Elizabeth Fletcher - How to Dry Herbs: A Complete Guide on Drying Herbs

Drying herbs is a rather simple process that is used to preserve herbs and make them last for a longer period of time. The effectiveness and method with which an herb can be dried will depend on many factors, including the type of herb and the time at which the fresh leaves or flowers were harvested.

Not all types of herbs will dry in the same conditions and in the same amount of time. This is one exciting part about this: you get to do trial and error and by experience alone you will become an expert in knowing what is the amount of time required for certain types of herbs to dry.

The main trick in drying herbs effectively lies on the ability of drying out all the water to prevent molding while maintaining the herbs natural oils and flavors. But you will find out that with time, you will become more and more familiar with the most effective methods for drying your own garden herbs.

A basic knowledge on what the different types of herbs are and their culinary or crafting importance goes a long way on effectively drying herbs for preservation. You must be aware of the weather, types of leaves, the thickness of the stem, even the presence of bugs in the garden. All these elements combined will make of you the best herb drier.

I created a complete guide into herb drying. It contains comprehensive descriptions of the types of herbs you can dry and the best ways of doing so. It also contains comments about why it is important to dry herbs and how to store them afterwards. This is a must read before you plan on drying herbs on a regular basis.

So, either for culinary or medicinal purposes, or for decoration or crafting, choosing the right technique for drying every different type of herb will provide great success in obtaining perfectly dried herbs.

What is Herb Drying ?

Preserving food for later consumption has always been a concern to cooks and different methods have been devised for different types of foods. Of all these methods, drying herbs is the easiest one and one that can be easily done at home. Drying herbs at home is actually a very smart choice since dried herbs at the store can become rather costly. A great thing about drying herbs is that the methods used to do so are very simple yet very effective.

When herbs are dried, all moisture is removed and plants become impervious to yeast, mold, and bacteria without significantly losing their natural oils and nutritional properties. After the process of drying is completed, the plants can be perfectly preserved for six to twelve months.

To remove moisture from herbs, all you need is some air. Yet you need to be smart by simply drying them with the sun you can cause all their natural oils to be burned away which, of course, is an undesired result.

Herbs can be obtained at any groceries store or they can be harvested at your own garden. These need to be washed to remove any dirt or remains from other animals. Given that you bought them in a store, there is no way for you to know what they have been exposed to. If the plants have been grown organically, probably they do not need washing. Best thing is to grow them in your own backyard. They might still need some washing. The washing process should be done carefully trying not to tear the leaves of the plant.

Either for consumption or for ornamental purposes, drying herbs will effectively remove moisture from the plant. Luckily, herbs contain so little moisture that they will remain practically untouched after they have been dried. Several methods that guarantee the sole removal of moisture have been devised. They vary in types of instruments required and time for results. We will be thoroughly discussing each one of these methods as well as what are the best types for specific types of plants.