Drying Parsley: How It Works

Air dry parsley

A straightforward method of drying parsley is through the air drying process.

1. To dry, you should first cut off whole parsley stems close to the ground. Be sure to harvest the parsley before flowering, which occurs the second year after sowing from June, as the herb becomes inedible once it has flowered. For the best aroma, prune the plant on a warm, dry morning. Don’t wash them, just pluck out diseased leaves.
2. To dry the parsley in the air, you should choose a light-protected and dust-free place that is dark and has a temperature of 20 to 30 degrees.
3. Tie the sprouts of parsley into small bouquets and hang them upside down. Alternatively, you can lay out the shoots on a cloth.
4. The parsley is dry when the stems break and the leaves rustle.

Dry the parsley in the oven or dehydrator

If you don’t have a suitable place to air dry the parsley, you can use the oven or a food dehydrator.

1. To dry in the oven, first lay the shoots next to each other on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Alternatively, you can distribute the shoots on the drying racks of a dehydrator.
2. Set the oven to the lowest setting and leave the door slightly ajar to allow moisture to escape. Alternatively, you should set the dehydrator to a maximum of 40 degrees.
3. Monitor the degree of drying of the parsley regularly. The parsley is dry when the stems break and the leaves rustle.

Properly store parsley after drying

If you store the dried parsley correctly, the aroma can last for up to two years.

• Package the parsley immediately after drying to avoid re-pulling moisture from the air.
• Store the parsley in airtight, and ideally also opaque, containers. You can also use jars with screw caps, but you should then protect them from the effects of light in a cupboard.
• While you can chop the sprouts before storing them to preserve all of the flavors, it makes more sense to store the sprouts whole.