Will burning the leaves of rosemary affect its use as an extract?
So yesterday I was drying rosemary in my oven, to save on time. I took a 2 hour nap and when I woke up the leaves were burnt. I wouldn't say charred but noticeably black. Some leaves weren't as bad others. Nevertheless, I am hoping to use these leaves in a tainture will it matter if i grind the burnt rosemary leaves and then soak in 80 proof vodkah. Will the extraction process be contaminated now that the leaves are burnt?
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its not that expensive just get more rosemary.
i dont think using burnt leaves will be very effective.
The heat will have denatured any active ingredients so the charred rosemary will be useless for anything other than compost.
When you dry herbs, you always do it at a low temperature.
Food dehydrators are a much better option than your oven.
Failing that, hang them in a warm, dry, well ventilated place. For this kind of use, keep them out of the direct sunlight while drying as this can damage some of the active compounds too.