What kind of dehydrating equipment is good for drying herbs or spices?
By AKD
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I used to dry parsley in my oven. Spread it out on a jelly roll pan in a single layer and use the lowest temperature setting on the oven. Keep an eye on it and after it is dry let it cool a little bit and then crumble it and put it in whatever container you want to keep it in. I liked the fragrance that it put out as it was drying.
You don't really need a dehydrator. For low water content herbs and spices you can simply wash, dry well with a towel, tie bunches together at the stems and hang upside down in a well ventilated area until they are completely dry.
For high water content items like basil and chives I wash, dry well with a towel, remove stems if there are any and pack them in freezer bags removing as much air as possible and freeze. You still can air dry the same way as the low water content ones but I just happen to like the quality better when they are frozen.
If you use the oven method be sure to leave the oven door ajar a bit for ventilation and toss them a time or two so they dry evenly. Keep in mind that with oven drying you might lose some flavor but that's not a big deal because you can just add a bit more than called for in your recipes.
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