Our friends recently gifted me with a couple of giant stalks of bay leaves. As there is no way for me to make enough dishes in a week to use up the leaves, I decided to dry them. As no one wants to go rooting through their garage for the dehydrator, setting it up and then have some whirring machine run for hours, I took the quick route. I’ve found the easiest and fastest route for drying herbs is the microwave.
I know it sounds a little crazy, but the microwave isn’t just good for mug cake cakes and popcorn. You do want to use a sturdier herb, such as oregano, sage, thyme, bay, etc., though. For the pictured bay leaves, I took the leaves that were cracked or curled and ground them into powder. It smells like herbaceous lemon and is excellent on chicken or fish!
Rinse the leaves thoroughly, then lay out on paper towel in a flat layer. Place another layer of paper towel on top and gently press dry. At this point, I like to leave them alone for a couple hours.
Take a microwave-safe plate and put a sheet of clean paper towel on top, then place the leaves on it in a single layer. Place in the microwave and set it for 30 seconds. Remove the plate, flip the herbs over, and continue nuking (and flipping) in 30 second sets until the herbs have completed drying.
When they’re all dried, I like to leave alone again (I left mine out overnight). Then store in an airtight container.
Gonna give it a try !
It’s so easy and keeps the herbs smelling fresh and fragrant!