How to Dry Herbs
Knowing how to dry herbs is very simple.
First, you need to grow some herbs. I usually grow parsley, basil, oregano, and sage. Of course, fresh herbs are the best. Add some fresh basil to a salad or pizza and you will never forget the flavor. Like all things in the garden, there is a season ~ and then the season ends.
Where herbs are concerned, they bolt. That means they shoot out stalks, flower, and then make seeds. The best time to pick herbs is before they bolt. For me, that is right now.
First, you need to grow some herbs. I usually grow parsley, basil, oregano, and sage. Of course, fresh herbs are the best. Add some fresh basil to a salad or pizza and you will never forget the flavor. Like all things in the garden, there is a season ~ and then the season ends.
Where herbs are concerned, they bolt. That means they shoot out stalks, flower, and then make seeds. The best time to pick herbs is before they bolt. For me, that is right now.
I only cut away about 75% of this parsley plant. I want to allow the plant to come back ~ not for more parsley, instead, I am leaving a little food for the monarch larvae. They will strip every last parsley leaf, come back, and do it over and over.
Trust me when I say that this will be plenty of parsley for me and Mr. Seasoned Homemaker. Once dried, it should last for months.
Next, I pull out my trusty food dehydrator. I know that some people like to hang their herbs to dry. Do this once and you will go out and purchase a food dehydrator. I purchased mine at Walmart, but they are available at Target and Amazon.
I layer my herbs onto the 4 trays and stack them according to the dehydrator's instructions.
Then, I set my dehydrator on the lowest setting (95-degrees on my model) and let it dry for 12-20 hours. When they crumble, they are done.
You can also use your oven to dehydrate. Set your oven on 90-95 degrees and place herbs on a cookie sheet. Personally, I don't like doing this because it ties up the oven for one or two days.
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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2 of 19 comments
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Dry herbs have SO much more flavor! After throwing away parsley before I could get to it, I now by fresh, cut off the stems, and dry them in the oven on low. So much more taste, and worth the .99 a bunch!! I freeze bunches of fresh Kale in zip lock bags for our green drinks every morning. They come out very well!!
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Thank you for sharing on drying herbs. I am going to buy a dehydrator. Will stay in contact.
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