can anyone tell if drying nettle leaves in the microwave makes them lose
any of their goodness as a herb, or are they better left hung up to wilt
and dry in their own time.
kate

Kate Morgan wrote:
can anyone tell if drying nettle leaves in the microwave makes them lose
any of their goodness as a herb, or are they better left hung up to wilt
and dry in their own time.
kate

Putting them in a microwave would have a similar effect to boiling them.
So yes, I would expect a lot of their goodness to be lost by microwaving.

http://www.herbsforlife.org.uk/Herba...htm#Collection
some useful information on this site, take a look.

"Kate Morgan" wrote in message
...
can anyone tell if drying nettle leaves in the microwave makes them lose
any of their goodness as a herb, or are they better left hung up to wilt
and dry in their own time.
kate

Kate Morgan wrote in message ...
can anyone tell if drying nettle leaves in the microwave makes them lose
any of their goodness as a herb, or are they better left hung up to wilt
and dry in their own time.


Dunno, but around this time of year you can cook 'em as a nice soup: Snip
loadsa nettles two or three inches from the tip, so you get the least
stringy bits. Fry an onion or two, bung in a
potato, add your washed nettle tips in large quantities, chuck
some chicken stock on (or water+ chicken oxo cube if no
chicken stock). Liquidise. As you serve add a spiral of
cream.

--
Anton

The message
from Kate Morgan contains these words:

can anyone tell if drying nettle leaves in the microwave makes them lose
any of their goodness as a herb, or are they better left hung up to wilt
and dry in their own time.

Drying them in the microwave is favourite, I'd think: you keep the
colour better.

Don't forget to put a mug of water in to absorb most of the energy, or
you'll cook them as well as dry them.

--
Tony
Replace solidi with dots to reply: tony/anson snailything zetnet/co/uk

http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi

anton wrote:

Kate Morgan wrote in message ...
can anyone tell if drying nettle leaves in the microwave makes them lose
any of their goodness as a herb, or are they better left hung up to wilt
and dry in their own time.

Dunno, but around this time of year you can cook 'em as a nice soup: Snip
loadsa nettles two or three inches from the tip, so you get the least
stringy bits. Fry an onion or two, bung in a
potato, add your washed nettle tips in large quantities, chuck
some chicken stock on (or water+ chicken oxo cube if no
chicken stock). Liquidise. As you serve add a spiral of
cream.

--
Anton

A bit of bacon is lovely in it too.
Anita

Kate Morgan wrote in message ...
can anyone tell if drying nettle leaves in the microwave makes them lose
any of their goodness as a herb, or are they better left hung up to wilt
and dry in their own time.

Thanks to all for interest and comments
kate

"bigboard" wrote in message
...
Kate Morgan wrote:
can anyone tell if drying nettle leaves in the microwave makes them lose
any of their goodness as a herb, or are they better left hung up to wilt
and dry in their own time.
kate

Putting them in a microwave would have a similar effect to boiling them.
So yes, I would expect a lot of their goodness to be lost by microwaving.


I think the problem with boiling is that 'goodness' leeches out into the
water which you then throw away. Microwaving should be much better.

Martin

"Martin Sykes" wrote in message
...
"bigboard" wrote in message
...
Kate Morgan wrote:
can anyone tell if drying nettle leaves in the microwave makes them
lose
any of their goodness as a herb, or are they better left hung up to
wilt
and dry in their own time.
kate

Putting them in a microwave would have a similar effect to boiling them.
So yes, I would expect a lot of their goodness to be lost by
microwaving.


I think the problem with boiling is that 'goodness' leeches out into the
water which you then throw away. Microwaving should be much better.

I use a dehydrator for preserving food. If you don't have one you could dry
them in a very low oven with the door slightly left open


Ophelia
Scotland

The message
from "Ophelia" contains these words:

I use a dehydrator for preserving food. If you don't have one you could dry
them in a very low oven with the door slightly left open

You can make one by putting calcium chloride crystals in an open
(waterproof!) container, and putting that in a sealed receptacle with
whatever is to be dehydrated.

Lave in a warm place and the calcium chloride will absorb all the moisture.

It's not very rapid, so chunky things like meat or nourishing cabbage
stalks have to be sliced and laid out so they don't contact each-other
in overlap mode.

--
Tony
Replace solidi with dots to reply: tony/anson snailything zetnet/co/uk

http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi

In message , anton
writes

Dunno, but around this time of year you can cook 'em as a nice soup:
[snip]

You can also make a very refreshing summer drink from them: Nettle Beer.

Nettle Beer Recipe

Ingredients
2lb young nettle tops
1 gallon of water
8oz of sugar
0.25oz of fresh yeast
small piece of toast
0.25oz of ground ginger

Method
Boil the nettle tops in the water for half an hour. Strain and add
sugar, stirring to dissolve. Also stir in the ginger. Pour mixture into
a sterile container. Spread the yeast onto the toast and float on the
surface of the nettle liquid. Cover and leave for 3 days. Strain again
and put into clean, strong screw top beer bottles. This can be drunk
after 48 hours.


Taken from:


http://www.greenchronicle.com/recipes/nettle_beer.htm



This is similar to the recipe my mother used, back in the 50s and 60s,
but there are variations. I don't recall the use of so much ginger, and
have made it myself with much less.

--
David D Stretch: Stoke-on-Trent, UK. For email remove spaces from the following
line:
d d stretch @ mugwort . demon . co . u k

"Martin Sykes" wrote in message
...
"bigboard" wrote in message
...
Kate Morgan wrote:
can anyone tell if drying nettle leaves in the microwave makes them
lose
any of their goodness as a herb, or are they better left hung up to
wilt
and dry in their own time.
kate

Putting them in a microwave would have a similar effect to boiling them.
So yes, I would expect a lot of their goodness to be lost by
microwaving.


I think the problem with boiling is that 'goodness' leeches out into the
water which you then throw away. Microwaving should be much better.

I use a dehydrator for preserving food. If you don't have one you could dry
them in a very low oven with the door slightly left open


Ophelia
Scotland

The message
from "Ophelia" contains these words:

I use a dehydrator for preserving food. If you don't have one you could dry
them in a very low oven with the door slightly left open

You can make one by putting calcium chloride crystals in an open
(waterproof!) container, and putting that in a sealed receptacle with
whatever is to be dehydrated.

Lave in a warm place and the calcium chloride will absorb all the moisture.

It's not very rapid, so chunky things like meat or nourishing cabbage
stalks have to be sliced and laid out so they don't contact each-other
in overlap mode.

--
Tony
Replace solidi with dots to reply: tony/anson snailything zetnet/co/uk

http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi

In message , anton
writes

Dunno, but around this time of year you can cook 'em as a nice soup:
[snip]

You can also make a very refreshing summer drink from them: Nettle Beer.

Nettle Beer Recipe

Ingredients
2lb young nettle tops
1 gallon of water
8oz of sugar
0.25oz of fresh yeast
small piece of toast
0.25oz of ground ginger

Method
Boil the nettle tops in the water for half an hour. Strain and add
sugar, stirring to dissolve. Also stir in the ginger. Pour mixture into
a sterile container. Spread the yeast onto the toast and float on the
surface of the nettle liquid. Cover and leave for 3 days. Strain again
and put into clean, strong screw top beer bottles. This can be drunk
after 48 hours.


Taken from:


http://www.greenchronicle.com/recipes/nettle_beer.htm



This is similar to the recipe my mother used, back in the 50s and 60s,
but there are variations. I don't recall the use of so much ginger, and
have made it myself with much less.

--
David D Stretch: Stoke-on-Trent, UK. For email remove spaces from the following
line:
d d stretch @ mugwort . demon . co . u k

"Anthony E Anson" wrote in message
...
The message
from "Ophelia" contains these words:

I use a dehydrator for preserving food. If you don't have one you could
dry
them in a very low oven with the door slightly left open

You can make one by putting calcium chloride crystals in an open
(waterproof!) container, and putting that in a sealed receptacle with
whatever is to be dehydrated.

Lave in a warm place and the calcium chloride will absorb all the
moisture.

It's not very rapid, so chunky things like meat or nourishing cabbage
stalks have to be sliced and laid out so they don't contact each-other
in overlap mode.

This worries me a wee bit. If you are dehydrating meat very slowly in a
warm enviroment you could end up poisioned.

Ophelia