Herb Drying: My No-Energy-Needed Setup| ~Texas Homesteader~

by Texas Homesteader ~

Using home-grown herbs elevates the flavor of any dish – the fresher the herb, the more intense the flavor!

The final harvest of all my fresh herbs from the garden happens just before the first killing frost of the season. Then I preserve them to use all year long.

I’ll show you the simple way I dry lots of fresh herbs with no dehydrator or even electricity needed.

How To Save Money On Herbs

I love herbs & spices, don’t you? But several years ago I ran out of thyme. So I went to the store to buy more. WHEW! For some reason thyme was pretty pricey (IMO).

Heck, for what they were charging for that little jar of thyme, I could buy a whole plant and harvest from it year in, year out!

So I did…

My most-used herbs are thyme, sage, oregano, basil and rosemary. So I grow them every year to make sure I always have them available, whether fresh or dried.

Fresher Herbs Are More Flavorful

When replacing last year’s dried herbs with this year’s dry herbs I was starkly reminded: It’s really true that you can tell herbs that are fresher vs the older ones you either buy at the store, or containers that take you more than a year to use!

Harvesting Fresh Herbs

Usually throughout the growing season I’ll harvest and cook with herbs fresh from the garden.

What’s not to love? You step outside, snip some leaves, wash & dry them quickly, mince & toss them into a recipe.

There’s nothing like fresh, organically-grown herbs to bump the flavor in any dish.

But when the growing season comes to an end I’ll harvest large bundles of my faves right before a killing freeze. I don’t want to be forced to resort to buying tiny jars of expensive dried herbs again!

Preparing Fresh Herbs For Drying

After the herbs are harvested I’ll bring in large bundles and give them a quick wash & a shake to dislodge most of the moisture.

Then I’ll lay out kitchen towels and allow the herbs to air dry for just a bit.

After they’ve air dried a bit it’s time to dry them completely for storage.

But I don’t have to fire up my dehydrator to dry those herbs. I’m going for an energy-free method that’s worked well for me for years.

My Energy-Free Herb-Drying Setup

I like to keep dried herbs where it’s convenient for me to use them. Right there at my fingertip’s reach. Several years ago RancherMan installed s-hooks to the back side of a wooden cabinet trim in my kitchen.

These hooks hold my fresh herb bundles while they dry. I take the air-dried herbs, bundle & tie them with a cotton string. Then I’ll make a loop on one end and hook them over the hooks that RancherMan installed.

The herbs finish drying right here where they’re most convenient for me. I can pull off as much as I need for a recipe, crush it between my palms and sprinkle it into my cooking right then, right there.

Any additional leaves that might break loose fall into the sink instead of a countertop or the floor. So no extra countertop messes to clean up either.

I love this setup so much! Natural decorating? Yes please!

Moisture Issues When Drying Herbs over the sink?

I’ve been asked by some followers if those herb bundles being tied over a ‘steamy sink‘ causes issues with them properly drying. This is a good question and something I’d never considered could be an issue.

That’s because I’ve never experienced a problem with it. The herbs dry beautifully and I typically use them for several months afterward.

Perhaps it’s because there’s really not an abundance of steamy moisture coming from my sink. Other than occasional large stockpots & such, I hand-wash very few dishes. Almost all of our dirty dishes are scraped & placed into the dishwasher.

Or maybe it’s because of our home’s open floorplan. There’s lots of airflow in our home’s design. Gotta love it!

Or perhaps it’s just not an issue anyway unless you have constant steam coming up from beneath where you’ve hung the herbs or with just occasional steam, the leaves are thin and dry enough that they air dry again quickly?

I’m just not sure but it’s never been a problem for me. I love my energy-free herb drying setup.

~TxH~

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