Sage
This popular herb has greeny grey slightly furry leaves, about 5cm long. They have a strong, aromatic flavour and a slightly bitter flavour, they grow in abundance in southern Europe and Mediterranean countries.
Uses: Sage is often served with pork or goose. It is the main flavouring ingredient in the popular sage and onion stuffing, fresh or dried sage work equally well in this recipe. Sage is particularly popular in Italian cookery where it is used in stuffings, and also served with veal and calf's liver. The whole leaves can be deep-fried as a garnish for meat dishes.
To Store: Keep fresh sage in the fridge for 3-4 days.
To Use: Remove the leaves from the stem and rinse thoroughly under cold water. The leaves can be used whole or chopped depending on what they are going to be used for.
Dried sage vs fresh sage?
Answer: 1 tsp dried sage would be equal to about 2 tsp fresh sage
Use dried if it will be cooked with the dish for a longer time. Use fresh more towards the end of the cooking.
What is the conversion of 8 fresh sage leaves to dried sage?
Answer: Sage, fresh
Equivalents
1 tbsp chopped, 1 tsp dried
12 leaves = 1 tsp dried
How to Dry Sage
Ashlee Simmons
Ashlee Simmons has written professionally for more than 10 years. Her writing focus is travel, equestrian and health and medical articles, but she enjoys writing human interest stories as well. Simmons graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a liberal arts degree.
By Ashlee Simmons, eHow Contributor
Drying sage is easy to do. Sage is a fragrant, edible herb that becomes more potent when it is dried. You can use sage for medicinal, culinary, and decorative purposes.
Difficulty:
Moderately Easy
Instructions
Things You'll Need
Fresh Sage, Scissors, Paper Towels, String, Paper Bags, Clothes Pins
Harvest the Sage
Harvest fresh sage either in the morning or evening.
Using scissors, cut the sage about halfway down the stem.
Continue cutting until you have a large bunch of sage.
Shake the sage out so any loose leaves will drop. This also rids the herb of pests and insects.
Take the sage bunch inside.
Examine and Wash the Sage
When you are inside, lay the sage out on a smooth surface.
Carefully examine the herbs and pluck off any dead or damaged parts.
This is your second opportunity to get rid of any insects that might be hiding in the sage.
Take the sage to the sink and wash with cool water.
Lay out paper towels on the counter and put the sage on top to dry.
Make Bunches and Hang the Sage
When the sage is dry, take a handful of stems.
Take a small piece of string, about 3 inches, and tie it around the bottom of the sage bunch.
Put the sage bunch inside of a paper bag.
Hang the sage upside down and wrap the bag around the sage stems.
Take another piece of string, about 6 inches, and tie the bag to the sage stems.
With the scissors, carefully poke holes in the bottom of the paper bag.
Dry the Sage
Take the paper bags and hang them from a drying line, indoor clothes rack, or other area where the sage will not be disturbed.
Use clothes pins to attach the bags to the line.
Hang the bags from the bottom so that they are hanging upside down.
Leave the bags for 12 to 14 days.
Get the Dried Sage
After the 12 to 14 day period is up, check on the sage.
Take a bag of sage and open it up.
Check that the sage is dry.
There should be no mold growth or peculiar smell.
If you think the sage is contaminated, discard it immediately
Take the dried sage and store it in containers with a secure lid or zip lock bags.
To use the sage, crumble it between your fingers, crush it with a mortar and pestle, or chop it finely with a knife.
Is dried sage the same as ground sage?
Not really. Ground sage has had the dried leaves finely pulverized. You can see the leaves of dried sage. It can be crumbled and seen in the dish you are using it in. Ground sage blends in much like ground pepper.