Drying Herbs

I have found the easiest way to dry herbs is to put them in like bunches, twist-tie or otherwise fasten them to a wire hanger, cover with a paper bag and hang in a closet for a few weeks. Remember as they dry, the stems that you tied them up with will shrink, so if the bags move at all once that has happened, the herbs may fall from the hanger.  I didn't notice a huge problem with this, but if you have to move your herbs before fully dried, keep this in mind so you can plan accordingly.  Perhaps tighten the ties every few days?  I just left them hang in the closet, undisturbed, until I took them out to crush and store.

Another way I have heard to dry herbs is to purchase the cheapest kind of furnace filters you can.  Lay your herbs in a single layer, like herbs to each filter, and stack a few filters on top of each other and bungee cord to a box fan.  Keep the fan on for 12 hrs, reverse the order of filters and keep the fan on them for another 12 hours and voila you're supposed to have dry herbs.  I've never tried that, but it's a much quicker option if you need them in a hurry.

Sometimes your herbs may be dry, but hard to crumble or crush.  The easiest way to crisp them up for easy crushing and removal off the stems is to sit them on top of or inside a warm (but not hot) oven for a few minutes.  I lay them on a cookie sheet and put them in my oven after baking (after it's cooled down considerably).  If you keep an eye on them, you can also leave them on a cookie sheet on the top of your stove as you cook in the oven below.  The heat will rise through the burners and help crisp your herbs.

To crumble, just rub a few stems at a time between your hands.  The leaves will crumble and fall off of the stem.  You may need to go through and work the herbs through your hands again to crumble further.  Then, store in a plastic or tin container.  I re-use containers I originally had store-bought herbs in. You can also store in plastic baggies.