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Basil Central

My guy brought in a bunch of fresh basil from the garden, and I use this herb a lot for my Italian recipes, so I got started drying it.

The scent of basil is fairly strong, but it reminds me of my dad (he loved using it in his cooking), so I don't mind the smell.

Because the leaves are big basil takes longer to dry versus chives or oregano. My first batch took 30 minutes in a 170F oven, and then I left the cookie sheet sit inside for another 30 minutes after I turned off the oven. It will take a couple of days to dry all of it, but I should get about a half pint of dried basil by the time I'm done.

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