One of the best ways to preserve fresh thyme is to dry it. Thyme is one of the easiest herbs to dry and it preserves it's flavor so nicely!
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How to Preserve Herbs
Well, it's getting to be about that time of year when we start looking for ways to preserve our herbs. This has been a great summer for rain and I have lots of herbs to preserve! There are all kinds of ways to preserve your herbs and I think I've done every one of them!
You can make a simple syrup like Thyme Simple Syrup, infused a vinegar like Chive Blossom Vinegar, make a homemade pesto like Basil Pesto, and even infuse some salts DIY Herb Salts - which make great gifts, by the way!
Harvest Your Thyme
You're probably not going to believe this, but I have never dried thyme before!! I always use fresh thyme all summer long and then in the winter, I go buy jars of organic dried thyme. Hello! I have organic thyme in my backyard, waiting to be dried!! I can not believe that this is only occurring to me now!
Thyme grows best when it is regularly harvested. Depending on the rain that we've received I harvest it several times through the summer, and make smaller batches of dried thyme. Harvesting in the morning is best and if you only harvest once in the season, it is best to do it before blooming time.
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Drying Thyme with a Dehydrator
I bought this dehydrator when the girls were small and I used it to dry fruits for them to take in their lunches. This was after they finished off a very expensive bag of dried apples in a matter of minutes!
I don't believe that they make this dehydrator any more, if I was going to get one now, I would probably get this Presto Dehydrator or if you are serious about dehydrating the Excalibur looks amazing and this Ultimate Dehydrator Cookbook would give you lots of ideas!
How to Dry Thyme
All you do is wash your thyme and then lay them out in each tray, turn on the dehydrator and come back in about 3 hours to check on it! Mine was easily done in 3 hours. Some sites say it takes 24 hours! I don't know what kind of thyme they had or what kind of dehydrator, but that seems like way too much time for thyme (ha ha).
After 3 hours, I just took the dried thyme, rubbed it between my hands and the leaves easily came off of the stems. You can see that it takes a lot of thyme to make a little bit of dried thyme leaves!
Jann Olson says
I love drying my herbs. I usually just hang them and air dry. Thanks for sharing with SYC.
hugs,
Jann
Pam Greer says
I hang mine too sometimes, but the dehydrator is so easy!
Pam S. says
Do just tie up the whole plant at the base and hang it upside down from a rafter in the shed? I hope?
Nikki Gwin says
I have recently started drying my own home grown herbs. I've always thought a dehydrator might be fun but have never purchased one because of storage space. How big are they?
🙂 gwingal
Pam Greer says
Mine is slightly bigger than a slow cooker, so not very big at all!
Pam Richardson says
Pam, I have loads of thyme this year and I have never dried it before. But now I should! Thanks for sharing at Gardens Galore!
Pam Greer says
You should!
Kimberly says
I have never tried this before! What a awesome idea. Pinned. Lou Lou Girls
Pam Greer says
I can't believe it took me this long to actually do it!
swathi says
Very nice I need to look for dehydrator for myself, thanks for sharing with Hearth and soul blog hop. pining.
kitchen flavours says
Hi Pam,
Making your own dried thyme with homegrown thyme is simply wonderful! I usually buy dried thyme off the rack. As for fresh thyme, we have it all year round. My thyme plant is not huge right now, and I would love to make my own dried thymes. Since I do not have a dehydrator, I would have to use the oven method. Now I'm getting impatient for the thyme plant to grow bigger!
Deborah Davis says
Hi,
I just hopped by from Hearth and Soul Blog Hop to see your dried thyme post.I am so delighted to see your compact electric dehydrator. It looks like the perfect piece of equipment for my small apartment kitchen. All the best, Deborah
Pam Greer says
I don't use it all that often, but when I do, I love it!
Edible Celebrations (@lavesta) says
Never once has it occurred to me to dry Thyme, Pam. I have a big patch outside but I usually bring in a clump for the Winter. I really should think about preserving it another way. Perhaps even drying it! Thanks for sharing, Pam...
cheri says
Hi Karen, working on drying herbs now, love your dehydrator!
Amy @Very Culinary says
It's funny - my garden did the opposite this year. All my herbs were a monster, but my vegetables were pathetic :/
Marjie says
I didn't see any pictures? But drying your herbs is a much better idea than paying out the wazoo for organic herbs in the store. More money to spend on cookbooks 😉
Melynda@OurSundayCafe says
Your thyme is much more delicate than mine, what type do you grow? Great idea by the way, I don't dry the stuff in my backyard either, but now........
Joanne says
Perfect way to preserve herbs! I rarely use thyme fresh, so having it dried is actually super useful.