How to Dry Herbs

And where the marjoram once, and sage, and rue, And balm, and mint, with curl’d-leaf parsley grew, And double marygolds, and silver thyme,
And pumpkins ‘neath the window us’d to climb ; And where I often when a child for hours
Tried through the pales to get the tempting flowers, As lady’s laces, everlasting peas, True-love-lies-bleeding, with the hearts-at-ease,And golden rods, and tansy running high
That o’er the pale-tops smil’d on passers-by, Flowers in my time that every one would praise,
Tho’ thrown like weeds from gardens nowadays

The Crossroads by John Clare

How to Dry Herbs. June 16, 2021.

To harvest herbs is to harvest the season’s vigor. All its energy is poured into the soil, which in turn brings many different leafy, spiky, and curling greens from the ground, offering their pungent scents to our noses, knowing we crave and need them. The camphorous and bitter notes of the oils released from their bruised leaves are biting and stimulating. Herbs add more than flavor to our food. They boost and cleanse our digestive system after a sluggish winter. Over the next few months, we will harvest the fresh herbs for our use, but we will also put some away for the next winter when dormancy will rule.

My kitchen table is filled with drying herbs. I gather chamomile heads daily. Calendula as well. Long stalks of lavender sweetly scent the air as they dry. As they dry, I put them into amber colored jars to help protect them from light. The stockpile is growing: rose geranium, rose petals, lavender, thyme, chamomile, and more.

There are several methods for drying herbs. There is the old-fashioned way of tying them in bouquets and hanging them upside down to dry. Some people use the oven and microwave to dry herbs. I have not tried these methods. While there is a wonderful aesthetic appeal to drying herb bouquets, I have graduated to drying racks. This is primarily because of the herbs I dry that are better suited for racks: chamomile heads, calendula petals, and more. I have found the drying to be quicker and more even.

How to Dry your own Herbs

• Picking a dry day, clip the herbs you want. Generally, late morning or early afternoon after the dew has dried is a good time.
• Herbs should be dried in an open, warm, well-ventilated, and dry area. Avoid direct sunlight.
• Racks like the ones shown above are excellent for evenly drying herbs. Another option: clean up an old window screen and use that.
• If you don’t have racks, spread your herbs out on paper towels. Let the herbs dry, turning them daily until they are completely dry.
• If you are hang-drying your herbs, then pick an area to hang them, gather some twine, and tie the herbs in loose bundles. If you tie them too tightly, they may not dry properly or spoil. Hang these bundles away from the sun and allow them to dry for a couple of weeks, or until they are sufficiently dry to crumble.
• Crumble dry leaves into an amber colored glass jar with a lid and seal. Label them with the name and date picked.
• Store dried herbs in a cool, dry area. Properly dried herbs last a long time; however, they do lose flavor if they are old, so it is recommended to use them within a year.
• Free herb label template here.

Tips for Drying Herbs

• When you harvest an herb depends on the herb. Many culinary herbs are best harvested in Spring when growth is most vigorous, stems are still green, and the plant is at its peak. Some roots and berries should be harvested in late summer or fall. Look up the herb you want to harvest and when the best time is to do it.
• Harvest herbs on a dry day after the morning dew has dried. You don’t want moisture on your herbs. This will create conditions for mold and spoilage.
• Harvest herbs before the heat of the day when they lose essential oil.
• Don’t wash herbs before drying. The moisture may cause mold or mildew.
• Harvest new growth, not woody growth. Rosemary and thyme are good examples because their new growth will eventually become woody. Collect the tender new growth where the herbs are most pungent.
• Most edible herbs can be dried successfully, including chives, oregano, mints, lemon balm, rosemary, parsley, basil, thyme, lavender, chamomile, lemon verbena, and more.

Have a beautiful day!