How to Cure & Harvest Herbs

Cut off the amount of the herbs you wish to harvest. Use gardening scissors to create a clean cut and cause minimal damage to the herbs.

Wash and dry all of the harvested herbs using the salad spinner. Pat the herbs with pieces of paper towel to make sure that every bit of water has been removed from the herbs.

Remove the edible portion of the herbs. Often, this will be only the leaves for stem-based herbs such as basil, rosemary and thyme. For herbs where the whole harvest is usable---such as with chives---mince the herbs to their desired size using a kitchen knife and a cutting board.

Scatter all of the herbs individually on cookie sheets. Do not overcrowd the cookie sheet. Use more than one cookie sheet if necessary. Bake the herbs at the lowest temperature setting of your oven until all of the herbs are fully dried. Store the herbs in airtight containers to be used at a later date.