I have to harvest herbs several times a week in the summer. There’s always more than I can use before they go bad. My favorite way to preserve them is to dehydrate them. It is quick and easy, so I will teach you how to dry herbs in the dehydrator.
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It Smells Weird in Here
Soon after getting married, I found a dehydrator at Aldi’s. It was cheap and I was ecstatic! I took it home to show my husband. He was not nearly as giddy about the dehydrator as I had been. I set it back until I had enough herbs to put it to work.
Early in June, I was harvesting lots of herbs. So many in fact, that I couldn’t use them up before they went bad. It was time to dry my herbs out in the dehydrator. I harvested, rinsed, and carefully trimmed my herbs. Then I put them on the dehydrator. They all fell through the holes. Which then meant that I had to sort the herbs, which was super frustrating.
After figuring out how to keep the herbs from falling through, things went much better. I do get tired of processing lots of herbs at one time, but it isn’t difficult. The worst is thyme. The leaves and stems are so small and there are tons of them. Basil and parsley are quick to process, which makes them my favorite. I don’t have the attention span to do very much thyme in one sitting.
There are occasions, when I leave the herbs on the dehydrator and process them a little bit at a time throughout the week. My husband does not enjoy those weeks because he can’t stand the smell of the herbs drying. He comes home every time and says, “It smells weird in here!” He thinks the only seasonings we need are salt and garlic.
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How to Prepare the Herbs for Drying
First you must harvest the herbs from the garden. I tend to take the whole stem instead of just single leaves from the plants. You must be careful when doing this so as not to kill the plant. I have experience in that too unfortunately.
After harvesting, I trim up the herbs. For plants with big leaves, like basil, I trim the leaves from the stems. If the leaves are smaller, like thyme, then I skip this step.
Then I rinse the herbs. I only do one type at a time to avoid the sorting fiasco I mentioned earlier. Each herb takes a quick bath in the sink. Then it is transferred to the colander. I will rinse them some more once they are in the colander. Once things are looking clean, I give the caulunder a good couple shakes before putting them into the salad spinner.
I will spin them until they are mostly dry. If they are still really damp, then I’ll pat them dry with a paper towel. Once they are pretty much dry, it is finally time for the dehydrator.
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How to Prepare the Dehydrator to Dry Herbs
To keep the herbs from falling through the holes in the dehydrator tray, I suggest using parchment paper. Pull out the paper and trace the tray on it. Cut out the paper to match the tray. To allow air to flow through the layers, you need to cut slits in the parchment paper. This is the trick that nobody told me the first time that I tried to dry herbs.
How to Dry Herbs
Place one type of herb on each tray. I lay them on in fairly thick layers and everything dries just fine. If you want less drying time, then only put a single layer on each tray. Stack the trays up and turn the dehydrator on low. When the herbs are crumbly they are ready to be stored. A quick test is to rub the leaves between your fingers.
If the leaves are still on the stem, I slide the stem between my thumb and finger to get the leaves off. This is the best and fastest way to take the little leaves off of the stems.
After everything is off the stem and completely dried, you can grind the leaves in a food processor or with a mortar and pedestal. I store mine in mason jars.
If you notice that some trays are drying faster than others, put drier trays on top and the wetter ones on the bottom. I will often rotate my trays in the morning to help everything dry faster.
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Hi Morgan,
Why do grind the herbs after drying? How do you normally use them when cooking?
Cheers,
Michael
I grind them up because they take up less room and they are ready to use that way. I use them just like store bought herbs and seasonings.
What are you using to break up the dried herbs? Some im harvesting have stems that can be used but my current process can’t handle them so I’m loosing lots of usable herb.
Most often I’ll just grind small amounts in my hands as I cook. If I’m storing them in shakers, I try to run them through the food processor or grind them with my mortar and pestle. The mortar and pestle seem to work the best on stems.
I find that herbs are also great crushed but not ground into powder
I often crush the leaves and just toss them in salads or soups
Both crushed and powder have different flavours and textures Often I use them together
Yes, I will often crush them instead of grinding them into a powder. They just have to be small enough that my husband can’t see any green in the meal.