How to dehydrate food with a dehydrator

Basil is a major herb in Italian cooking, bringing tempting aromas and rich flavors to pasta, dipping sauce, sauces, and salads. Licorice provided by violet leaves-and cinnamon-Almost any dish adds a variety of elegance. Basil, like many herbs, tastes best when used immediately after harvest, but if your garden grows a lot of basil, you may not have time to use it all before the end of the season. Drying Basil allows you to keep your harvest for months. 

There are several ways to dry purple wrinkled Basil. Lay paper towels on a plane, such as a table. Apply a layer of purple wrinkled basil leaves to the paper towel. Leaf contact is not allowed. Cover the leaves with another tissue and another layer of basil leaves. Repeat the process by stacking up to five layers of basil leaves. Turn on the light in the oven, but do not turn on the heating. Place the layered purple pleat basil leaves on the oven rack. Put the basil leaves in the oven for the night. The leaves retain most of the color, dry and flat. Preheat the dehydrator to 95 degrees to 115 degrees F.In very humid areas, you may need to raise the temperature to 125 degrees Fahrenheit. Rinse the purple wrinkled basil leaves in cold water and shake them dry. Place the leaves in a single layer on the dehydrator tray. Check for drying within one to four hours. If the leaves are broken when touched, remove them. Poke a few holes in the side of the paper bag. Put a small amount of purple wrinkled basil leaves in the bag. Let the stem stretch out from the top of the bag. Don't put a lot of leaves in the bag; This will lead to their mildew. Close the top of the paper bag with rubber bands. Place the bag where there is plenty of air flow. Check the leaves regularly and remove them when they are dry and fragile. This usually takes 4 weeks. Put a purple wrinkled basil leaf on a paper towel. Cover this layer with another tissue. Put paper towels in the microwave. Set the microwave timer to 3 minutes. Take out Basil every 30 to 45 seconds and turn it over. When feeling completely dry, remove purple wrinkled basil from the microwave. If you smell Basil during the drying process, the leaves have lost most of the sesame oil.