Cooking is all about using the right techniques and equipment to make an unforgettable flavor. Whether it’s knife skills or creating recipes, you need to have all the fundamentals down. That includes understanding how to use herbs in your cooking.
I know what you’re thinking: “That’s easy. The key to using herbs is to pick the freshest ones.”
That’s not always true though. Dried herbs are sometimes a more viable option. Sure, you can buy them from nearby stores, but drying them yourself gives you more control over their quality.
If you’re interested, I’ll walk you step by step through the process of drying herbs. Let’s get right to it!
Why Dry Your Herbs?
Drying herbs seems like an illogical step. Who wouldn’t want to enjoy fresh herbs in their food?
I agree; nothing beats the flavor and aroma fresh basil adds to a bolognese sauce. However, these herbs won’t stay fresh forever.
In fact, if they contain a lot of moisture, they’ll spoil quickly. You don’t need to be a food scientist to know that spoiled herbs don’t taste good.
That’s where drying comes in. Not only does it preserve your herbs, prolonging their shelf lives, but it also deepens their flavor and aroma.
Drying evaporates all the moisture inside the herbs, causing the flavor and smell to become more concentrated.
Don’t believe me? Try chopping fresh parsley and rubbing it in one hand and then rubbing dried parsley in the other. You’ll see what I’m talking about.
To be clear, I’m not saying that dried herbs are inherently better than fresh ones. I’m just saying there’s a time and place for each.
Preparing Your Herbs for Drying
Let’s start with the harvest. You want to pick up your herbs early in the morning as that’s when the volatile oils are most prominent.
Pick up the long stems, rinse them in cool water to clean them, and place them on a kitchen towel to dry. You might need to flip them every now and then to ensure each side is completely dry.
Drying Your Herbs
Now that your herbs are ready, let’s explore all the effective methods you can follow to dry them.
Air Drying
Air drying takes a long time to show results, but it’s the only method on this list that anyone can use as it doesn’t require any real equipment.
Here’s how it goes:
- Once your herbs are dry, tie three or four stems together like a small bouquet. You can use cotton kitchen twine, but I prefer rubber bands because they wrap tight around the herbs even after they dry.
- Now hang your herbs somewhere with low humidity and good air circulation. That means you want to stay away from your dishwasher, sink, and stove. A dry attic or closet would also be ideal. Basically, any dark spot that doesn’t get direct sunlight would do the trick.
Pro Tip: Hang the herbs upside down so the volatile oils in the stems can travel to the leaves.
- Your herbs should dry in a week or two. Once they are, simply gather them, store them in an airtight container, and enjoy the flavor.
Microwave Drying
Contrary to air drying, this method will dry your herbs in a few minutes. That said, you can’t just use any random microwave. You want it to have less than 1000 wattage rating or it’ll heat too fast and the entire experience will be a disaster.
Lay the herbs in one layer on the microwave plate and heat them for 30 seconds. From there, flip them and reheat them for another 30 seconds. Keep doing that until the herbs are dry.
The amount of time that takes depends on the microwave’s power, but it usually takes around 4-6 30-second rounds (2-3 minutes).
Dehydrator
You probably saw this one coming. After all, it’s called a dehydrator—drying herbs has to be one of its main functions.
Working with a dehydrator isn’t that different from working with a microwave. Place the herbs in a single layer on the dehydrator tray.
Set your microwave to the lowest setting (preferably 95℉) for one to four hours. If the humidity is high, you can raise the settings to 125℉.
Helpful Tip: Since dehydrator trays usually have holes, I recommend covering them with a fine screen before laying the herbs to prevent them from falling.
Final Thoughts
You’ve now mastered the art of drying herbs!
Wasn’t so difficult, was it? Yes, technology has made the process as simple and seamless as it gets, but you can do it even if you don’t have any fancy gadgets like a dehydrator.
So the next time you feel like adding deeper flavor to your sauce, open your microwave and dry some of the herbs in your house.
Growing up with a mom who filled her home (inside and out) with all sorts of plants, Lisa got her start in gardening at a young age. Living now on her own with a home and yard full of plants (including an indoor greenhouse), she shares all the gardening tips she’s gained over the years.