How to Dry Herbs at Home

Admin/ July 3, 2023/ Gardening/ 0 comments

If you have done any amount of cooking, you probably already know what a difference dried herbs can make to a dish. That might leave you wondering how to dry herbs at home yourself! Why spend money on bottles of herbs from the supermarket when you could just… do the work yourself?

The good news is, drying your own herbs is a lot easier than you might think. The difficult part is really just growing them yourself first! However, once you get past that, you can have a great supply of both fresh and dried herbs to use to your heart’s content. 

So, if you would like to find out how to dry herbs at home, keep reading! We will cover everything you need to know. 

Why Dry Your Own Herbs?

The all-important question – why do it? Why dry your own herbs when you could just stop by somewhere on your way home and get some?

Learning how to dry your own herbs is not only a great skill to have, but it’s incredibly useful, too. Not only that, but it can save you a lot of money in the long run, and it’s more sustainable. It’s satisfying, useful, and easy, so there really is no reason not to try it, right?

What Herbs Can You Dry?

You can enjoy trying all the popular ones at home! Herbs like thyme, rosemary, and sage are popular options. Parsley and similar leafy herbs can be dried, too, but these are usually best used when fresh. Once you dry leafy herbs, they lose a lot of their flavour, which makes them less useful in dishes. This will include herbs like chives and tarragon, so bear that in mind!

How to Dry Herbs at Home

There are several different methods you could use when figuring out how to dry herbs at home. These include using the microwave or oven, or simply air drying! If you’re fancy and have a dehydrator, you could also use that to get the job done. 

Depending on what you have, or what you would like to test, pick your favourite method below and get drying!

How to Dry Herbs at Home Using the Air Drying Method

The air drying method is, naturally, the oldest. It’s efficient and easy and will make you feel like you are living your cottage-core dream. 

This easy method only required a few steps, so here you go:

  1. Pick your herbs and bundle them together. The diameter should be around 1 inch (2.5 centimetres). You can use a rubber band, as the stems will shrink as the herbs gradually become drier!
  2. Hang the herbs upside-down and leave them in a cool, dark place like a cupboard, attic, or basement to dry out. 
  3. Leave the herbs to dry for anywhere between 5–10 days. The length of time will depend on the climate you live in. During this time, make sure that no mould starts growing on the herbs!
  4. Once dry, you can crumble the leaves to break them up and store them in airtight containers. If you want containers of particular herbs, make sure to only bundle one kind together. If you would like to create mixed herbs, feel free to bundle different types together!

You could also air-dry your herbs differently: pick the leaves and allow them to dry on a rack. To do this, you simply need to remove the leaves from the plant stem, allow them to dry, and crumble them when they are properly dry. 

Drying Herbs at Home Using the Dehydrating Method

If you have a dehydrator, you are going to love using it for drying your own herbs. You can dehydrate your herbs in bulk and get perfect results every time, but these devices are not always the most affordable.

Here’s what you need to do if you want to learn how to dry herbs at home using a dehydrator:

  1. Remove the leaves from the stems
  2. Wash your leaves (or any other parts of the plant you want to use)
  3. Carefully dry them off, or allow them to air dry until they are no longer wet or damp
  4. Place the leaves on the tray in single layers – you don’t want the leaves on top of each other, and preferably not touching each other, either
  5. Cook the leaves on the lowest setting that the dehydrator has
  6. Allow the leaves to “cook” there for between 2–4 hours, or until they are completely dry 
  7. Remove the dried leaves from the tray. You might want to do this over a clean cloth so that you can catch all the broken pieces and not waste anything
  8. Crush, and store in an airtight container.

How to Dry Herbs at Home Using the Microwave Drying Method

This super easy method is definitely the fastest, but there is room to go wrong. Here’s what you need to do:

  1. Remove the leaves from the stems
  2. Wash your leaves (or any other parts of the plant you want to use)
  3. Carefully dry them off, or allow them to air dry until they are no longer wet or damp
  4. Get two squares of paper towel, and sandwich the dried leaves between them 
  5. Microwave the paper towels and herbs for one minute
  6. If the leaves are not dry after one minute, continue going in 30-second intervals until the leaves are completely dry
  7. Crush them up and store them in an airtight container! 

Drying Herbs at Home Using the Oven Drying Method

Finally, you could simply use your oven for drying your herbs at home! This is easy and pretty quick, and very accessible. Here’s what you need to know:

  1. Remove the leaves from the stems
  2. Wash your leaves (or any other parts of the plant you want to use)
  3. Carefully dry them off, or allow them to air dry until they are no longer wet or damp
  4. Ideally, you should use a cheesecloth or muslin to place the leaves on to ensure that they don’t stick to the pan you use. Alternatively, you could use wax paper or silicone mats – whichever you prefer
  5. Put your oven on a low setting (possibly the lowest it can go), and allow the leaves around 30 minutes to bake in there. You’ll know when they are done when they can easily be crumbled
  6. Once dried, crumble the leaves and store them in an airtight container to be used. 

Storing Dried Herbs

Aim to store your dried herbs in glass bottles or jars that can be sealed and airtight. You don’t want oxygen needlessly getting to the herbs, or else it might reduce the flavour and fragrance of the herbs over time. 

You can leave the dried herbs whole or crush them for storage, whichever you prefer. Make sure you keep everything in a cool, dark place to ensure that it lasts as long as possible. 

Final Thoughts

If you have been wondering how to dry herbs at home, now you have the answer! The best part is that the process is so easy, anyone can do it, even if you don’t have a working oven or a microwave. 

While air-drying your herbs takes the longest, it is the most traditional method (it also looks cool, so there’s that!). You can pick whichever method you like the most, or just test them all out. 

Either way, you will have plenty of herbs to use in your cooking, and you can get great satisfaction from knowing that you did that. 

Enjoying what we have to say? Why not have a look at some of our other articles? Whether you want to make your own cheese (gouda, burrata, cottage cheese and so much more), yogurt, or broth, there is a lot to check out, and our list is forever growing. If you want to learn more about gardening, like which plants are easy and difficult to grow, and how you can use whey in gardening, feel free to check those out, too. 

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