How to Dry Lemon Verbena

Fresh lemon verbena plants can be dried and stored for many uses utilizing its fantastic fresh scent as well as the crisp lemon flavor.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Lemon verbena plant
• Paper bag or cloth
• Plastic bags and/or air tight containers

1. Growing lemon verbena or aloysia triphylla is generally very easy. It can be grown in the ground as part of your herb garden or in a container which can be placed inside or out. It demands little else other than plenty of sun and water. The flowers are pretty, but you will be harvesting the leaves. You can lighly prune it throughout the growing season to promote more growth. It is technically not frost hardy but some have luck with the plant coming back in spring after dying all the way down in the winter. It is propagated via cuttings as the seeds tend to be sterile. Once you have a mature plant there are various ways of drying or preserving it for whatever uses you would like.

2. Dry leaves outdoors. One way to utilize the plant is to wait until just before the first frost and cut the plant's branches at the ground and set the branches in a cool, dry place on a towel. As the leaves dry, they will fall from the branches and you can collect them at that point. Dried leaves can be stored whole or finely ground in a food processor if you would like to preserve it as a traditional herb. Be sure to store in an air tight container or bag.

3. Dry leaves indoors. You can also pick the leaves individually from the plant if you would like to dry them as summer progresses. Place them in a cool, dry place on a flat surface. You may want to take a paper grocery bag and cut it down a long side and open it up flat on a table top and spread the leaves on it to dry. It provides a clean, smooth surface that absorbs moisture. If you try to dry them on a slatted surface like a cooling rack, they will just fall between the slats as they dry and you will probably loose pieces as they become more brittle and break as they dry.

4. Preserve with sugar. Harvest 2 cups of leaves place in food processor. Add 1/2 cup of white or brown sugar and puree until you have a paste. Empty food processor into plastic bag and seal. This mix can be used as a garnish over fruit or baked goods or is the base for a fantastic simple syrup.

5. There are many uses for lemon verbena outside of food and drink. Put a few leaves in your vacuum bag to leave a fresh scent through the house. Dry and add to a potpourri mix. Lemon verbena can be added to homemade soaps, shampoos and essential oils. If you enjoy making your own candles, lemon verbena leaves are both decorative and the fragrance will remain strong in the candle for a long time.

6. There are many recipes using lemon verbena with tea, ice cream, sorbet, cake, fish, chicken, marinades and salad dressings to name a few. You will find some links below to great lemon verbena uses. Keep in mind if you use fresh leaves, you will need less than if you are using dried since the dried lose a bit of the potency.

Resources

• Lemon Verbena Pound Cake
• Many Lemon Verbena Recipes
• Lemon Verbena Mint Herb Tea

[jkelvey]

on 8/5/2009 Very nice!