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How to dry Basil, Mint (peppermint, Spearmint, etc.),
Tarragon or Lemon Balm herbs - From fresh garden plants!
Imagine how your dishes will taste this winter if you have your own garden
herbs to add to them. Its easy to dry or freeze some for a year-round
supply of good quality herbs! Here's how to do it, complete instructions in easy
steps and completely illustrated. You don't need any special equipment: air
drying or room drying is the easiest, as well as, most inexpensive method for
preserving herbs. Moisture evaporates slowly and naturally during air drying,
leaving the precious herb oils behind. Dehydrators are useful if you want to dry
large quantities of herbs or you have high moisture herbs such as basil. Only
use a microwave oven as a last resort for drying, as microwaves literally cook
the herbs producing very poor quality. A better choice is a warmed (but
off) oven.
Ingredients and Equipment
- fresh Basil, Tarragon, Lemon Balm or Mint - any quantity.
- Oven OR a room dehumidifier
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Ziploc bags, glass or plastic containers, OR Vacuum food
sealer with bags
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Instructions
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Step 1 - What to look for
The best time to cut herbs for drying is just before they flower.
This is when the leaves have the most oil, which is what gives herbs
aroma and flavor. Different varieties of herbs flower at different times
of the season, so look for buds or newly opened flowers as your clue for
harvesting. But, if your herbs have already flowered, they can still be
harvested and dried. It' slightly better to cut herbs in mid-morning
when the leaves are dry but before the hot midday sun, but early evening
is also good! |
basil |
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Step 2 - Cut the herbs
Use a sharp knife or scissors to cut large stems
or branches from mature plants. Gently shake each branch to remove
insects. Examine each branch and remove old, damaged or diseased leaves. |
Step 3 - Rinse and dry the herbs
Rinse each branch in cold water and dry with towels or paper towels to
remove all visible water. Wet herbs tend to mold which destroys the
whole bunch. |
Lay the leaves on a paper towel, single layer without allowing
leaves to touch. Cover with another towel and another layer of leaves.
Five layers may be dried at one time using this method. |
Step 4 - Drying
Option 1: in a food dehydrator
Food dehydrators are made just for this purpose, so they're
obviously ideal.
Just spread the herbs out on the racks, leaving space between them
for the air to circulate, and only one leaf thick on each rack. |
Dehydrators (see
this page for more info, models and prices of food dryers) are faster,
easier and more useful if you want to dry
larger quantities of herbs or you have high moisture |
Option 2: Oven dry
As mentioned earlier, basil, tarragon, lemon balm and mints have high
moisture content and will mold if not dried quickly.
Dry in a very cool oven (high temperatures will result in tasteless
herbs). Basically, just turn the oven on to "warm" (140 to 200 F)
(or 65 degrees C to 93 degrees C, gas mark 1) for
20 minutes, then turn it off and pop in the herbs. |
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Option 3: in front of a dehumidifier
If you have a dehumidifier, I have found that spreading the branches loosely
on a cake cooling rack (which allows the air to circulate) and placing this
by the outlet from the dehumidifier, where the warm and very dry air exits
the dehumidifier works great, and much faster!
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Step 5 - Dry the herbs to the correct moisture content
Leave undisturbed overnight and check them in the morning. I find
that they dry out in a day or two, as long as they are not piled on top
of each other. If you are using the oven method, just turn it on to
"warm" again for another 10 or 15 minutes twice per day.
As the leaves are dry, check for any signs of mold
growth. Toss the entire bunch if it becomes moldy and try again. |
Step 6 - Separate the leaves from the stems
Strip dried leaves from stems and discard the stems. Crush the leaves if
desired, but whole herbs retain their flavor longer than crushed, ground or
rubbed herbs. I wait until I use the herbs later, to crush them. |
Photo coming! |
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If you're interested,
here's more information and where you can get
a vacuum food sealer. |
Step 7 - Storing the herbs
Store dried herbs in small airtight containers
away from the light. Zip closure plastic bags, colored bailing wire jars and
ceramic crocks can be used for storage. My preference is FoodSaver vacuum
bags - it removes all the air, so the dried herbs retain more of their
flavor. TIP: If you don't own a vacuum food sealer to freeze foods,
place food in a Ziploc bags, zip the top shut but leave enough space to
insert the tip of a soda straw. When straw is in place, remove air by
sucking the air out. To remove straw, press straw closed where inserted and
finish pressing the bag closed as you remove straw.
Be sure to label and date each container.
Store herbs in a cool, dry, dark place (away from sunlight). Dried herbs
keep for years but for best results use within a year. Most herbs will
diminish in flavor with age and a larger amount will be needed to achieve
the desired flavor in cooking. |
Tips
To release the full flavor, crush whole herb leaves or use a mortar and
pestle to grind, just before adding to the recipe. |
When using dried herbs, add to soups and stews during the last half-hour
of cooking or follow recipe directions. Be creative and add dried herbs to
flavor your favorite foods. |
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A vacuum-sealed FoodSaver bag is on top at left. You can see how the FoodSaver really sucks out all the air, so
the herbs won't dry out or get freezer burn. That means the food inside will
last many times longer. I've been using them (and their predecessor in
the marketplace, Seal-a-Meal) for many years. If you're interested,
here's where you can get one. |
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