If there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that I love herbs! I especially love preserving herbs so they will last me a great deal of time. If you want to grow or forage your herbs, you will also want to learn how to properly preserve them. When preserving herbs and storing them properly, they will last you through the Fall and Winter months. It’s so nice to be able to enjoy a warm cup of herbal tea during the cooler times of the year. Especially if you have a cold coming on that you need a specific herb for. Then you’re going to want that dried summer herb!
In our home, we have an apothecary with all of our favorite herbs that are stored nicely and preserved so they will last. It’s nice to have a spot in your home dedicated to drying and storing your herbs.
When storing your dried herbs, it’s important to label your containers. Mainly so you don’t forget what’s in the jar and how old it is. When you have a lot of herbs like I do, it’s important to have simple reminders so you won’t have to guess! If you don’t, you may end up having to toss a jar of herbs simply because you don’t know what’s in it. Ask me how I know. Ha!
How To Store Dried Herbs
When storing your herbs, you can get as fancy or as basic as you want. One option is to use plastic bags with zippers on them, but I personally prefer to store them in glass. I reuse old spaghetti jars, thrifted jars, and Mason jars that all have airtight lids. Repurposing jars is a great way to store your herbs when you’re also on a budget. An added benefit is having an array of unique glass jars in your cabinet.
Mason jars are a great thing to store your herbs in! I have a hand-held vacuum sealer that I can just place on the jar and it seals it for me. Vacuum sealing the jars helps them last just a bit longer if you need to stretch the life of the herbs out. It’s an amazing little tool!
After you decide on your storage containers, it’s ideal to place your herbs in a cool, dry place away from light and heat. I have my home apothecary in our dining room which doesn’t get as much light as the rest of our home.
Another way you can store your dried herbs is by freezing them! Dried herbs can be stored in a freezer for up to a year. This can also preserve color and flavors longer. Just make sure you’re completely drying your herbs before placing them in the freezer. We don’t want any mold on these herbs!
If you want, you can store fresh herbs in the freezer by placing fresh herbs and olive oil in ice cube trays. This works amazingly well for storing your summer herbs for cooking use in the colder months. Herbs stored in this way are best used within 6 months of freezing. After 6 months, they may start to lose their flavor.
Preserving herbs through drying
There are quite a few methods for properly drying and preserving herbs. It’s important to make sure your herbs are fully dried. If they have any moisture left in them once in a container, they will most likely mold. Here’s my list of ways to dry:
Hang Them to Dry
One of my favorite ways of drying and preserving herbs is by hanging them to dry. In my home apothecary, there is a dedicated place for drying my herbs on the wall or by hanging from curtain rods. Sometimes, when there’s not much room left, I will get creative and hang them around the house. We do have to hang them high enough to where our cats won’t bother them though. It’s important to hang them high enough so no 4-legged friends can get ahold of them.
If you want to dry the herbs, it’s always a good idea to wash them with water first, especially if you foraged them. This will ensure there aren’t any aphids, fertilizer residue, or other impurities on your herbs before consuming.
After washing, dab them dry with a paper towel to get most of the water off of them. Once they’re pretty much dry, I wrap a good bit of natural twine around them and hang them upside down. Hanging them upside down helps retain some of the green leaf coloring.
After leaving your bundle hanging to dry for 1-2 weeks, you can crush the herbs up or leave them whole after they’ve dried and place them in an airtight container. I have a mullein plant that I foraged out in the country that’s been drying for about 2 weeks now. It will hang until it’s ready to put in an airtight container.
Dry Them in the Oven
If you don’t want to hang your herbs to dry, you can always dry them in the oven. I did this with Purple Dead Nettle this past spring. I wanted to make sure they were completely dry before storing them. Sometimes the smaller herbs can be harder to hang to dry, so the oven is a great option. All you need to do to dry them in the oven is:
- Give them a good wash while they’re fresh. It’s better to begin the process immediately while they’re freshly picked in order to retain the flavor.
- Preheat the oven to 120-170 degrees Fahrenheit depending on your oven’s lowest temperature setting.
- After washing, spread herbs out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Place your herbs in the preheated oven for 2-4 hours or until the herbs are completely dry.
You will want to do this on a day you will be at home so you can check on them about every 30 minutes. When they are dry to the touch and crumble easily, you will know they’re dry. Some herbs may take longer than others and some may take a lot less time! It all depends on the oven and the herb.
Dry Them in a Dehydrator
If you have a dehydrator, you can also use that! Follow the same process as with the oven. Wash them, preheat the dehydrator to 90-100 degrees Fahrenheit, and dehydrate the herbs for 1-3 hours. When they crumble, they’re done. I have a dehydrator setting on my oven so if you have that, take advantage of it!
Now you can enjoy the fruit of your herbal labors through the chilly months by enjoying a delicious cup of tea! Preserving herbs is so easy and fun to do. Very rewarding when the time comes to use them.
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