Happy Ides Of March

How to Dehydrate Herbs

This is my first post on my newly-minted digital grimoire, so I thought I'd start out with info I already know. Here's a short little guide on how to dehydrate herbs and other materials at home in your oven (if you have one). I usually dehydrate fresh materials instead of hanging them as firstly: I have a cat who will find a way to reach anything I hang up to dry, and secondly: there are some materials I don't feel comfortable leaving out in open air as they will likely rot. Also, it just saves on drying time.

Steps:

1. Grab whatever you want to dehydrate whether it be fruits, peels, herbs, veg, or (my favourite) eggshells.

Important Note: DO NOT EVER put plants which are known to be toxic or whose origins are unclear in your oven. It's never worth it.

2. Place your items on a sheet pan with parchment paper underneath (there may be lingering oils on the pan, but if you are okay with that feel free to skip the parchment).

3. If your oven is fancy and you have a dehydration setting, great! Use the recommended temperature. If not, set your oven between 160-190*. I usually set it lower, but if you're short on time it will work higher.

4. This is the most crucial step: keep your oven door slightly ajar in order to let moisture escape. However, very importantly DO NOT EVER LEAVE YOUR OPEN OVEN UNATTENDED (or your closed one, for that matter), especially if you have an older oven. Basic fire safety applies here.

5. The process usually takes around 2 hours if you are dehydrating thinner plants, but may take up to 3-4 if you are dehydrating something thicker like citrus peels or fruit slices. Either way, be prepared to wait a bit. You will know they are done when you can easily crush them if plants or they are breakably-solid if peels. With eggshells they will be brittle anyways, but it's nice to dehydrate them to more easily grind into a powder and also to kill any lingering bacteria.

6. Store herbs as you usually would in a container away from sunlight. Enjoy!

Sources:

Printer's Ornament (Chiswick Press, 192)

Statue based on Leonardo daVinci’s famous concept for artificial wings.

This is so fucking beautiful!

Emerald Tanager (Tangara florida), family Thraupidae, found in southern Central America and NW South America

photograph by Cayce Jehaimi

Brown Wood-Owl (Strix leptogrammica), family Strigidae, order Strigiformes, WB, India

photograph by Anupam Dutta

speaking of my new video :v

But *why* does he bless the rains down in Africa. What's the purpose. What's the reason.

The Wild Robot really captures the messages of previous Chris Sanders' filmography (Lilo and Stitch, How to Train Your Dragon and Croods to an extent): the relationship that man has with nature, redemption, finding yourself outside what you are ¨expected¨ to be, but mainly about staying true to oneself and choose to be remain kind even when you have a harsh world going against you

Smooth-billed Ani (Crotophaga ani), family Cuculidae, order Cuculiformes, found in South America, The Caribbean, southern Central America, and southern Florida

photograph by Ben Lucking