 Drying is an easy method of preserving herbs. The leaves, flowers, or seeds are exposed to warm dry air in a well-ventilated area until the moisture evaporates. Hi, I'm Julie Cascio with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service. The best time to harvest most herbs for drying is just before the flowers first open when they are in the bursting bud stage. Gather the herbs in the early morning after the dew has evaporated to minimize wilting. When bruising the leaves, they should not lie in the sun or remain unattended after harvesting. Rends herbs in cool water and gently shake to remove excess moisture just before using. Discard all bruised, soiled, or imperfect leaves and stems. Air drying is one method of preserving herbs. Sturdy herbs such as sage, parsley, thyme, and summer savory are the easiest to dry. They can be tied into small bundles and air dried. Air drying outdoors is often possible. However, better color and flavor retention usually results from drying the herbs indoors. My strings are getting tangled here. On the other hand, tender leaf herbs have a high moisture content and will mold if not dried quickly. Examples of tender leaf herbs are basil, tarragon, and lemon balm. Try hanging the tender leaf herbs or those with seeds inside paper bags to dry. Tear or punch small holes in the sides of the bag and then work with small bunches of the herbs as large bunches will mold. We're going to place the herbs inside the bag, suspending them from the top and closing paper bag around the top of the bunch of herbs with a rubber band. Place this where air currents will circulate through the bag and any leaves and seeds that fall off will be caught in the bottom. Additionally, individual leaves can be strung on a string and then suspended on overhead racks to air dry. Here's an example of basil leaves that are being strung to dry. When preserving chives, chop into the size pieces desired, spread on a plate or cookie sheet and set out of the way in a warm room. Dill seeds and other seeds are handled the same way. Spread on a plate or a screen and dry indoors. Oven drying is a preservation method especially nice for mint, sage, or bay leaf. Remove the best leaves from the stems and place them individually on paper towels so they're not touching one another. I think I have one more. Cover with another towel and you can add other layers of leaves, up to five layers. A layer of leaves, another towel, another layer of leaves to dry at one time. Dry in a very cool oven. The oven light of an electric range or the pilot light of a gas range is enough heat for overnight drying. Leaves dry flat this way and they retain a really nice color. Microwave ovens are a fast way to dry herbs when only small quantities are to be prepared. Choose three to five branches with leaves and again place them on paper towels and add another paper towel on top. Heat for two to three minutes on high. If they're not brittle and dry when removed from the oven, repeat microwave drying for 30 seconds more. Dehydrator drying is a fast and easy way to dry high quality herbs because the temperature and air circulation can be controlled. So you would preheat your dehydrator, which we'll do in a few minutes, with a thermoset set to 95 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit. In areas with higher humidity, temperatures as high as 125 degrees Fahrenheit may be needed. After rinsing with cool running water and of course you can rinse in a faucet and shake your excess moisture off the leaves. Place the herbs in a single layer on your trays and you could leave the stems on, but I want to conserve a little space. So I'm going to cut these off. You could break them as well. So I'm taking some of these stems off. That looks nice. Drying times may vary from one to four hours. Check periodically. Herbs are dry when they crumble and stems are dry when they break when bent. Check your dehydrator instruction booklet for specific details. Dried rosemary. Smells so good. When leaves are crispy dry and crumble easily between your fingers and stems are easily broken when bent, then they're ready to be packaged and stored. Dried leaves may be left whole, such as these basil leaves that were dried last summer in a dehydrator, and then crumbled as used, or they may be coarsely crumbled before storage. Place herbs in airtight containers and store in cool, dry, dark areas to protect the color and the fragrance. Dried herbs are usually three to four times stronger than fresh herbs. To substitute dried herbs in a recipe that calls for fresh herbs, use one quarter to one-third of the amount listed in the recipe. For example, with this sage, if a recipe called for fresh sage for one tablespoon, then you would use one teaspoon, I had to do the math in my head, of the dried sage. So after you've dried your herbs, you can enjoy a little bit of summer all year long in the dishes that you make.