Best tips for drying herbs in a food dehydrator

Step 1

Remove any long stems and damaged or bruised leaves.

Step 2

If your herbs have come from your garden and are clean, washing is not required.

Step 3

Otherwise, fill the sink with cool water and submerge the leaves. Lightly rinse to remove dirt, chemicals, and small insects, but don’t let the leaves spend too much time in the water.

Step 4

Scoop out the leaves with your hands (or use a colander or sieve) and shake them to remove as much water as possible.

Step 5

Place the leaves on a clean paper- or kitchen towel and gently pat dry to remove the moisture.

Step 6

Place the leaves in a single layer on the Breeze dehydrator trays. For small herbs, you may want to use silicon mesh liners to prevent them from falling through.

Step 7

The drying time can vary depending upon the type of herbs, the moisture content, humidity, and spacing between the herbs. Fine herbs like mint will dry more quickly than moisture-filled or oilier herbs.

Step 8

Start with 2 hours and then check on the progress every hour. If you are drying a variety of herbs. Remove the tray when they are done.

Step 9

The herbs are dry when the leaves crumble and the stems break when bent.

Step 10

Allow the herbs to cool for an hour on the trays to avoid condensation forming in your storage jars. Mould will develop if moisture is present.

Step 11

Store in a cool and dry place away from direct sunlight. Dried herbs have a shelf-life of at least a year. After that, they are edible but tend to lose flavour.If you dehydrated herbs, be sure to share with us - leave us a comment, or tag a photo using #luvelelife on Instagram.