Micah Stanley
Whether grown on the windowsill in the kitchen, on the balcony or in the garden: Fresh herbs conjure up a special note in every dish. But if you have too much of it, you can also dry your herbs and use them later.
Drying herbs: This is how you dry sage, rosemary & Co. and how you can then use it!
A herb bed in the garden or just a few pots of fresh herbs on the balcony are a joy: the fresh, tangy scent of the plants fills the kitchen and gives every dish a special touch! If you don’t just want some of the delicious herbs in spring and summer, or if you simply have too much to use everything, you can also dry the herbs to replenish your supplies.
Dry herbs properly
If you’re wondering which of your herbs are suitable for drying, then the answer is: actually all of them! However, herbs with firm leaves are particularly suitable, such as rosemary, thyme, oregano, etc… It is best to dry your herbs just before they bloom in June or July, because that is when they have the most aroma. Avoid washing the herbs. If absolutely necessary, rinse briefly under cold water and dry with paper towels.
Here’s how you do it: Leave as much of the stalk of the herb as possible when you cut it off – now you can tie it into a compact bouquet and hang it upside down. This is best done in a dark, cool room. Let the herbs hang here for up to 14 days before hanging and placing in cans or jars (airtight and opaque). Your herbs will last up to a year!
Dry herbs in the oven
You can also dry herbs in the oven: To do this, place individual stems next to each other on a baking sheet on baking paper. The oven should run at 30 to a maximum of 40 degrees top and bottom heat. Stick a wooden spoon in the door, leaving the oven ajar. The drying time is up to 5 hours – a lot faster than drying in the air.
Drying herbs
If you own a dehydrator, you can dry fruit and mushrooms as well as herbs in it. Herbs that have a particularly “meaty” texture, such as chives or basil, are not well suited to this process as they lose too much flavor in the process. All others can be dried in it without any problems!
Stack the bunches of herbs on the trays, but leave enough room for them to breathe. As in the oven, they should be dried at temperatures of around 40 degrees.
Thyme, for example, dries very quickly and is sometimes ready in four hours, while herbs such as sage take significantly longer, namely up to twelve hours.
