Using herbs for your daily uses may increase your living quality. Many people try to choose the best herbs that they can consume. Now, you can try to use oregano as the best herbs to increase your healthy life. Before you start to consume, there is a lot of things that you need to know. You must have a good step about how to harvest and dry oregano, that you can consume for your daily uses.
Before you know the best way of harvesting the oregano, you can understand that oregano has a lot of uses for your life. Including to increase a great taste of food. You can find a lot of restaurants that may add oregano for serving their food.
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Benefits of Oregano for Daily Uses
Understanding the characteristics of oregano may help you to understand the benefits of this herb. Oregano comes from Mediterranean herb with a special scent that also could bring the good flavor. Most people use oregano for their home cook. You can choose your favorite oregano types; you can use dried or fresh oregano for serving a good taste of food. Which both of the serving way may give different taste for your food.
If you want to have a special taste of oregano, you can try to use dry oregano with strong flavors on your plate. You can easily be harvesting oregano, and drying it for long term uses. You might find oregano which is ready at the market, but you are also required to dry it for a better taste. Put dried oregano as a seasoning must be one of the best options to choose.
Methods for Harvesting Oregano
1. Use scissors to remove the stems
First of all, you need to cut and remove the stems from the plant. You can try to wait until the morning if you want to dry oregano for better result. You can produce a good essential oil while dried your oregano. However, cutting the steam is the first step to do.
2. Rinse the stems
After you cut the stems, you can try to rinse them all. Most people will try to rinse the stems using cold water, which must be better to clean.
3. Shake and remove dirt
While you are washing the stems, make sure that you already shake the leaves and water. Purposed to make sure that you already remove the dirt and your oregano is ready to consume.
Tips for Drying Oregano
Understanding how to harvest and dry oregano is not something hard to do. Even that you can find oregano easily at the grocery store, it does not mean it is ready to use. Sometimes, you need to make sure that the oregano is dry. Now, here are some tips that you can do, to make sure that you can have dry oregano. You can do traditional ways or use a dehydrator and oven.
1. Making sure that the leaves are already clean
Before you are going to dry oregano, you need to make sure if you already make it clean. Some people say that you do not need to rinse the oregano, but it must be depending on what you believe. Oregano contains moisturizer that must be worse if you rinse them. It is also not good because it may take the drying process longer.
However, if the stems are dusty, eaten by bugs, and look dirty, rinse the stems must be a good idea. Because you need to consume something that is healthy for your body. That is why rinse the oregano leaves is an optional step to do.
2. Hang your oregano leaves
It might take longer to make your oregano dry. That is why for a traditional method many people will try to hang their oregano. It may take 6 to 12 hours for having dry oregano. You can wrap the stalks in twine, and then tie also attached to a hook. You can create your own hanger and curtain to hang your oregano leaves.
3. Place the oregano inside the bag
If you want to use another method, you can try to place your oregano inside the bag. You need to make sure that the bag having 3 to 4-inch size equal to 7.6 to 10.2 cm. It might lead your stalks sticking out, and it normally happens. The paper bag also will protect the leaves from dust and keep it clean. You can try to punch a hole in the bottom of the paper. That can give a little bit of air circulation to let it dry.
4. The traditional method is the best solutions
Even that most people say, finding the answer about how to harvest and dry oregano with traditional methods takes the longest. However, if you are using the traditional method, you can make sure completely if the stalks were already dry.
5. Do not hang your oregano in your kitchen
You have to believe that hang your oregano in your kitchen is not a good idea. Most people say if you hang the oregano leaves in your kitchen, the taste might be changed and it would not give you the best flavor. You must have an idea to take a picture of your oregano while hanging in your kitchen, but it must ruin everything.
When you cook something on the stove, the food smells must be tasty to you, but it is not a good idea for your oregano. The food smells may modify your oregano flavor, and it might not have the same taste again. You will never accept if this happened to you while you are expecting for the best oregano flavor.
6. Waiting time to dried oregano
You must need to be patient when you want to dry oregano. Of course, it may take a while if you want to make sure that your oregano is officially dry. Most people say to dry oregano it may take 2 to 6 weeks, which depends on how dry you are expected.
7. Let the moisturizer spread in your room
While you are expected for your oregano to dry, you can make sure if the moisturizer can really work for your room. You must have great aromatherapy from the air flow in your room. This is the benefit that you can find while you are waiting for your oregano to dry.
8. Checking your oregano frequently
After you are waiting for 1 to 2 weeks of drying, you can check your oregano every 3 days. You can make sure if it is fully dried and ready to use as you are expected.
9. Check the changing color
If you want to make sure that your oregano is fully dry, you can check on the difference from the leaves color. Dried oregano will have pale green color and easy to crumble in your hands. You can also check it with the use of the jar. You can put a single leaf in an airtight glass of jar, if there is no moisture it means that your leaves are fully dry. You can also store your dried oregano in an airtight container.
Dry the Leaves Using Dehydrator
1. Preheat the dehydrator
While you are setting up the dehydrator, you need to set it around 100 Fahrenheit. Turn on the power and the dial for 5 to 10 minutes. Which you need to know the temperature that should be setting up until the leaves are fully dry.
2. Check your home temperature
Before you set up the dehydrator, you need to make sure if your room temperature is high. If your home temperature is warm and the humidity is high, you can turn the temperature on to 125 Fahrenheit. You can also get the moisture of your oregano while setting up to the lowest setting if it is available.
Finding the best way how to harvest and dry oregano is not something hard to do. There is always be a traditional and simple way that you can do based on your needs. You can make sure if the methods you choose can give you full satisfaction.
