Franfogel wrote:
> I have an abundance of fresh basil and thyme in my garden and want to preserve
> them for the winter. Would it be better to dry them (and if so, what is the
> best method?). The alternative is freezing. Any suggestions? Somewhere in
> the basement a dehydrator is lurking in its box---would this work? Thank you.


This question comes up fairly often so I've found my old answer and
reposted it. To my mind, drying herbs is a poor substitute for
freezing. I suppose it is better than nothing, but freezing really
captures the flavor where drying doesn't.
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My method (I'll use basil for the example):

Grow lots of it. Clean and destem the leaves.

Place half of them in a blender. Add enough vinegar to cover the
blades, enough
to make the blender run smoothly. Blend. Try not to get a smooth
puree. Think
chunky.

Pour into ice cube tray. Freeze. Remove to plastic bag and label.

Take the other half of the leaves. Put into blender as above, but this
time use
red wine as the liquid. Ice cube trays, freeze, label.

Every recipe will call for the flavor of basil plus either vinegar or
red wine.
Tomato sauce? Add a wine-basil cube as it finishes cooking. Let the
heat of
the sauce melt the cube. Salad dressing? Use a vinegar-basil cube.
Minestrone
gets a wine cube. Marinated mushrooms get a vinegar cubes.

I've used this method with many herbs. My results:

Works well with basil, dill, parsley and tarragon.

Cilantro ends up tasting like tea. I've never found anything that
preserves the
flavor of fresh cilantro.

Oregano, rosemary and sage get their flavor preserved, but the leaves
are too
leafy. It is like running into grass in the sauce. Maybe try pureeing
and then
running the liquid through a sieve? Experiment and report back.