Herbs from your own garden are still the most aromatic - we will show you the best way to dry and store your herbs.
Thyme, rosemary and basil - herbs belong in every good kitchen and refine numerous dishes. One would hardly want to do without the herbs from one's own garden, because they are a real treat for the palate. But in winter, the herb bed often looks poor: Unfortunately, many herbs are not hardy. Nevertheless, you don't have to do without the delicious spices, because they can be preserved easily and simply. We will show you the best way to dry, preserve and store your herbs.
If you don't want to do without herbs in winter either, you will find practical tips below on how best to dry, preserve and store herbs.
What herbs can be dried?
In fact, the time of harvesting the herbs plays a particularly important role for storage. The reason: In order to retain the full taste after preservation, the plants should also be at the peak of their aroma when they are harvested. Many herbs develop their best aroma before their actual flowering phase and should then be picked quickly - when plants such as dill, oregano and chives reach their flowering stage, their aroma is suddenly reduced.
But the time of day and the weather should also be perfect for an ideal aroma. This is most intense on a sunny morning shortly after the dew has dried. If the herbs are instead picked on a rainy day, not only will their aroma be muted, but the drying process will also become more difficult. In addition, the right care for herbs can lead to an increased aroma: If the herbs are optimally cared for, for example by using good herbal soil such as our Plantura organic herb and seed soil, they can develop their aroma in the best possible way.
How to dry herbs?
Drying herbs is the best known and most popular way of preserving herbs. No wonder, after all, this method is not only considered specialeasy, but the dried herbs can also be used very well in the kitchen. The dried herbs can be used as a spice. But drying herbs for tea is also a great way to preserve herbs from the garden. But how do you dry herbs? There are different methods for this. We have summarized the most common ones for you here - drying herbs in the sun, in the oven, in the dehydrator or in the microwave.
Do not wash herbs before drying
A common mistake made by hobby gardeners when drying herbs is that the parts of the plant are properly washed again. Unfortunately, the contact with water not only means that drying takes much longer, but the herbs also lose their flavor. Instead of washing the herbs, you should just shake them out vigorously - this also frees the plants from dust and unwelcome creepy crawlies. However, if the plant is heavily soiled, there is no way around the sink. However, if you try to clean the plants as briefly as possible and with cold water, this will protect the aroma. After the bath, you should free the herbs from excess water - the best way to do this is to carefully dab them dry with kitchen paper. However, when freezing and pickling herbs, washing is expressly permitted because it has no effect on the preservation.
Dry herbs in the sun
It is not only the best-known, but also the gentlest way of drying herbs: When drying in the air, the herbs are usually tied together in loose bouquets with yarn or a rubber band and hung upside down. Large leaves of laurel or sage, on the other hand, are best dried individually on a kiln. A sheltered, shady and warm place is ideal for drying, whereby special attention must be paid to the temperature. If it is too cold, the herbs cannot dry properly and, in the worst case, start to rot. On the other hand, if it is too warm, there is a risk that the essential oils of the plants will evaporate and the plants will lose their aroma. Therefore, ideally, the herbs should not be exposed to temperatures higher than 35 °C, but also not to direct sunlight. But how long do herbs have to dry? Under optimal conditions, the herbs are completely dry after 3 to 4 days and can be stored in an aroma-tight container until they are used.
Drying herbs in the oven
Although air drying is simple and well-established, it is also very time-consuming and takes up a lot of space. If you don't want to wait that long, you can also use modern tools: drying herbs in the oven is particularly well known. No wonder, after all, there is an oven in almost every household and drying can be significantly accelerated by the oven. To dry herbs in the oven, it must first be preheated. When drying herbs in the oven, the temperature should be kept as low as possible, because this is the only way to preserve as many aromas as possible. The herbs are then chopped up and spread out on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. The oven door should be slightly open so that the resulting moisture can escape - a tried and tested trick is to stick a wooden spoon in the oven door. After about three hours, the herbs are completely dry and can then cool down and be stowed away.
Dry herbs in the microwave or in the dehydrator
In addition to the oven, there are two other kitchen appliances that are often used to dry herbs: the microwave and the dehydrator. If you want to dry herbs particularly gently, you should use the latter. The advantage of the dehydrator is the low temperatures between 30 and 70 °C (ideally not higher than 50 °C), with which the water is gently removed from the herbs - this way the loss of aroma is limited. How long it takes to dry herbs in the dehydrator varies depending on the model, temperature setting, and the herb in question. Drying in the microwave, on the other hand, is not recommended because the herbs lose a lot of their aroma here. If you still use the microwave, it makes sense to set the lowest possible wattage and dry in several cycles that last no longer than 30 to 45 seconds so as not to lose too much aroma. The herbs can be rearranged between the individual cycles in order to achieve the most even drying possible.
Freeze herbs
Many herbs can not only be dried wonderfully, they are also excellent to freeze. Especially plants with soft leaves (e.g. chives, basil and parsley) are made for itfreezer. By freezing, the ingredients and essential oils are better preserved than when the herbs are dried, and the taste remains very intense. In addition, this method is also very easy: The herbs only have to be chopped up, portioned in a suitable container (e.g. an ice cube tray), poured over with water and then frozen. Here they can be kept for up to twelve months and can be easily removed for cooking in the right portions.
Pick herbs in oil
For many, pickled herbs only have a nostalgic charm - this type of preservation is not old-fashioned at all and is even very gentle on the aroma of the herbs. Pickling basil and co. is still widespread, especially in Mediterranean cuisine, and pickled herbs belong in every good kitchen. To do this, the herbs are washed, cut and poured over a vessel with oil. It is important that the oil is of a high quality and that all herbs are covered with oil. The advantage of this method is that you can mix the herbs with each other, but also with chili and garlic. After three to four weeks, the oil can finally be strained and decanted: it now contains the full aromatic flavor of the herbs. Incidentally, the herbs can also be preserved in mild vinegar using the same principle.
Which herb for which method?
Not every herb can be preserved with every method without problems and loss of aroma, which is why you should find out about the right preservation beforehand. Most herbs can be dried without problems, especially Mediterranean herbs (with the exception of basil), but lavender, chamomile, savory and marjoram also work well. Basil, coriander and chervil, on the other hand, do not tolerate drying at all and should rather be preserved. Dill is also predestined for pickling, as both the umbels and the leaves can be preserved in this way. As mentioned above, herbs with soft leaves and shoots are best suited for freezing. But basil is again an exception here: In the refrigerator, its leaves turn brown and mushy and lose almost all their aroma.
Store dried herbs
If you want to be able to enjoy your herbs for a long time, drying isn't the end of it: In fact, storing the herbs after they've dried is crucial to their shelf life. A common mistake that many people make when drying and storing herbs is choosing the wrong container: Ideally, this should be protected from air and light to preserve the aroma of the herbs. UV radiation and high humidity have a negative effect on the aroma and shelf life of the dried herbs. If you prefer white glass or transparent plastic as a material for optical reasons, you should make sure that the spices are stored in the dark (e.g. in a kitchen cupboard) so that as little harmful UV radiation as possible reaches the herbs.
In addition, it is always important to ensure that the herbs are absolutely dry when they are stored - otherwise there is a risk of mold forming. But not only the container is important when storing dried herbs, the location is also crucial. This should be as dry and dark as possible. Dried herbs should therefore not be stored above the stove or next to the sink: the increased moisture can cause a loss of aroma or even spoil the herbs.
Would you like to combine enjoyment and nature conservation? You can find out which herbs not only delight the human palate, but also support insects in our article: "Bee-friendly herbs: Our top 10".
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