Air-drying herbs is easy and the perfect solution for saving your fresh herbs. Herbs that you dry yourself often have a superior taste to the dried herbs you can buy in the store.
If you’re harvesting herbs from a garden, cut the stems, don’t pick them, leaving an extra inch or two for tying them in bunches.
Harvest the herbs in the morning after any moisture on the leaves has dried.
Rinse your herbs quickly by dipping them in a bowl of cool water and shaking off the excess water.
Pat them dry with a paper towel, making sure they’re completely dry to prevent mildew.
Tie the herb stalks near the cut part of the stem in small bunches (no more than five or six stems) with cotton string or thread.
Don’t mix your herb bunches because flavors transfer during the drying process.
Hang the herbs in a warm room (the kitchen works well).
If you can, hang the herbs near a south-facing window and out of direct sunlight. If you can’t, place the tied herb bundle in a paper bag (which protects the herbs from light) with holes or slits cut in it for air circulation, then hang the bag in a warm room.