Can I Use DRIED Herbs/Flowers???

[ms8miranda]

In looking at Jack Keller's Lavender Wine recipe, I see he says the flowers can be frozen but doesn't say anything about whether they can be dried. Does anyone know if it's OK to use dried lavender buds/flowers?

Are there any flowers or herbs that couldn't be used dried?

 

[Yooper]

I'm not sure you'd want to use dried flowers. Spices would be ok, but flowers have very delicate aroma and flavor and drying might not give you the best flavor.

I freeze fruits and flowers with no problems.

 

[summersolstice]

I've never tried drying them myself but I've ordered dried rose and hibiscus petals from Mountain Rose for use in mead. I used too much and the flavor was so strong I had to blend it with a traditional mead to cut back on the flavor.

 

[ms8miranda]

I'm thinking dried lavender should work because it's used for cooking and in sachets, etc....the scent doesn't seem to fade or morph.

How much did you use in your mead? Did you use the amount the recipe called for when using fresh flowers? I'm wondering about that....do I use less ...the lavender buds don't shrink much when dried.

 

[summersolstice]

I didn't have a recipe since I've really never seen a mead recipe that called for flower petals. I've had a good commercial rhodomel (rose petal mead) but I've never seen a recipe. What I did was pour boiling water over a double handful of dried petals in a French press coffee maker and let it sit for about 20 minutes and pour off the liquid. It seems that a single press, making about 2 cups of liquid, was what I used in a three gallon batch and it turned out too strong. It wasn't too many rose petals, but the hibiscus caused it to be way acidic. The hibiscus provided much of the deep red color as well. Best to make a tea and try that and adjust your wine recipe accordingly.