On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 760
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theflavorhasoozedintotheoil.Herbsinoil
shouldalwaysbekeptintherefrigerator,
becausethesameabsenceofoxygenthat’s
goodforflavorpreservationisalsogoodfor
thegrowthofbotulismbacteria.Thebacteria
don’tgroworproducetoxinsatrefrigerator
temperatures.
DryingFreshHerbs
Dryingisaprocessthatremovesmostofthe
waterinanherb,whichwhenfreshmaybe
morethan90%water.Thebasicdilemmais
thatmanyaromachemicalsaremorevolatile
thanwater,soanyprocessthatevaporates
mostofthewaterwillalsoevaporatemostof
theflavor.Thisiswhymanydriedherbsdon’t
tasteanythinglikethefreshversion,and
insteadhaveagenericdried-leaf,hayaroma.
Thereareafewexceptionstothisrule,mainly
Mediterraneanherbsinthemintfamilythat
arenativetohot,aridareasandhave
aromaticsthatpersistindryingconditions
(oregano,thyme,rosemary,aswellasbay
laurelfromthelaurelfamily).Though
sundryingsoundsappealing,itshigh
temperaturesandstrongdoseofvisibleand
ultravioletlightmeanthatitgenerally
removesandaltersflavor.Air-dryingoverthe
courseofafewdaysintheshadeismuch
preferable.Herbscanbedriedinjustafew
hoursinalowovenoradehydrator,butthe
highertemperatureusuallycausesgreater
flavorlossesthanair-drying.Some
commercialherbsarefreeze-dried,which
oftenpreservesmoreoftheoriginalflavor.
Themicrowaveoventurnsouttowork
fairlywellfordryingsmallquantitiesof
herbs,thankstotheselectiveandrapideffects
ofitsradiation.Microwaveenergyexcites
watermoleculeswhileleavingnon-polaroil
moleculesrelativelyunaffected,andit
penetratesinstantlythroughoutthinleaves
andstems(p.786).Thismeansthatallthe
