Fresh parsley can be dried for storage using air drying, sun drying, or oven drying. Flat leaf parsley is preferred and should be rinsed and patted dry before drying. Air drying and sun drying take a few days to a week, while oven drying takes 2-4 hours at 180°F. Oven drying may destroy the herb’s medicinal properties.
There are several methods of drying parsley for storage. The most popular options are air drying or sun drying. For quick results, you can use an oven when you want to dry your parsley for cooking. If the herb is to be used for its medicinal purposes, the heat from the oven can destroy many of its benefits.
Whichever method you choose, start with freshly picked herbs before drying. Flat leaf parsley is generally preferred because curly parsley tends to lose all flavor in the drying process; freezing is usually best for this type. Fresh harvested herbs should be rinsed gently and patted dry before starting the drying process.
Air drying is one of the simplest and most foolproof ways to dry parsley as long as a warm, dry room is available. In most cases, an attic, garage or garden shed are good options because there is usually less humidity in these rooms. If you run a dehumidifier in your home, you can dry parsley inside. For this method, make bunches of freshly picked clean parsley and tie them together with string. Hang them in a warm, dry room and keep them there until the leaves and stems are dry and brittle to the touch. Depending on the temperature and humidity in the room, this can take anywhere from a few days to a week.
It is also possible to dry parsley in the sun. Place a cooling rack on a baking sheet and spread the parsley in a single layer on top of the rack. Put the parsley outside on a dry, sunny morning when you don’t expect rain for the next few days. Let the parsley dry on the outside, turning it once a day. To protect the herb from overnight dew accumulation, bring the parsley in at sundown and put it back out the next day. Depending on the weather, this method usually takes two to five days.
If you are in a hurry or expect very humid weather for the foreseeable future, you can dry the parsley in the oven. Simply spread the herbs in a single layer on a baking sheet and place them in a 180° Fahrenheit (82° Celsius) oven for 2-4 hours. You may need to adjust this temperature depending on whether your oven is running hot or cold.
During this process, check the parsley every half hour to make sure it’s not burning. Once the leaves and stems are dry, brittle and before they turn black, remove the parsley and allow it to cool. While this method is fine for cooking with parsley, the high heat of the oven can destroy the medicinal properties of this herb. In this case, drying in the sun or in the air is preferred.
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