Drying Your Medicinal Herbs And Plants

Among the other methods of preserving herbs (like blending, freezing and so on), drying is considered to be the most effective, the least expensive and the easiest way to preserve almost all types of medicinal herbs and plants. That’s because drying allows keeping overwhelming majority of therapeutic properties and curative powers of the plants and herbs we intend to use for our homemade herbal remedies or herbal preparations.

Generally speaking, drying means exposing herbs and plants or their parts to dry and warm air for a certain period of time. As a rule, in our kitchens we have a variety of dried herbs like mint, marjoram, basil, sage, etc. which we use for cooking and spicing our meals. Hanging herbs is undoubtedly the simplest way to dry herbs. Bundle your herbs together with a string and hang them upside down in a dark warm place. You can use a paper bag to avoid small parts falling down.  Before drying, do not forget to clean and wash your herbs or their parts properly.

Other methods of drying herbs include three types of oven drying. You can use gas, electric or microwave oven. For gas and electric oven drying, place your washed herbs, plants or their parts on dry cooking sheet and keep it for several hours at about 130-150 F with the oven door opened. Using microwave oven is not recommended because this type of drying can diminish the content of flavor and especially essential oils in the plants and their parts.

It is also possible to dry herbs fast and effectively with the help of electric dehydrator. This device will allow you regulate and control temperature, as well as provide constant air circulation for the best drying process. Remember that for the best result you should place your herbs on a drying tray in a single level. Keep drying the herbs until they are crisp and take your time for drying your herbs well. Read further about the best ways of storing your herbs for homemade herbal preparations.

Author Info: Hi! My name is Carla and I am a 5th year medical student at HYMS. I am interested in alternative medicine and I have done months researching the topic of herbal medicine. Besides, I like interviewing people and learning more about their experiences with one or another type of herbal treatments. I am willing to contribute to this site with my knowledge, and I would be happy to help you out to the best of my ability with any specific questions or problems related to alternative medicine.

Comments are closed.