Herbs are an integral part of our everyday life, as we use them every day in the kitchen or as remedies. They are the healing gifts of nature that should not be missing in the household. We differentiate between typical culinary herbs such as basil, savory, marjoram, oregano and rosemary and very valuable medicinal plants such as peppermint, sage, chamomile and fennel, which you absolutely have to have at hand. The best thing about it is that many culinary herbs also have health-promoting properties and are also natural remedies. One such example is rosemary, which is used well both in the kitchen and in medicinal herbalism. Some herbs are preferred to be used fresh, while others smell even more fragrant and unfold their useful properties when dry. Drying herbs is an age-old way of making them last longer. But how exactly to dry herbs and store them correctly, we want to explain in the following.

Autumn is the best time to harvest the garden herbs and dry them

healthy living use herbs when cooking and dry them yourself

Which herbs are good for drying??

Autumn is getting closer and closer and with it comes the best time to harvest the herbs. After months of gardening, we are now being rewarded for our efforts and the garden is giving us gifts. Many people grow kitchen and medicinal herbs where they can find a good opportunity – directly in the garden bed, in flower boxes or pots on the terrace or on the windowsill.

In principle, it is very easy to maintain them. But even in the cold months we don’t want to do without these healthy ingredients, so we have to make them last longer. You need to do your research in advance and know exactly which herbs are suitable for drying and which are not. Also set your preferences and determine which natural products you want to dry and store for the winter. It just needs to be mentioned here that the Mediterranean herbs are well suited for drying, such as sage, thyme and rosemary.

Savory is easy to dry and smells just as good in winter as in summer

Living healthy and drying herbs properly Drying savory

Basil, which is one of the most popular herbs in this country, tastes best when fresh. We rather advise against drying or freezing green leaves of basil. That would definitely be a mistake. But there are a number of typical culinary herbs that can be easily dried. Such are savory, peppermint, oregano, and cumin. People even like to dry the petals of roses, lavender and chamomile, because their wonderful scent quickly drives away winter boredom. Tarragon, sorrel and dill can be chopped into small pieces and frozen. So you have these herbs to hand all winter long.

Freeze certain herbs every fall?

live healthy how do you dry herbs properly

Drying herbs? How does that work properly?

The process of drying herbs begins with collecting. For this purpose, choose only well-developed plants and pick their shoot tips. Here is a little trick that is very important: Be careful not to collect damp herbs, they will lose their flavor and will go moldy as they dry. Under no circumstances should you wash the collected plants! This is a gross mistake made by some laypeople. All you have to do is shake the collected herbs vigorously and thus rid them of dust and dirt. With some herbs, the leaves are plucked straight from the stem, others can be dried on the stem, for example rosemary, because its leaves are very thin and tender.

 Drying herbs and then storing them for the winter

Live healthy and dry your own herbs collect them in jars

Before collecting the herbs, you also need to prepare for the next step, which is where to dry them. It is best to take a large tray and place baking paper on it. Place the collected leaves or flowers on top and let them stand in a dry, shady and well-ventilated place. Within the next two weeks the herbs will be completely dry. You can test that with your fingers. If they crackle when you crush them, that’s a good sign. complete!

Well-dried herbs rustle when touched

drying herbs sage drying

How to properly store dried herbs for a long time?

Correct storage of herbs is just as important as drying them. Dried herbs such as rosemary, mint and thyme have a long shelf life in screw-top jars or porcelain containers. This also helps retain their aroma. In stores you can still find specially coated paper bags, these are wonderfully suitable for storing herbs. We advise against using plastic bags, linen bags or thin paper bags for this purpose. There is a risk that the wonderful scent of the dried herbs could quickly evaporate. You sure don’t want that, do you?

Do you have a small herb garden at home or do you grow your herbs and medicinal plants outside in the bed? And how do you intend to preserve them for a long time and use them in winter? Follow our tips and you will have a winter full of fresh flavors!

The editorial team wishes you a lot of fun drying fresh herbs and storing them properly!

Dry and store herbs properly

drying herbs oregano properly drying

Drying herbs yourself is a practical solution for the household

Live healthy and dry your own herbs

Dried herbs are also a great alternative in terms of healthy eating

herbs dry dried rosemary

Chamomile fresh and dried

live and eat healthy herbs dry properly

Dry lavender

drying herbs drying lavender yourself

Hanging herbs outdoors

Living healthy dry your own herbs and decorate your garden at the same time

Hanging herbs are also a great decoration

herbs drying tips and tricks