HOW TO DRY BASIL

We planted too much basil this year.  I’ve given tons away, used it in cooking and salads and made basil pesto, and I still have basil coming out my ears.  We decided to do something.  We cut off a bunch of stems, pulled off the leaves, then rinsed and dried them.

Hubby cut the basil in smaller pieces with kitchen shears.
Then he laid them on a window screen that he first washed.

Up to the attic they went for about 2 weeks.  The result?  Dried basil that looks, smells and tastes just like the dried basil you find in a store.  Except for one thing:  this basil has not been irradiated like McCormick’s.  Now he’s drying more to give away.