezes well (don‘t put any cheese in until you use it). Besides basil, I include marjoram, oregano, sage, rosemary, thyme, parsley, rocket and spinach in pesto -- whatever is available at the time. You can use this with potatoes, rice, soups and pasta during the winter.

Once herbs go to seed, the flavour goes to the seeds, so it’s best to keep the sun-dried seeds, such as dill, coriander or fennel seeds, for flavour. Keep the seeds covered in a dry place for two weeks before putting into jars.

© Martha Magenta 2006.

Images from top to bottom:

1. Lavender  2. Heather  3. Herbs & Spices  4. Basil  5. Dried dill umbel.

An herbal infusion is not the same as a tea. Herbal teas are made like ordinary tea, with 1-2 teaspoons of herb per cup, brewed for a few minutes. An infusion is made with ½ - 1 oz dried herb to 2 pints of water, brewed for several hours or overnight. Its best to infuse one kind of herb on its own, rather than mixing different herbs.

A container with a tight lid is better for retaining the essences than a teapot. Jars with a screw top lid can be used, if you warm the jar first. Place about a cupful of herb into a two pint jar, fill to the top with boiling water, seal tightly. Leave to brew for a minimum of 4 hours for leaf infusions, 2 hours for flowers.

Strain off the liquid, press out the last drops, pour into a jar or bottle. Keep refrigerated and use within a day and a half. If there is any left over, use it to feed your plants, or your hair. The discarded herbs make good compost for your herb garden.

This method is used for hard herbs such as hard seeds, roots, rhizomes, bark, wood and berries. It produces a water extract that may be drunk on its own, made into syrups, gargles and compresses, or added to baths, oils and creams.

30g/ 1 oz dried herb

500ml/ 1 pint water

1. Crush or bruise the herbs in a pestle and mortar.

2. Place in a bowl and cover with boiling water.

3. Cover with a lid and leave to stand overnight.

4. Place both the herbs and the water in an enamel pan. Top up the liquid to 500ml/ 1 pint to replace water that has soaked in.

5. Bring to the boil slowly then reduce the heat to a low simmer.

6. Keep covered with a lid and simmer gently for 20 minutes.

7. Strain through a muslin cloth in a strainer, coffee filter paper or jelly bag, pressing out all the liquid. Discard the herbs and use for garden compost.

This decoction will keep for 2-3 days and can be taken undiluted.

To make a reduced decoction, heat gently until it begins to steam. Keep covered with a lid. Turn down the heat very low and continue to steam for about 1 ½ hours until the liquid has reduced to 250ml/ ¼ pint. This will keep for 4-5 days in a cool place.

Decoctions can be reduced still further to a thick extract - about 20ml/ 1 tablespoon, which will keep for months.

There are three methods which will preserve decoctions indefinitely:

1. Add 450g/ 1 lb honey or sugar to 200ml/ 7 fl oz of decoction.

Take 1 teaspoonful 3 times a day.

2. Add spirits such as brandy or vodka at 1 part spirit to 2 parts decoction.

Take 50ml/ 2 fl oz/ ¼ cup 2 times a day.

3. Pour a thin layer of vegetable oil on the surface of the decoction and seal. This will keep for about a year. To use, either draw off the oil or pour the decoction from under it. Take ½ - 1 teaspoon 3 times a day.

Tinctures are produced by extracting and preserving the medicinal constituents of the herb in alcohol.

For each 600ml/1 pint/2 ½ cups alcoholic liquid (including water) use 25 g/1 oz dried herb or 50g/2 oz fresh herb.

30g/ 1 oz dried herbs

400ml/ 14 fl oz/ 1 ¾ cup vodka or brandy

170 ml/ 6 fl oz/ 12 tablespoons water.

1. Chop or bruise the herb and mix the spirit and water together.

2. Place the herbs in a large jar and add the spirit and water.

3. Label and date the jar and leave to stand in a cool, dark place for 2 weeks only. Shake the jar vigorously every day.

4. After two weeks strain through a muslin cloth in a strainer, jelly bag or coffee filter paper, pressing out every drop.

5. Pour the liquid into sterilized glass bottles, preferably dark in colour.

(Bottles can be boiled, sterilized in a pressure cooker or soaked in a bottle sterilizing liquid).

6. Label the bottles with the name of the tincture, the date, dosage and use.

A standard dose is 1 teaspoonful 3 times a day, double this for acute conditions. If you are unable to take alcohol, put the dose in 50ml/ 2 fl oz/ ¼ cup water and leave uncovered for a few hours while the alcohol evaporates.

For gargles, washes and compresses, dilute 1 teaspoon of tincture to 1 cup of water. Tinctures keep indefinitely.

You can add herbs such as rosemary and spices such as cardamom and cloves to bottles of wine.

Use 25g/ 1 oz herbs and 50g/ 2 oz spices to 2 litres/ 3 ½ pints/ 7 ½ cups red or white wine, or blend 2 parts spirits to 1 part water.

Make as a tincture. Take 50 ml/ 2 fl oz/ ¼ cup twice a day. Dilute if required.

May be used as an aperitif 20 minutes before meals.