Air drying herbs, seeds, and nuts
Air drying foods is certainly not a new concept. It's been used for decades to store food safely. It's a simple, cost efficient way of preserving food for long-term shelf life.
Air dried foods can last for well over a year when stored properly, usually from eighteen months and longer, depending on what the food items are.
Air drying is very similar to dehydrating food in a machine. But it's actually better to air dry food items when it's possible, because it minimizes the loss of nutrients such as essential vitamins, minerals, and proteins. In fact, this method of preserving food is about as close as one can get to eating a raw diet.
When I first started air drying, I used a string to tie herbs up in bunches and used the needle and thread method to string peppers and mushrooms. I then hung my food in a well-ventilated room inside my home.
Nowadays, you can purchase mesh air dehydrators with tiers of ventilated shelves. Which is what I also have and use in my greenroom for dehydrating some of my leafy herbs such as lemon balm, mints, basil, thyme, and oregano.
What I specifically like about the mesh air dehydrators is that most have zipper enclosures, which helps keep the food safe from flies, mosquitoes and other creatures should you want to hang the air dehydrator outside. However, I normally leave mine hanging inside because the outside dust is horrible where I live.
Air drying herbs, seeds, and nuts
Air drying foods is extremely easy to do, it is energy efficient, and cost efficient. So for anyone who is interested in living a modest life, off grid or not, it's a self-sustainable way to prepare your food for the long-term without having to use electricity or fuel.
The tried-and-true way to bunch herbs, onions, and garlic by string, or using rubber bands around the stems, still works perfectly. To air dry in this manner, just gather a bunch of the herbs, etc., tie string around them, and hang them upside down to dry in a warm location inside. Because onions and garlic have a strong odor, dry them separately from other herbs.
Air-drying herbs, seeds, and nuts inside a hanging air dehydrator:
After hanging the air dehydrator in a dry, warm location inside, clip the sprigs off your herbs with scissors, either leave the leaves attached to their stems, or clip them off. Wash the leaves, then shake the excess water off. Place them inside the hanging mesh dehydrator. Do not overlap and make sure that there's space in between the herbs. When herbs are fully dry, their leaves will become brittle and their leaves will easily crumble. Store dried herbs in spice jars or plastic Ziploc bags.
For herbs with tiny leaves, and for drying seeds, use paper towels, tea cloth, or cheese cloth to lay them on. Even though the mesh lined shelves work well for herbs such as lemon balm, basil, and mints, the smaller leaves (such as thyme) and tiny seeds sometimes still fall through the holes in the mesh.
Air-drying unshelled nuts:
For unshelled nuts, lay them directly onto the mesh shelves. Spread the nuts out in thin layers and allow them to dry. Nuts dry best with a small fan circulating a gentle air flow on them, or out on a screened-in porch. The time it takes nuts to dry will depend on what type of nuts they are. When nuts such as pecans and walnuts are dried, you'll be able to shake the nuts and hear them move inside the shells.
Notes:
Vegetables and meats can also be air dried, sun dried, oven dried, and, of course, dehydrated in an electric dehydrator.
The key to successfully dehydrating food is keeping sufficient air flow on whatever you're dehydrating. High humidity can produce mold. Regardless of the dehydration techniques you have used, throw away any food if it has any mold forming on it.
Always store dehydrated food in airtight containers and place it in a dark pantry.
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