Tag Archives: freeze-drying

5 Ways To Preserve Your Herbs

5 Ways To Preserve Your Herbs

5 Ways To Preserve Your HerbsYou can store herbs in several ways: drying, freezing, tinctures or glycerites, oils and vinegars.

Your desired use will determine the way you preserve them:

  • Drying is perfect for teas.
  • Freezing offers fresh tastes even during the cold winter.
  • Tinctures or glycerites are great tonics if you want an immunity enhance.
  • Oils and vinegars are full of the minerals and vitamins from the herbs, not captured in the tinctures and may be used in your cooking.

Drying Herbs

Hang herbs upside down in a dry, dark, well-ventilated location. Attics are ideal for this. Put a paper bag around them to avoid dust.
Put them in a jar once they are dry. Use a glass container, not plastic and place away from direct sunlight or heat. Your basement or a closet is perfect.

Freezing Herbs

Freezing can be achieved in 2 ways:

  • Clean and dry the fresh herbs and put on a cookie sheet in the freezer. When they are frozen, place them in freezer bags. A few herbs may turn brown or dark after freezing, but the flavor remains preserved.
  • Another way is to mix the herbs in some water or oil and freeze in ice cube trays. Employ 2 cups washed leaves to 1 ½ cups water or 6 cups leaves to ½ cup oil. Freeze then place in freezer bags. Just add the cubes to your recipes.

Tinctures

You can make tinctures with alcohol or vegetable glycerin, which is technically a glycerite.

Alcohol should be 80-100 proof. Use fresh herbs if you can ,. The ratio is 1:2 for fresh, i.e. 50g of fresh herb per 100g of menstruum. The ratios for dried are 1:5, i.e. 50g of dried herb for 250g of menstruum.

Put the herbs in a jar, cover completely with the liquid and cap. Place in a cool, dark place – back to the basement, for 4-6 weeks shaking daily. Always label your tinctures with the date. When done, strain the herbs off with gauze and bottle the liquid.

Normally ½ to 1 teaspoon, 3 times a day is a good dosage. As with anything medicinal, if you see an allergic reaction like rash, trouble breathing etc., cease use immediately.

Oil Infusion

Herb infused oils are fantastic to employ in cooking, but also if you want to make a salve or ointment, you already have the base ready. They’re also perfect for massage or liniments.

Only use fresh virgin olive oil. Fill a jar ¾ full of fresh chopped herbs. Put oil to cover the herbs to ¼ inch below the jar top. Put a piece of gauze over the jar top and secure with the metal ring. This will let the moisture to escape and keep the oil from becoming rancid. Place in a warm, sunny location for a minimum of 14 days, stirring daily. After you have let the oil steep, strain off the herbs and cap. Store in a cool, dark location.

Vinegars

Tincturing draws out the therapeutic properties of herbs, but not the minerals and vitamins. The best choice is to use raw, organic apple cider vinegar. Always use fresh herbs. Lightly position the herbs in a jar, don’t jam. Cover with vinegar and top with a plastic lid. If you haven’t one, put some plastic wrap over the jar and screw down the lid. Label your jar with the date. Shake daily for 6 weeks. Strain and store. Use to marinate meats, fish, vegetables, or on your salads or take as a tonic, ¼ tsp at a time.

Preppers vs. Self-Sufficientists

Preppers vs. Self-Sufficientists

With the popularity of Doomsday Preppers, here’s a reality TV show that would get big ratings—“Preppers vs. Self-Sufficientists”.

Picture a quiet street in a small suburban town, Somewhere, U.S.A. On the left side of the street live the Self-Sufficientists, community-minded folks who believe that being self-reliant in the event of whatever disaster or hardship may come is good for everyone. The right side of the street is reserved for the Preppers, people who mind their own business, look after themselves, and are armed and ready to defend the freedoms they hold dear. The show would focus on each group’s unique approach to something we should all be thinking more about these days—emergency preparedness. Although the show may never become a reality, here’s a look at some of the things we might learn from tuning in to the season premiere of “Preppers vs. Self-Sufficientists”.

Food

-Self-sufficientists are big on long-term food storage to sustain them in the event of an economic crisis, natural disaster or other unforeseen circumstance. Their pantries will most likely be stocked with bulk foods and ingredients to meet their long-term needs. They will rotate items that have shorter shelf-lives by using them in their daily meal preparations, trying out various recipes to make sure the foods they store find favor with all family members.

-Preppers have a more paranoid approach to emergency preparedness than their self-sufficientist neighbors. While their pantries might also contain some bulk foods, the main focus is on short-term needs. That’s while you’ll find an ample supply of freeze dried and ready to eat meals or MRE’s. They’re also big on camping gear and grab and go or “bug-out” bags, all designed to transport their emergency supplies quickly and easily in the event of an emergency situation such as Armageddon.

Power

-Self-sufficientists are always looking for ways to get off the grid in case of electrical failure or disaster—the greener the better. They lean toward power solutions such as back up solar power for their homes or solar powered ovens and other appliances.

-Preppers are more concerned about having enough gas for their cars to enable them to flee to safer ground. And so they will take precautions to store extra gas, which, even under the best situations can be potentially hazardous.

Use of Space

-Self-sufficientists are big on planting gardens in whatever space they have available. Many have mini farms with chickens and other animals that allow them to be more self-sustainable. Along with foods, they look for safe places and ways to store seeds for future planting. Self-sufficientists are always looking for ways to become more self-reliant. By the same token, they are willing to share their knowledge and skills with others to help them become more self-sufficient as well.

-Preppers are always on the lookout for a safe place to store guns and ammo. They may also raise and train guard dogs for protection against desperate outsiders who did not prepare and may come looking for precious food and water in order to survive. After all, to a prepper, when disaster strikes it’s every man for himself.

Money

-Self-Survivalists are typically cost conscious when it comes to emergency preparedness. They like the cost savings associated with buying items in bulk and recognize being self-sufficient means that they will not be subject to paying sky-high prices if and when commercial food supplies become scarce.

-Preppers are more concerned with amassing everything they need to sustain them during a disaster than with what those items might cost. They are typically willing to pay more for freeze-dried foods because they like the variety, convenience and ease of storage that they offer. Plus they want to be able to rely on them when they need them.

Skills

-Self-sufficientists are big on improving their all-around survivor skillsets. For example, they may learn ways to purify available water, rather than having to rely on hoarded water as their sole supply. In addition, their long-term mindset makes them more about maintaining or rebuilding a disaster ridden community than their gun-toting prepper neighbors.

-Preppers, at least those portrayed on Doomsday Preppers, will go to extreme measures to increase their odds of survival. Hence the guns.  After all, it’s Armageddon anyway.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Nick Briggs is a freelance writer and expert in  emergency food preparedness and freeze-dried food.