Drying Herbs

If for lack of greenhouse facilities a supply of herbs cannot be kept up beyond the limited range of those which will survive the winter, it is a good thing to dry your own in summertime rather than buy the rather colourless herb packets in grocers’ shops. Garden herbs, picked straight out of the garden (early morning, sunny day) when the plant is coming into flower, dried in the airing cupboard, rubbed through a sieve and put into airtight glass jars, with a little salt and a scrape of dried lemon peel, and stored in a dark place, not only keep their fresh green colour, but retain their flavour. But not for ever. The oil is fugitive, the fragrance lasts a winter through. This is perhaps the explanation for indifferent shop-bought herbs. This method of drying is much better than merely hanging up bunches of marjoram, mint, and thyme in the kitchen, where though they look pretty they collect dust and lose much of their strength.