How to Dry Fresh Herbs

 

You can learn how to dry fresh herbs right in your own home. In the summer there is always an abundance of fresh herbs either in your garden, local farmer's market, or grocery store. The cheap prices and fresh grown herbs of summertime are perfect for drying for year long use. This article will provide you with detailed instructions on drying fresh herbs easily.

The first thing to remember is to use clean, sharp scissors. A sharp knife or razor will also work well when cutting fresh herbs from your garden or cleaning the fresh herbs you have brought home. Remember to cut perennial herbs very far down to the ground. It is important to cut perennials down very low because it will increase the size of their growth in the following year. Annual herbs can be pulled up and cut.

Next you will want to remove the dirt from your herbs. There is nothing nastier than dirt in your herbs so you must clean them very well. Spraying your herbs and shaking off the water will remove dirt. Be careful not to bruise or damage leaves in order to sustain the potency of your herbs.

When the fresh herbs are cleaned you can start getting them ready to dry. To do this carefully cut a few leaves off of the bottom of the stems. Gather several branches into a bundle and tie them with string or yarn. Do not group too many leaves together or they will not dry evenly. The diameter of a bundle should be about an inch depending on the size of the leaves.

Now you can hang your fresh herbs in a dark dry place. You will also want to make sure the place you are hanging your herbs gets plenty of ventilation to increase drying ability and prevent mold. You can opt to put your herbs in a brown paper bag if you like as well. Make sure to poke some holes in the bag to allow for air flow before stashing your herbs in them.

Herbs can take anywhere from 1 week to a month to become completely dried out. Check for the dryness of the herbs by bending the stems. If the stem cracks or snaps the herb is dried out correctly. A bendable stem means the herb still has time until it is dried. When the fresh herbs have completely dried you can take them down and remove the leaves. Place the leaves in clean, dry, and labeled jars to keep them over the rest of the year.

You can dry fresh herbs from your home garden easily. These simple steps will make learning how to dry fresh herbs fun and effortless.