Dry Your Own Herbs!

While we're lucky enough to be able to grow lots of herbs year round here on the BC West Coast, many are extra abundant in these warmer months which makes this the perfect time to stock up on or harvest a whole bunch, and to dry them for use in your winter dishes and even home-blended teas. It's a really simple and satisfying process that you can do meditatively on your own, or with the whole family or a group of friends. Everyone knows things taste better with an 'I made that' ingredient added!

Air drying herbs takes some time, but it’s the most traditional way to go about it and it can also add a really nice element to your environment if you decide to hang them while drying. This method is exactly what it sounds like: just leave your herbs on their stems, bundle them into small bunches, and secure them with string. You should have pretty good air flow around all the leaves and petals, so makes sure your bunches aren’t too dense or tightly wound together. Then just find a good place to hang them upside down! It’s best to avoid humidity if possible, so avoid the bathroom or a spot above steaming pots. Keep an eye on them for a few days, and test them every once in a while by trying to crumble a leaf or petal or two in your hands. Once they crumble, they’re done. At that point you can crush them all into a clean storage container like a mason jar or some tupperware and keep them on hand for whenever you need them. On the other hand, if having bunches of herbs hanging around your space doesn’t work for you, you can just pull them off their stems, spread them out on a cookie sheet and tuck that away somewhere where rogue breezes won’t disturb them while they’re waiting to pass your crumble test. And if you want a quicker method, you can just put that cookie sheet (with a silicone or cheesecloth lining under the herbs) into an oven that’s turned on to its lowest setting and leave it there for about half an hour. As with air drying, there’s no fixed time for how long it will take because all herbs are slightly different and may have been harvested at different points in the year or at different ‘ages’ of leaves and flowers. So check on them every ten minutes or so to see how things are going. Again, when they crumble, they’re done.

Mint, rosemary, thyme, garden sage, dill, lavender, rose petals, rosehips, lemon balm and bay leaves are all commonly found and widely available in our region, and are really easy to work with. We hope you really enjoy taking part in this centuries old process, and can use your home-dried herbs for some delicious and healing creations!