How to dry herbs and flowers to make them last
You worked hard to grow them. Make that effort last for months.
Your basil and chives are full and hardy, and your garden is bursting with colorful blooms. You can only keep up with so many fresh herbs and newly cut flowers, however, so it’s time to consider cutting and drying.
It’s the best way to make your bounty last all fall and winter, bringing new life to your culinary spices and preserving flowers for creative fall and holiday decorations.
Like bats from the rafters, many varieties of flowers and herbs are best dried upside down. For flowers, cut the stalks to your desired length before the blooms have fully opened. The best time is in the morning after the dew has dried to avoid dampness that could promote mold or rot.
Bunch them together in a rubber band and hang them in a basement or other dark, cool space for about two weeks. Be sure to strip off the lower leaves on the stem prior to hanging. Wrap a paper bag around the stems to protect them from light, help preserve their color, and make cleanup easier by catching any seeds or plant material that may fall off during the drying process.
Drying herbs is a similar process, but whether you cut branches, stems, or leaves is dependent on the type of herb. Wash them, making sure there are no bugs or residue, and then let them air-dry for a few days.
For herbs, a dehydrator or oven set at a low temperature can speed up the process, but you won’t want to use those methods on flowers.
Using a dehydrator to dry herbs can take up to 12 hours. If you don’t have a dehydrator, an easy hack is to set your oven to 175 degrees F and crack it open about an inch so moisture can escape. Place herbs on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and check every so often; most herbs will be dried in two to four hours.
Once dried, herbs will stay fresh in an airtight jar for about three months, ready to throw into your favorite recipes.
Flowers and herbs to preserve
These are the cut-and-dried favorites of Kira Silvestri, horticulturist at Burpee’s Fordhook Farm in Doylestown:
Red Velvet Cake Celosia and Arrabona Red Celosia: A perfect mix to create Christmas ornaments or fill a vase, and makes a cool undersea coral effect.
Fireworks Gomphrena: Unique, small balls make all-natural pom-poms for garlands and fractal wreaths.
Strawflowers: Their strawlike texture makes them extra sturdy, easy to handle, and perfect for kids to use in crafts. Available in a warm palette of colors, pick them when they are halfway open in the morning, either cutting just the flower head or the entire stem.
Victoria Salvia: Luscious deep blue color, the stems make beautiful bouquets that can be displayed year-round.
Love Lies Bleeding Amaranth: Trailing red flowers make it a perfect addition to fall displays, especially mixed in with grapevine.
Silver Swirl Centaurea: Harvest the serrated leaves to make a perfect filler mixed with other flowers and greens.
Phenomenal Lavender: The fragrant smell makes the flowers perfect for potpourri.
Rosemary: Cut off the branches and hang them to dry. Once dried, strip the branches to harvest the leaves and discard the branches.
Mint: Delicious for teas and to add pizzazz to garden salads.
Eucalyptus: After it’s dried, put it into a satchel and hang it in the shower for a lovely scent that lasts for weeks.
Basil: Harvest the leaves and place them on a baking sheet in the sun for about a day to dry and store.
Chives: Snip them to the size you want and dry them on a baking sheet.
Oregano: Hang or oven-dry on a baking sheet and sprinkle over your favorite pizza or into tomato sauce.
Thyme: Air-dry to preserve the maximum amount of flavor by hanging a bunch in a dark, well-ventilated area until the stems have reached the same level of dryness as their leaves.