Here's the Rub

Supermarket Sage can be a sorry thing, with as many stems as leaves. A high quality rubbed Sage like this can get pricey, and usually can only be found via mail order. So I grabbed the Sage by the leaves and made my own.

Sage "Berggarten"

I clipped these leaves of Berggarten with a small pair of pruners, but scissors will work just as well. The leaves of this cultivar are large and strong of flavor. Clipping individual leaves is tedious, but spring growth is about a month away, and I want as many leaves for the fall as possible--think cornbread dressing for Thanksgiving. Then entire branches will be sacrificed, and I can clip off all those stems while sitting, and enjoying a beverage.

Our convection oven has a pre-programmed dehydration setting, which is 120 degrees F for six hours. That is perfect for this many leaves, and I left plenty of room to avoid crowding. The same setting could be used for any oven.

Rubbing is simple. Add a handful of leaves into the palm of your non-dominant hand, and commence rubbing the dried leaves between two fingers of your dominant hand. Collect them in your palm, and funnel them into a spice jar. This amount of leaves made one third of a standard spice jar, as pictured.

I leave mine uncovered for a week or so to make certain they are perfectly dried. Then it is into the spice cabinet, next to some ground sage. That's when you notice that this is like a whole different herb.