Comments on: How to dry herbs from your tasty herb garden

By: Heather

Heather — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 01:54:41 +0000

I grow and dry all my own herbs. I use them year round and give them as gifts to friends and family. I simply wash the herbs, spin the excess water off in the salad spinner, and then put them on paper towels or clean light tea towels in small wicker baskets. I make sure they are completely covered but that there is also lots of air circulation. I place the baskets on the top of my cupboards in my kitchen and leave them there for several weeks. Every so often I give them a little shake. When they are completely dry, I put them in jars with silica gel packets and store in darkness in a drawer. I’ve done it like this for years and they seem to have more flavour than when dried in a dehydrator or oven. They also stay cleaner than if left to dry in the open air.

By: Gaye

Gaye — Sun, 15 May 2011 16:21:30 +0000

Thank you for all the ideas. I dried some lemon thyme last night and it only took a few hours, I was supprised. I like your web sight.

By: Stacie Shepp

Stacie Shepp — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 20:18:57 +0000

I just hang in my herbs in the window to dry and they add wonderful flavor.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 04:05:45 +0000

I love your photos. Feels like spring.

By: Kerry

Kerry — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 04:04:32 +0000

@Sherri Perhaps start an indoor herb garden! Super easy to do!
@Jenn Ha! I bet your car smelt minty fresh!
@marci I use the baggies too, and I love the idea of putting them in a tin. Perfect.
@Chiot’s Run How long do you have to hang your herbs for? I use the dehydrator out of habit and it’s fast.

By: Chiot's Run

Chiot's Run — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 03:35:32 +0000

I dry all kinds of herbs, for cooking and for tea. I don’t usually use a dehydrator, I simply hang them in bunches in the laundry room. The more delicate ones like chamomile get set out on a plate until they’re dry. I also grow pots of some herbs inside throughout the winter. Lemon thyme, rosemary, lemon verbena, chives and a few others live around the house in front of various windows.

Here are some of my herb growing/harvesting adventures:
http://chiotsrun.com/2009/10/15/harvesting-herbs-for-tea/

By: marci357

marci357 — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 15:54:05 +0000

I store them inside snack sized ziplocks – but then put all(of the same kind) the small baggies inside an old plastic or glass mayo jar, and that in side the cool canning cupboards. The little bags mean I can just grab one and go, and the rest stay sealed. Just don’t put different bagged herbs in the same jar

For fruits, small baggies and then in a tin. Stays even darker.

By: Jenn @ Frugal Upstate

Jenn @ Frugal Upstate — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 14:04:43 +0000

I grow several of my own herbs each year. I have Chives and Lovage (a celery flavored herb) which are perennials, and then I usually plant basil, parsley and oregano. I’ve been wanting to branch out into some herbal teas-I should find an innocuous spot to plant some mint where I wont care if it goes wild

Last year I used an interesting method (and of course blogged about it) for drying my herbs-I used an old window screen laid across the back seat of my car, then parked it directly in the sun for a few days.

It’s a free herb dryer, and the car smells fabulous for days!

By: Sherri Kruger

Sherri Kruger — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 23:53:30 +0000

Hey Kerry,

This is fabulous! I love using fresh herbs in the summer and plant them in the garden. Since we live in Winnipeg we’re out of luck for having them year round unfortunately. This article will come in very handy this year! Thank you.