Daisies are rich in vitamin C, vitamin A, potassium, calcium, magnesium and iron. No wonder they have been used medicinally for centuries. You can use your daisies in the kitchen both fresh and dried. To stock up, it's a good idea to dry the daisies. We'll show you exactly how it works!
Daisies can be air dried upside down
Important preliminary note on drying daisies
Hobby gardeners and cooks usually tie herbs into small bundles and hang them upside down with a thread (in the sun or in the shade) until all parts of the plant are completely dry. If the plants crumble very easily when touched, they are completely dried.
Basically, you can also dry daisies this way; however, the method of bundling these plants is often difficult because they are so small. Good thing there are other ways to dry daisies.
Options for drying daisies
There are essentially five drying variants:
- on a pad in the sun
- on a pad in the shade
- hanging in the sun (already described above)
- hanging in the shade (already described above)
- in the oven
Dry the daisies on a mat in the sun
The majority of hobby gardeners and cooks simply lay the daisies out in the sun for a day to dry. This is actually a good variant, but it is important to ensure that the temperatures do not exceed 35 degrees Celsius.
You can expose your daisies to the sun on the following utensils:
- aluminum foil
- grid
- stretched cloth
Caution: If the sun is too intense, the flowers may turn black and become inedible.
Dry daisies on a pad in the shade
While it takes a little longer (two to three days) to dry daisies in the shade, it's also a lot gentler - meaning more of the good stuff is preserved.
Spread the daisies evenly on a trellis or cloth and place them in a shady, sheltered spot.
Drying daisies in the oven
Drying in the oven is the fastest. Place the daisies on a baking tray lined with baking paper and let them dry for around five to six hours at around 30 degrees Celsius. To allow the moisture to escape, stick a cooking spoon in the door so that the latter is slightly ajar.
Insider tip: You can also put the daisies in a sieve, put them in a warm place and shake them several times a day. Simple and efficient!
Store dried daisies
It is best to store your dried daisies in airtight screw-top jars.
The garden journal freshness ABC
How can fruit and vegetables be stored correctly so that they stay fresh for as long as possible?
The garden journal freshness ABC as a poster:
- as a free PDF file to print out yourself