Fresh Herbs: Preserving and Drying

Cooking with herbs is something we do on a daily basis. And honestly, herbs can get really expensive. However, growing your own herbs is very easy, inexpensive and doesn’t require a lot of time. So since herbs are super easy to grow, take care of and are inexpensive…how can you prolong their life? Today I’m sharing with you how to preserve and dry fresh herbs for use all Winter long.

A couple years ago we built a Raised Garden Bed and loved having fresh veggies during the Summer. But it just wasn’t large enough, so this year we planted it with herbs and Doug built a new larger garden for us. There are many different ways to preserve your herbs.

I cut a few of our most common herbs to share – Rosemary, Basil, Lemon Thyme, Sage, Italian Parsley and Oregano. Cutting the herbs and placing them in a small glass mason jar with water not only keeps them fresh, they are also very accessible for your cooking.

I labeled the jars with a Chalkboard Label and added the names with a paint pen. The chalk worked great, but was a little thick to write on the small label. I think I need to get one of those chalk pens to write with.

The fresh herbs also look absolutely gorgeous displayed in this wooden crate in the kitchen. It’s a super easy decorating idea that will brighten your kitchen and make it smell wonderful too!

How to Preserve and Dry Fresh Herbs

1. Trim the ends of the herbs, place in a glass jar with water, cover with a plastic bag and secure with a rubber band.
2. Fresh herbs that are covered will last in your fridge up to 2 weeks if you change the water often. Parsley or Cilantro get stored in the fridge, Basil, Mint etc. can be stored at room temperature.
3. Drying – place fresh herbs on a cookie sheet and place in a 180 degree oven for 3-4 hours. Then crumble and place in jars.
4. Freezing – place in resealable freezer bag and place in freezer. Be sure to add a label and date.
5. Freezing – last year we shared how to freeze herbs in ice cubes, it works out very well.

As you can see our Herb Garden is growing like crazy. One of the important things to remember when planted herbs is to plant them in a pot, then plant the pot in the ground. Herbs grow very quickly and can take over your garden, especially mint.

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Fresh Herbs: Preserving and Drying

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Preserve fresh herbs to use all Winter. Instructions on HoosierHomemade.com

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Ingredients

• Herbs - any that you like, common ones are Rosemary, Basil, Lemon Thyme, Sage, Italian Parsley and Oregano

Instructions

1. Trim the ends of the herbs, place in a glass jar with water, cover with a plastic bag and secure with a rubber band.
2. Fresh herbs that are covered will last in your fridge up to 2 weeks if you change the water often. Parsley or Cilantro get stored in the fridge, Basil, Mint etc. can be stored at room temperature.
3. Drying – place fresh herbs on a cookie sheet and place in a 180 degree oven for 3-4 hours. Then crumble and place in jars.
4. Freezing – place in resealable freezer bag and place in freezer. Be sure to add a label and date.
5. Freezing – last year we shared how to freeze herbs in ice cubes, it works out very well.