How to dry Herbs
There's nothing better then growing and enjoying the taste of fresh home grown herbs. Sometimes you may find you have too much to use and want to save some before it spoils. It's also a good idea want to stock up for the winter - it's hard to grow basil when it's -2°C! By doing this it's easy to become self-sufficient in all the herbs you can grow in your garden. Those small little jars you get at the supermarket can be very expensive.
How to air dry herbs
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It helps if you pick your herbs just before they are flowering. The oil levels and flavours will be at a maximum.
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The best time to pick you herbs is mid morning. It's an the ideal time - the dew will have dried off the leaves and the sun won't too hot. Harvesting at this time helps keep the essential oils in the leaves.
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Pick off any dead or diseased leaves. Remove any debris or insects.
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Depending on the size of you plant cut sprigs between 10 and 20cm in length.
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Bunch about 8 together and tie them with some string.
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Now they are ready to hang. Some people like to put their herbs in a brown paper bag to keep dust off. Hang your herbs in warm and dry place. Be sure that there's air flow. Leave for 2-3 weeks.
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You'll know that the herbs are dry when they go all brittle. Take them down, remove the stem and crush with a pestle and mortar. You could also use a rolling pin.
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Store in jars or airtight bags. We recycle some of those little herb jars I mentioned earlier. Start saving them now!
How to Oven dry herbs
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The same principles I described above apply. The only thing to bear in mind is that you will lose some of the goodness and flavour by cooking them. The main advantage is that you can dry herbs in about an hour.
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Instead of tying bunches together layout your sprigs onto a baking tray. Try not to put too many in on top of each other as they will dry at different times. Heat the oven to about 50°C (120°f).
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Leave for about an hour. As above - once the leaves are brittle you can crush and store them.
