Buy or grow fresh rosemary and dry the fresh herb to use all year long. You can save lots of money by preserving fresh herbs at home.
Dehydrating fresh rosemary is a great way to save money on dried herbs. The prices of dried herbs has gone up astronomically in the past few years.
Drying herbs is one of the easiest ways you can preserve all of your fresh herbs.
All you need is some fresh rosemary and you can stock your spice cabinet with all of the dried rosemary you need for a year.
I have been using an inexpensive food dehydrator to dry my herbs for the past few years but if you don't have one it is very easy to tie up a bundle of fresh rosemary and hang it to dry.
Fresh Rosemary
If you like to grow herbs then you probably have a never ending supply of fresh rosemary in your back yard.
If gardening isn't your thing you can buy fresh herbs at the grocery store to dry.
You will still save plenty of money filling your spice cabinet with store bought herbs you have dried.
Fresh herbs are very inexpensive and you can find them in most grocery stores and farmers markets.
How to dry fresh rosemary
There are a three main methods of drying fresh rosemary. All three drying methods will work to dry fresh herbs. I prefer to use an electric dehydrator because I know this method works every time.
- Dehydrator: I prefer to use a food dehydrator to dry my herbs.
- Oven drying: You can put the fresh herb on a cookie sheet and dry in the oven on the lowest setting.
- Air drying: Tightly tie up bundles of fresh rosemary and hand them to dry.
Ingredients
The ingredient list is pretty short as you can imagine. All you need is some fresh rosemary and some water.
How to dehydrate rosemary
Step 1: Harvest or buy bundles of fresh rosemary. If you are harvesting the rosemary from your garden pick the herb first thing in the morning before the sun comes up.
Fresh herbs should be picked early before the heat of the sun has a chance to release the oils.
Step 2: Wash the herb in a bucket or bowl of cold water.
Step 3: Dry the wet rosemary off as much as possible. I like to use a salad spinner to dry herbs. It works very well to remove of all the moisture before I load the dehydrator.
If you don't have a salad spinner you can use something like these a lint free flour sack towels or paper towels to absorb the water.
Step 4: Cut the stems to short manageable sizes that will fit on your dehydrator trays.
Step 5: Continue to fill the trays with the rosemary until you run out of the herb or you have reached the limit of trays for the dehydrator.
Step 6: Turn the dehydrator on and set the temperature between 95 and 105 F. degrees. (See dehydrating tips below)
Dried rosemary takes between 8 and 14 hours to dry completely in a dehydrator.
Every couple of hours you should check the herb to see how dry it is getting.
The drying time will depend on many factors.
The temperature and amount of rosemary you have loaded on to a tray will determine how long it takes to dry rosemary.
Dehydrating FAQS
Dried rosemary is just as flavorful as fresh rosemary. Dried rosemary can be used in all recipes calling for fresh rosemary. The flavor of dried rosemary is much more concentrated and you will only need to use ⅓ of the amount of dried rosemary in place of fresh.
Dried rosemary if stored properly in an air tight container in a dark cabinet will last 2 to 3 years.
Dehydrating Expert Tips
- When to harvest fresh rosemary: Fresh herbs like rosemary should be harvested early in the morning after the dew has dried but before the sun has reach its peak in the afternoon.
- Use the freshest herbs: Dry fresh rosemary at its peak. The stems and leaves should not have any blemishes.
- Flowering herbs: Harvest herbs before they begin to flower for the best flavor.
- Dehydrating temperatures: The recommended drying times for fresh herbs vary from dehydrator manufacturers. Read the manual that came with the appliance. The round stackable Presto dehydrator used here recommends drying temperature at 95 F. degrees while the Excalibur Dehydrator recommends 105 F. degrees for drying herbs.
- When is the dried rosemary done?: The rosemary is done when the leaves are dry and brittle to the touch.
- How to store dried rosemary?: Dried herbs like rosemary should be stored in an airtight container in a dark cool cabinet to retain the flavor.
- How to convert fresh herb to dried herb measurements: 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary is the equivalent of 1 tablespoon of fresh rosemary.
More herbs you can dehydrate
- How to dehydrate parsley: dried parsley can be used in almost every recipe you make as a garnish or to add flavor.
- How to dehydrate dill: dried dill is used when cooking fish, sea food, chicken and added to salads.
- How to dehydrate oregano: coming soon.
More rosemary recipes you have to try!
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How to Dehydrate Rosemary
Ingredients
- 1 large bunch of fresh rosemary
- 1 bowl water
Instructions
- Wash and rinse the rosemary in a bucket or bowl of cold water. Rinse until the water is free of dirt or insects.
- Cut the rosemary branches into smaller manageable pieces that will fit on the dehydrator trays.
- Arrange the rosemary on the trays filling the tray. The rosemary may overlap slightly.
- Dehydrate the rosemary at 95 to 105 F. degrees for approximately 8 to 14 hours. Check the rosemary frequently every couple of hours to check to see how dry it is.
- Once dried strip the rosemary leaves from the branches. Pick out any pieces of stems.
- Store the dried rosemary in an airtight container in a cool dark cabinet until needed.
Video
Notes
- When to harvest fresh rosemary: Fresh herbs like rosemary should be harvested early in the morning after the dew has dried but before the sun has reach its peak in the afternoon.
- Use the freshest herbs: Dry fresh rosemary at its peak. The stems and leaves should not have any blemishes.
- Flowering herbs: Harvest herbs before they begin to flower for the best flavor.
- Dehydrating temperatures: The recommended drying times for fresh herbs vary from dehydrator manufacturers. Read the manual that came with the appliance. The round stackable Presto dehydrator used here recommends drying temperature at 95 F. degrees while the Excalibur Dehydrator recommends 105 F. degrees for drying herbs.
- When is the dried rosemary done?: The rosemary is done when the leaves are dry and brittle to the touch.
- How to store dried rosemary?: Dried herbs like rosemary should be stored in an airtight container in a dark cool cabinet to retain the flavor.
- How to convert fresh herb to dried herb measurements: 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary is the equivalent of 1 tablespoon of fresh rosemary.
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