The Healthiest (and Cheapest!) Way to Dry Herbs

August 23, 2019 The Provident Princess 0 Comments

It's been a little quiet here on the blog this summer but I just wanted to jump on and share with you how I am preserving all the fresh herbs I have coming out of my garden right now.

My Sage is going crazy!

There are basically 2 ways to preserve fresh herbs. Historically, they have been dried. The advantage to this is that they shrink to a least 1/3 their fresh size and a fraction of their weight and will keep for a very long time.

Another option I've shown you is how to preserve fresh herbs by freezing them in ice-cubes. This is a great option if you really want that fresh from the garden taste in your food (and have room in your freezer!). I think it works best with parsley or basil, even cilantro would be good. Those herbs are frequently thrown in at the end of a meal for a little pop of flavor.

Sturdier herbs like sage, rosemary and oregano are usually added at the beginning of cooking and don't need to be fresh. Basil can be added like that as well so these ones aren't necessary to keep fresh and are perfect for dehydrating.

Dehydrating just means drying out and getting the moisture out of them so they won't mold during storage. Some people use dehydrators or ovens to dehydrate their herbs but you really don't need anything fancy and the way I'm going to show you is actually the healthiest because it keeps the most nutrients in tact. It is also the cheapest. Air drying.

Yep, we are going to do this the old fashioned way. There are just a few things you want to keep in mind.

• Start with washed herbs. Once they are dried, you won't have the chance to wash them before you use them, so any dirt or other particles that are on there when they are picked will go straight into your food. 

• Dry as much as you can by patting with a towel or running through a salad spinner. This will help lesson the drying time.

• Don't place in direct sunlight. Just as we turn the oven to the lowest temperature possible when dehydrating to preserve the nutrients from being affected by the heat and cooking out, we don't want the sun to do that either. A family friend grew up in Switzerland in the 1940's and they would actually take their herbs (and green beans!) up to the attic to dehydrate in the dry, motionless, hot air. 

• Find a place that is not drafty. You might think that having something blowing softly on your herbs would help them dry faster, and it is true, but it will also dry out the essential oils in the leaves making your herbs flavorless. 

• Although you don't want air blowing across your herbs,  you do want there to be enough space for air to travel around and through so you don't have dense little pickets of herbs that don't dry out all the way and end up molding a ruining the whole batch. 

• Here is my sage. It grew really heavily and the leaves are very thick too, so I made sure to separate the stems and only bunch 4-5 together to make sure it wasn't too dense. If you live in a more humid space, you may need to just do 1-2. Alternatively, you can also pick the leaves off the stems and air dry them on a drying rack used in baking. Just flip the leaves over a few times a day when you walk by to make sure none are sticking together. This is some basil my friend gave me. Can you believe how big the leaves are? They're longer than my hand! I love having dried basil on hand. It is essential in my favorite homemade Greek Salad Dressing. 

• Next, all you need is time. A couple days. You will know when they are ready when they are completely dry and brittle. They should audibly crisp and snap when you bend them. If there is any bending without it breaking, it isn't dry enough yet.

• Last just find an airtight container and pack it full leaving as little airspace as you can.

• These dried herbs should last you well past next year's harvest (if you can keep them that long)

Sage Leaf Tea