The leaves are often dried to be used as decorations in craft projects, or to preserve culinary herbs. There are so many ways to accomplish both, so take the time to select leaves to find the ones that work for your purpose - or your purposes. Fortunately, most processes involve the use of resources that are easily available or that you can find around the house.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Dry the Leaves for Craft Projects
Step 1. Let the leaves air dry if you don't need to keep them straight
Place the leaves in a shallow container or legal in a bunch. Place them in direct sunlight for a few days, checking them every day or two to see if they have dried. Sunlight will dry the leaves, but their edges may curl. This method makes the leaves difficult to use in some craft projects, but works well for dried flower arrangements.
- Do not expose the leaves to direct sunlight if you wish to preserve the full, intense greens of the natural leaf. Direct sunlight will cause colors to fade and become less bright.
- The flow of air from a fan or a window will dry the leaves faster.
Step 2. To make the leaves dry and flat, press them with this slow but simple method
Place one large leaf or several small leaves between two layers of kitchen paper, making sure none of the leaves overlap the others. Open a large book, for example an encyclopedia, and arrange the two layers between its pages. Close the book and lay it horizontally somewhere out of the way. Stack other books on top of them, or place heavy objects. Check once a week to see if the leaves are drying and change the kitchen paper if it feels damp.
- If the leaves are wet with rain, first blot them with kitchen paper to dry them. If the leaves are particularly wet, or if you worry about staining the pages of the book, use additional layers of kitchen paper.
- When drying multiple leaves in the same book, leave at least a 3mm thickness of pages between each layer of leaves, to provide sufficient weight on top of each layer.
Step 3. Use a flower press for quick drying
You can buy a flower press that is large enough to place leaves in it, or build your own out of plywood and cardboard. Doing this is more expensive and requires more materials than simply pressing the leaves into a book, but better air circulation can speed up the drying process to a couple of days.
Spread the leaves between two layers of kitchen paper. Place the kitchen paper between two sheets of kitchen paper or between several additional tears of kitchen paper. Place the entire pile on the open flower press, then close and tighten. Check every few days to replace wet snags and check if the leaves are dry
Step 4. Microwave the large, thick leaves
Place a thick leaf in the middle of a double layer of kitchen paper on a microwave plate. Insert the plate And a cup of water in the microwave and heat for 30 seconds. If the leaf is still not dry, heat it again for 10 seconds at a time, extracting the leaf to check it between one microwave session and the next.
Warning: In the microwave the leaf can easily catch fire, which is why you should only use this method for large, thick leaves. The cup of water helps prevent this from happening, since part of the microwave energy is used to heat the water.
Step 5. Iron the fresh leaves to preserve their color
This method works best on fresh leaves that have not yet changed color or have begun to dry out, although you should dab them with kitchen paper to dry them if the surface is wet. Place a leaf between two layers of wax paper, and place a layer of kitchen paper on the surface of the wax paper. Heat an iron, then run the iron over the tear, holding for 2-5 minutes or until that side feels dry. Turn the pile of wax paper over, put the paper towel over it again, and repeat.
- Warning: Children should have an adult iron the leaves for them, as the iron can get dangerously hot.
- Make sure your iron is not set to steam.
- Once the leaf is ironed, cut out a circle around the greaseproof paper and peel off each layer of the same. This will leave the wax on the leaf which will preserve its color.
Step 6. Preserve the texture of large evergreen leaves by soaking them in water and glycerin
This method will cause the leaves to turn brown, but will keep them soft and supple indefinitely. It works especially well on broad evergreen leaves, such as those of the magnolia. In a shallow dish, combine one part of glycerin with two parts of water, filling it only enough to cover a layer of leaves. Place the leaves in the liquid, making sure their surface is completely covered. The leaves will be ready for use in craft projects after about 4 days, or you can soak them for several weeks if you want to preserve them permanently.
- This method replaces part of the water inside each leaf with glycerin, which will not evaporate like water.
- If the leaves are floating high, place a paper plate, or other object you don't mind getting wet, on top of them to weigh them down to keep them under the liquid.
- Add more water and glycerin if the liquid drops below the leaves.
Method 2 of 3: Dry the Herbs or Tea Leaves
Step 1. Rinse dirt off freshly picked herbs
If you have a bundle of fresh herbs that seem clean and dust-free, you don't need to wash them. However, if you just picked them from your garden, they are likely to contain some dirt and grime. Rinse them under a gentle stream of running water, then shake off the excess water.
Step 2. Before using any other method, scatter the wet herbs until the water evaporates
Whether you have just rinsed your herbs, or if they were already wet when you received them, you should first of all let the evident moisture dry. Spread the herbs on a paper towel or on a clean cloth, until there are no more drops of water on their surface.
Step 3. Quickly dry small amounts of herbs or tea leaves in the microwave
If you prefer to use the herbs right away, use this method to dry them a handful at a time. This method is also suitable for tea leaves that have just been used to make tea. For both materials, scatter small leaves or piles of herbs between two dry strips of kitchen paper. Heat them in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time until crumbly, paying particular attention to the first burn marks.
Moist and robust herbs such as mint and basil will not dry easily in the microwave, unless they are already a little dry
Step 4. Dry thick or tough herbs by hanging them indoors
Some herbs don't have much moisture from the start, and can be dried over the course of a few weeks by tying the stems in bunches and hanging them upside down. Do this indoors in a dark place, if possible, as sunlight can compromise its color and flavor.
- Herbs in this category tend to have stiff or double leaves. They include: Rosemary, parsley, sage And thyme.
- If you prefer to dry soft, moist herbs this way, hang them by collecting them in bunches in a paper bag. Make holes in the base of the bag and place the bag in a well-ventilated area so that the herbs dry faster and mold has less chance of growing.
Step 5. Dry the moist herbs in the oven at a low temperature
Herbs with soft, moist leaves need to be dried quickly, otherwise they will get moldy. Tear the leaves off the stem and arrange them between tears of kitchen paper so that there are no leaves touching. You can layer up to five layers of leaves if needed, alternating between kitchen paper and herbs. Place them in a safe pan and put them in the oven, setting the latter to as low a temperature as possible '. It may take 8 hours to dry the herbs.
- Turn the oven knob just so that only the modeling light or the electric oven bulb comes on.
- Herbs that dry well with this method include: basil, sage, Laurel And mint.
Step 6. When the herbs are crunchy and crumbly, store them in an airtight container
Crumble the herbs between your fingers before storing them or adding them to food. Store the dried herbs in an airtight container and place them in a cool, dark, dry place to keep them flavorful for as long as possible.
- Dried herbs have a stronger flavor than fresh ones. When in a recipe that involves the use of fresh herbs, the latter are replaced with dried herbs, use 1/3 of the indicated amount, or half if it is basil.
- Tea leaves can be dried immediately after using them to make a teapot. The microwave method just described works best, as you usually have a small amount of tea and a longer drying time could lead to mold. Use tea leaves as you would herbs, or use them to cover up unpleasant odors around the house.
Method 3 of 3: Making Leaf Skeletons
Step 1. Choose thick leaves with visible veins
With this method, you will remove most of the leaf fiber and leave only a network of veins underneath it. A sturdy leaf that doesn't bend or crease at the sides is a good choice for this project. Freshly fallen maple or oak leaves in autumn work well, as these trees produce waxy leaves like those of ivy or magnolia.
Step 2. Fill a pot with a liter of water
You can use less water if you only have a few leaves. If you do, remember to proportionally reduce the amount of the other ingredients as well, or simply use half the amounts listed below.
Step 3. Put on gloves
The mixture you make can damage your skin, so put on latex or rubber gloves before handling the other ingredients. After you have finished, remember to wash all the utensils used thoroughly under running water while wearing gloves.
Step 4. Add some baking soda or crystalline soda
These chemicals are usually found in grocery stores or pharmacies. Whatever substance you use, two tablespoons (or 30 grams) should be enough. Each of these chemicals slowly turns the leaf to mush, leaving only the stem and veins.
Step 5. Add the leaves to the pot
You can put in about two or more handfuls of leaves, as long as you can easily mix the contents of the pot without it spilling.
Step 6. Slowly heat the pot
You can adjust the stove to low, and possibly let the leaves simmer, or bring the water to a boil and then lower the heat to low. The mixture should barely boil, or occasionally.
If you can measure the temperature, aim for a temperature of around 80ºC
Step 7. Let it simmer until you see the leaves disintegrate, stirring occasionally
Depending on how thick they are, the leaves could take up to a full day to disintegrate, but it should probably only take a couple of hours. Stir occasionally with a gentle motion, checking if the leaves are soft and crumbling.
It will be necessary to add more water, since the latter evaporates by boiling. Optionally, every four hours you could replace the liquid with a fresh mixture of water and baking soda to speed things up
Step 8. Transfer the leaves that are disintegrating to a pan of cold water
A glass pan works well for this step, as it will make it easier for you to see what you are doing. Carefully remove each leaf using a spatula, or other utensil, and place it on the pan without overlapping the others.
Step 9. Use a small, stiff brush to remove any remaining mush
The leaves must be thin, with a layer of soft cellulose attached to them. Gently and patiently remove this mush from the leaves, leaving only a web of veins or, depending on the type of leaf, a thin translucent layer.
During this process, to remove the pulp, one or more times you may need to rinse the leaves in a drizzle of cold water
Step 10. Wash all used materials while wearing gloves
Rinse the pot, the utensil used to mix and other objects that have come into contact with the boiling mixture. Wear gloves and use soap and warm water.
Step 11. Let the leaves dry
You can let them dry on absorbent paper, or pat them gently and then press them between the pages of a book or in a flower press. After a day or two, you will have only one way to change the look of your craft with dried leaves: since these are transparent, they work particularly well on glass surfaces.
Advice
- When ironing the leaves, use some kind of material that acts as a barrier between the surface of the iron and the top of the wax paper. A tea towel will work very well, since it does not inhibit heat transfer but allows the wax paper to create an effective seal and completely flatten the leaf. The tea towel will also prevent wax residue from building up on the hot surface of the iron.
- You can buy glycerin, baking soda, or crystalline soda at most drugstores and grocery stores.
