Dyhydrating Herbs for Out-of-Season Use

Most herbs can be dried simply by bundling them and hanging them for a week or two.  However, if you have space constraints you may not have the room to do this.  If you  have a windy climate, you may lose a lot of leaves in the drying process.  Finally, the light and humidity can make this herb drying technique less than perfect.

If you grow a quantity of herbs it is worth investing in a professional food dehydrator.  This allows you to have more herbs on-hand than your plant can produce at once.  Most herbs can be dehydrated in 1-3 hours in a professional food dehydrator.  I am dehydrating a batch of mint in my Nesco Food Dehydrator.

There are five stacking trays in this food dehydrator.  I have laid out branches of mint evenly on each later so that no leaves overlap.  Once loaded the herbs can take anywhere from 1-3 hours to dehydrate.  The center unit emits a low heat with a fan, similar to a hair dryer.  If you are drying seeds or peppers, you can use the same dehydrator, but it will take about 2-5 hours to dehydrate.  Below you see the mint after it has been dried.

After drying put your herbs in an airtight container for a day.  If there is any condensation in the container the next day, you need to put them back in the dehydrator until they are completely dry.  Moisture can cause mold which will contaminate your fresh herbs.  After you are sure they are dry, store in a dark tightly sealed container for up to 6 months.  The dried herbs will be significantly smaller.  The photo below is the total yield from 5 drying trays of mint.

Most dried herbs are stronger than fresh herbs.  If you are substituting dried herbs for fresh in a recipe you may want to use less.  Mint and Basil are the exception to this rule.  Dried mint and basil tend to be less potent than the fresh, so an equal amount or more can be used in recipes.  The flavor of herbs fade depending on how long they have been dried.  Sunlight will also fade the flavor of your dried herbs, so be sure to keep them in a dark container out of the direct sunlight.