The final summer harvest!
After neglecting my garden for a few weeks during a rough spell in my first trimester, my garden was a bit overgrown and needed harvesting. It yielded so much, I decided I needed a bulk solution to preserve them. Last year, I made a TON of pesto but this year I wanted to try something new and landed on drying the herbs.
I dried my favorites — rosemary, oregano, basil and thyme and here was my process:
Clip the herbs, shaking them before bringing inside to get rid of the bugs (I learned this the hard way).
Gently wash the herbs under a cold stream of water to clean them. Tap them dry with a paper towel.
Start placing the cleaned herbs into the layers of a your food dehydrator. Do not stack the herbs on top of one another as the dehydrator works by circulating warm air and the layers needs room for proper circulation to be able to evenly dry.
Large leaf herbs like basil, cut in half to allow the warm air to penetrate the leaves more quickly.
My drier comes with two types of rack liners, ones that have small holes for better air circulation and ones that have no holes which are ideal for drying smaller items or food that might release moisture, like fruit.
Once all layers are full, place the dehydrator on the lowest setting, 95 degrees.
Each herb took a different amount of time to fully dry. The rosemary and basil took longer while the small leaf thyme and oregano were quicker.
It took me the good part of two days to fully dry my harvest. I checked them regularly until the herbs crumbled to the touch.
Once fully dried, I put small amounts into a grinder and pulsed them until they were my desired texture.
I then placed in airtight glass jars I purchased from Amazon. They are best kept in a dry cool place in your kitchen away from the sun.
To eliminate moisture or contamination in the open lid containers, I use a small spoon to scoop the herbs as I cook, rather than pinching with my fingers.
I chose to dry everyday herbs so we’d be able to regularly use them in our family meals. As someone with a very full herb drawer, I can attest to how much better fresh dried herbs are than store bought. They add so much to a dish!
I also look forward to incorporating them into other items like butters, salts and bake goods like one of my favorites, rosemary butter cookies.
Quick Tips:
Shake the harvested herbs before bringing them inside to get rid of bugs friends!
Make sure the herbs are fully dry before you grind and package.
Oxygen and sunlight are not your dried herbs friend, so airtight containers and appropriate storage are key to preservation.
A lot goes a little way! I was amazed by how little a large bunch of herbs yielded once dry. So pick generously!
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