Herb & Flower Preparation & Treatment; Food Storage - Waring WDH10 Manual

HERB & FLOWER PREPARATION & TREATMENT
To dry herbs and flowers, first rinse and pat dry. Remove any dead,
mushy or discolored portions, leaving the stem intact. Spread herbs
or flowers on tray and allow to dehydrate for about 2 to 7 hours,
depending on their type and size. Remove from tray and allow to
cool when drying is complete. Remove the leaves or buds from stem
and break them apart. Crush if desired.
For best results, pick flowers after the rising sun evaporates the
morning dew and before the cool evening mist settles on the petals.
Be aware of flowers that have been sprayed with insecticides or
other harmful chemicals; do not use these. If you are dehydrating
flowers at the same time as herbs, place flowers on the bottom trays
and herbs on the top trays; this prevents any debris from the flowers
falling on the herbs.

FOOD STORAGE

Packaging
In order to keep well, dried foods must be carefully packaged. Pack
dried foods in plastic freezer bags, squeezing out as much air as
possible. (You can also use heat-sealable bags.) Store plastic bags
inside airtight metal, plastic or glass containers. When you store
foods in rigid containers without putting them into freezer bags first,
you expose the dried foods to air, which will negatively impact them.
Vacuum packaging will greatly extend the shelf life of your dried
foods. For vacuum sealing machines, visit our website.
Storage Conditions
Store appropriately packaged dried foods in a cool, dark place. The
colder the food is kept, the longer the quality will be maintained. For
every 18˚F drop in temperature, the shelf life increases 2 to 3 times,
so if you have room in a refrigerator or freezer, keep your dried foods
there. If not, find the coolest place in your home to store dried foods.
Light also causes the quality and nutritive value to deteriorate, so
keep dried foods in opaque or dark-colored containers.
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