How to dry dill, preserving the color and useful qualities

Dill is a favorite seasoning of many experienced culinary specialists. In winter, fresh greens are quite expensive, and there is little benefit in it. Therefore, a great idea is to prepare seasoning in the summer, when it literally floods the beds. Dill is easier to dry than any other herbs. The main difficulty is to pick the leaves.

We prepare dill for drying

If you decide to prepare dill or parsley for the winter, it is better to collect them from your own garden. Then you will be sure that this is an environmentally friendly product that was carefully looked after, not treated with chemicals.

Tip
You can not wash the greens before drying, if the day before it was raining or watering on a leaf.

The ideal time to harvest is in the beginning to mid-June, when the dill is especially juicy, fragrant and large, but has not yet released thick tubes with seed umbrellas. So you will get the maximum benefit, in addition, after harvesting, you can immediately free the garden and plant something early, saving the usable area.

Proceed to experts recommend in the morning - as soon as the dew is dry. If it rained at night, the raw materials will be excessively wet - drying will take more time, so it is better to postpone the process until the next morning.

Important
After collecting the greens, carefully sort it out, removing small debris, grass, yellowed twigs, insects and any other foreign objects, separate the leaves from the stems. A good reception is to soak for 15-20 minutes in salted water.

After washing the dill, let it dry on a towel in the shade, then send it to the final dryer.

Oven drying

Oven today is available in almost every apartment and house.

Instruction:

1. Preheat the oven to 40 degrees.
2. Spread the dill on baking sheets covered with wax paper and place in a warm oven.
3. Leave the door slightly ajar - you can stick a matchbox or plastic bottle so that it does not close at all. Then, thanks to natural ventilation, moist air will go away, and drying will take place more evenly.
4. To completely dry the dill in the oven, you need from 2 to 4 hours.

Important
Only at +40 dill will dry without loss of aroma and will not turn yellow. therefore, raising the temperature to speed up the process is not recommended.

If several trays are installed, then swap them every hour, or better - twice as often. Gently mix the greens, check: the branches should crumble when rubbing in the fingers, leaving your hands dry.

We use an electric dryer

In recent years, such useful household appliances as an electric dryer have been prescribed in many kitchens. It is even better suited for harvesting dill - time is running out, the risk that it will burn is excluded, and you don’t even need to spend time turning the greens and changing trays.

How to act:

1. Spread harvested branches with a thin layer on pallets. Tolstoy should not — there is a risk that the greens are caking in a lump, dry on the outside, and wet on the inside. We'll have to share it, spending extra time, and the quality of the finished product will decrease.
2. If the dryer has a "Grass" mode, then install it. If there is no such regime, then you already know at what temperature to dry dill - about 40 degrees.
3. Turn on the dryer and leave it for 2-3 hours.

Dry in the open air

If the weather on the street is good, there is summer heat, then it will be right to dry dill without additional equipment - you will not have to pay for electricity or gas. The method works both in the country and at home.

It is recommended to use pallets with a perforated bottom - plastic or metal.If there is no such pallet on the farm, it is very easy to make a replacement. Gauze must be pulled over the top of the box so that there is a void inside that lets air through.

What to do:

1. Sprinkle the dill on a pallet or gauze in a thin layer.
2. Leave for several days in a dry, shaded area.

It is not worth laying out in the sun if you want the dill to remain green. Overheating in the sun on a hot day, it may well turn yellow. In addition, thick branches can dry outside and remain damp inside. And this will inevitably lead to the formation of mold, and all the work will go down the drain.

In rainy weather, it is worth bringing pallets into the house or at least under a canopy - the main thing is not in the garage, otherwise the greens will be saturated with the smell of gasoline.

Proper storage of dill

But it’s not enough just to know how to dry dill for the winter. It is also necessary to remember how to store it properly so as not to be left without greenery.

First of all, dill must be carefully chopped. With well-dried raw materials there will be no problems - it is easily rubbed in the hands, turning into a fine powder, which is perfect for adding to any dishes.

Keep it in a small glass jar with a tightly screwed lid - moisture and even moist air should not get inside, as this will lead to mold. It is advisable to store a sealed container in a place protected from direct sunlight. In this state, dill will remain for years, but in order to fully enjoy the aroma and useful properties, it is advisable to use up stocks within 12 months.

Dill without stems dries easily and relatively quickly. The only caveat - it can not be overheated, otherwise it will turn yellow. At 40 degrees, seasoning comes without any problems, and with proper storage it will not run out and will not lose its taste for a whole year.