Do you have an abundance of fresh herbs in your garden right now?! Are the stems and leaves overflowing out of the sides of the bed? If that’s the case, chances are you probably can’t consume them all fresh unless you’re eating pesto 3 meals a day! So why not use some of those herbs to ensure you have a full winter supply? You can continue to add fresh herbs to all your delicious dishes throughout late summer and early fall. Plus, you can preserve them for winter use! Learn how to dry fresh herbs for storage using this simple method!

Best Herbs To Preserve
So before we get into the method for drying fresh herbs for storage, we should talk about which herbs are the best herbs to preserve. The answer to this is pretty simple… The best herbs to preserve are the herbs you will actually use! This may be a no brainer, because hopefully you only grew herbs you will use. But when it comes to preserving, focus on the herbs that you use the most in your kitchen.
But with that in mind, some herbs take longer to preserve than others. Herbs that start out more dry will need to hang for a shorter length of time than higher moisture herbs. Some examples of low moisture herbs would include parsley, rosemary, oregano, sage, and time. Examples of higher moisture herbs would include chives, mint, and basil.
So just keep in mind that if your herb is a higher moisture herb, it will probably need to hang for a week or two longer than a low moisture herb.

How To Harvest Your Fresh Herbs For Storage
So how do you harvest the herbs to begin the drying process? Herbs can be harvested and dried for storage any time throughout the summer when you have an abundance. In fact, this is a good idea. Trimming your herbs regularly throughout the summer will encourage new growth and give you a higher yield throughout the season.

Then towards the end of the season, in late fall just before the first frost, you can bulk harvest your herbs. If your herb is an annual, you can trim it to the ground or even pull it up from the roots. If you choose to pull it up, simply snip off the stems for hanging. Annuals won’t grow back the next year.
If your herb is a perennial, trim the plant back halfway. Cut the stems and leaves off of the plant, to dry and preserve. To trim an herb, use a pair of sharp scissors and cut the stems one at a time about 2 inches past the base of the leaves. For herbs like thyme or tarragon, where the leaves grow all the way down the stem, simply cut the stem about halfway between the tip of the stem and the base of the plant.

How To Hang Your Fresh Herbs For Storage
Now let’s get into the process, and learn how to dry these fresh herbs for storage! So, you’ve chosen the herbs you want to preserve, and you’ve harvested them from your plant. Now, it’s time to hang the herbs and allow them to dry.

To do this, all you will need is some cotton kitchen string, scissors, and a place to hang the herbs. I like using a simple undyed cotton kitchen string to tie my herbs so that they aren’t coming in contact with any chemicals.
As for the place to hang your herbs, don’t worry – you don’t need anything fancy! We live in a tiny space, so I have to get creative. But if you have a kitchen, dining room, living room, or really any room – you can dry herbs!

Ideally, your drying location won’t constantly be excessively warm or humid. Basically, any indoor location is perfect! The reason that you want to avoid excessive heat and humidity is because these conditions would encourage mold growth. But a standard humidity in a standard home at about 65-80 degrees will be perfectly fine for drying herbs!
To create your herb bundles, choose about 3-5 stems of herbs. If your home is usually cooler, you can put more herbs in a bundle. But if your home is like mine, where it can get up to 80 degrees at times, choose fewer herbs for your bundle.
Once you’ve selected your stems, cut a length of string about 12-18 inches long. Double the string over and lay the stems towards the end of the doubled over string.

Loop the two cut ends through the loop at the other end of the string and pull tight.

Then double the ends over to where the tops of the stems are and tie a little loop.

Then simply hang your herb bundle for about 2 weeks to let the herbs dry.

How To Store Your Dried Herbs
Once your herbs have hung for about 2 weeks, they should be dry. If your herbs are dry you should be able to run your fingers down the stem and remove the leaves easily. I prefer to save just the leaves of most herbs as this part of the herb is not tough or brittle.
Once you’ve removed the leaves from the stem, you could either keep the leaves whole, or you could chop them. I prefer to rough chop them with a sharp, wide blade knife. I like to have the smaller flakes of herbs to add to my dishes.

Then you’ll want to package your herbs in an airtight container. I prefer to keep my herbs in small glass jars. Keep the herbs in a dark place such as a kitchen cabinet for easy access when cooking.

How To Use Your Dried Herbs In Your Dishes
Now that you’ve learned how to dry your fresh herbs for storage, here are a few tips on using the herbs!
Dries herbs are best if used within 2-3 years. Although they will last longer without going bad, the flavor intensity will definitely start to decrease after that timeframe. Keep in mind that the flavor could diminish prior to that if kept in a hot humid location in sunlight.
When cooking with your dried herbs, you can usually add only half of the amount of the same herb that you would have used fresh.
I hope you found this post to be interesting and educational! You can pin this tutorial to your board of ideas for easy access!

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