Many people enjoy growing their own herbs in a little kitchen garden setting. It allows you to use fresh herbs every time you make a dish and makes up for enhanced flavor. Many food dishes recommend using dried herbs, especially in the preparation process of cooking.
So how can you make the most of your own herbs? Simply dry them out to make your own homegrown herbs for your spice rack.
Drying your own herbs allows you to use them more often and enhances their quantity too. You can now store your herbs for almost a year and use them in multiple ways, from herbal teas and medications to seasoning blends and even soap.
Do you know how you can dry your herbs? Let us help you out with that in three simple steps.
Step 1: Preparation For Dry Herbs
In order to dry your homegrown herbs, first, you’ll have to prepare them. It is a vital first step because you don’t want your herbs scorched in the sun and lose flavor. Not all herbal stems are used at times, so you might have to remove the leaves and flowers from its stem too.
Step 2: Four Ways To Effectively Dry Herbs
Next is the step of drying your herbs. These are some of the easiest and most effective five ways of drying herbs that you can use at home for your convenience.
1. Air Drying
The first and the most obvious choice of many is to simply air-dry their herbs. Stronger herbs like rosemary and sage do great with air drying. However, it is important to understand that certain delicate herbs like basil or mint may simply shrivel and lose their flavor if air-dried.
2.Using Your Oven
Another obvious choice to dry herbs is using your oven. Your oven makes up for the perfect drying environment because it is enclosed, and you can set its temperature as per your requirement. This method is also faster compared to air drying.
3.Using A Microwave
Many people don’t have a regular oven. So they might switch over to using a microwave oven instead. It works in highly similar ways. However, you have to ensure to check its settings and monitor what it is doing to the herbs. You certainly don’t want them burnt.
4.Using A Dehydrator
Lastly, the easiest, most effective, and quickest way of drying your herbs has to be using a dehydrator. As not many people may have it, we recommend investing in one, especially if you have your own herb garden and would like to use freshly dried herbs more often.
Step 3: Storing Dry Herbs
Now that you know how to dry herbs, it shall become easier for you to do so using any of the four ways mentioned above. Drying herbs require appropriate storage too.
Therefore, make sure to use an air-tight jar to preserve the color and flavor for later use. This way, you can ensure the longevity of the herbs for up to 12 months.
Wrap Up
Now that you know how to prep, dry, and store your homegrown freshly dried herbs. Hopefully, you’ll be able to accommodate your favorite food dishes and make the most of the color and flavors.