By late summer, a Scottish herb bed doing its job produces far more rosemary, thyme, sage and oregano than any kitchen can use fresh, right as the softer growth is about to turn woody, get cut back, or sit out a wet winter doing very little. Drying preserves some of these herbs well and others poorly. Thyme and oregano hold up best, rosemary and the savories dry fine, sage is better fresh, and bay dries but fades within a few months.
Drying works for the woody, Mediterranean-type herbs: rosemary, thyme, sage, oregano, bay, lavender, and winter and summer savory. Soft, leafy herbs such as basil and chervil are a different case, with freezing generally the better route, and dried parsley has less flavour than fresh.
When to harvest for drying
The same pattern repeats across the RHS growing guides for these herbs: soft new growth from late spring into summer has the best flavour, and for herbs that flower, picking before the flowers open gives the best quality. Oregano is the clearest case: its flavour is best before the flowers open. Summer savory is slightly fresher and sweeter before flowering, and can be harvested from midsummer until it dies off in autumn, and cutting it back may give a second flush. "Late spring" is written for a UK-wide readership and soft growth in a Scottish garden commonly arrives later, so treat these windows as the growth stage to look for on the plant rather than a calendar date.
Rosemary, thyme, sage and bay are evergreen and can be picked all year, but the soft new growth is where the best flavour is. Winter savory suits the gap the rest of the year leaves: it can be harvested for most or even all of the year, and the RHS suggests growing it in pots and moving them somewhere bright, cool but frost-free in winter so it keeps producing new leaves. That can reduce how much you lean on a jar of dried stock through a dark Scottish winter.
Pick on a dry morning once the dew has burned off but before the day heats up, since less of the leaf's aromatic oil will have evaporated before it reaches the drying rack. While you're cutting, check sprigs for aphids, slugs and soil before bundling: a bunch left hanging for weeks is unattended, so anything missed has weeks to do damage or spread.
The shared drying method
Rosemary, thyme, sage, oregano, bay, winter savory and summer savory are all dried the same way: hang sprigs in a warm, dark, well-ventilated place for a few weeks, then strip the leaves once fully dry and store them in an airtight jar. A bunch about the width of a finger and thumb circle, tied at the cut end with string or an elastic band, dries evenly without the inner stems staying damp the way a fat bundle can. Darkness matters more than people expect: direct light is likely to bleach colour and degrade flavour faster than drying itself. How long it takes depends on how warm, dry and airy the spot is and how thick the bunch is, so a smaller bunch somewhere warm dries faster than a fat one somewhere cool. Leave them until fully dry by the test below rather than working to a fixed date.
Ventilation is the part to take seriously in a damp Scottish climate. An unheated shed, porch or outbuilding that feels merely cool and slightly damp is the kind of air that slows drying right down and lets mould set in before the herb finishes. An airing cupboard, a spot near (not on top of) a boiler or stove, or anywhere with steady gentle warmth and airflow will dry a bunch faster and more reliably through a damp autumn. If a shed or porch is the only space, slide bunches into a paper bag with holes punched for airflow before hanging them: it catches falling leaf debris and keeps the worst of the damp off the leaves while still letting air through.
Bay has a second option: instead of hanging, press the leaves flat between the pages of an old book with a weight on top, which gives a more compact, flatter leaf.
Lavender doesn't fit this pattern, because you're drying the flower spike, not the leaf, for culinary, craft or sachet use. The RHS growing guide only notes that the leaves and flowers are used for drying. Cutting the flower spikes just as the lowest floretsThe individual small flower-bud clusters that make up a broccoli, cauliflower or romanesco head. Full definition → open and hanging them upside down in a warm, dark, airy spot is standard practice. For culinary drying, English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) is the type generally used, being sweeter and less camphorous than the French and hybrid types more often grown for scent alone.
How to tell when herbs are fully dry
Leaves should feel brittle and crumble or snap when pressed, not bend or feel leathery, and stems should snap cleanly rather than fold. Any give, bendiness or residual coolness means moisture is still trapped in the leaf, which is what causes mould in storage later. If in doubt, leave it another few days: a slightly over-dried herb is a much smaller loss than a jar that goes mouldy. If you spot mould on a bunch, whether grey fuzz or a musty smell, discard that bunch rather than salvaging the unaffected-looking parts, because mould spreads through a bundle faster than it shows on the surface.
Storage
Once fully dry, strip the leaves from the stems and store them in an airtight jar, kept away from light and heat: a cupboard rather than a shelf near a window or stove. Store the leaves whole and crumble them just before use, since a whole leaf keeps its flavour longer than one already broken up. Airtight glass jars or tins are enough. As a general kitchen guide, a well-dried, airtight-stored herb is good for several months to around a year before it's worth replacing, while bay is the exception: use it within a few months, before the flavour starts to fade.
Not all eight keep their flavour the same way
| Herb | Best harvest timing | Drying method | How well it keeps once dried |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rosemary | Soft new growth, late spring–summer | Hang in warm, dark, ventilated spot | Dries fine |
| Thyme | Soft new growth, late spring–summer | Hang in warm, dark, ventilated spot | Retains a strong flavour once dried |
| Sage | Fresh growth, spring–summer | Hang in warm, dark, ventilated spot | Best used fresh; can also be dried or frozen |
| Oregano | Before flowers open, late spring–autumn | Hang leafy sprigs in a dark, well-ventilated place | Dried leaves often used in sauces, marinades and cooked dishes, especially tomato-based |
| Bay | Year-round (evergreen) | Place sprigs in a warm room, or press flat in a book | Flavour fades within a few months, faster than the others; freezing holds it longer |
| Lavender | Flower spikes, as lowest florets open | Hang flower spikes upside down in a warm, dark, airy spot | Dried for the flower rather than the leaf |
| Winter savory | Most/all year; slows in winter | Hang in warm, dark, ventilated spot | Earthy, spicy, peppery flavour |
| Summer savory | Mid-summer to autumn; sweetest before flowering | Hang in warm, dark, ventilated spot | Milder, more delicate flavour |
Thyme and oregano are the two standouts. Dried thyme retains a strong flavour, and oregano's dried leaves are often added to sauces, marinades and cooked dishes, especially tomato-based ones such as pizza and pasta sauces, while fresh leaves suit salads or the end of cooking. Sage sits at the other end: the leaves are best used fresh, though you can also dry or freeze them (freeze chopped leaves in an ice-cube tray). Bay dries successfully but doesn't hold the result: use it within a few months, or freeze it to keep the flavour for longer. Bay is also evergreen, so a plant in a sheltered spot gives usable fresh leaves through winter anyway, and there's less to gain from a jar that fades within months when fresh leaves are outside the back door.
Common questions
How long do dried herbs keep their flavour?
Several months to around a year as a general kitchen-practice range, but it depends which herb it is as well as how well you dried it, as the comparison table shows. Bay is the one clear exception, fading within a few months regardless of how well it was dried.
Should I wash herbs before drying them?
Only if they need it. Extra moisture on the leaf slows drying and increases the risk of mould forming before the herb fully dries, so if a rinse is needed, pat and air the leaves dry first, worth being especially careful about in a humid Scottish autumn.
Can I use a dehydrator or oven instead of hanging herbs?
The usual method for these herbs is hanging in a warm, dark, ventilated spot. If you’re struggling to get a bunch fully dry by hanging alone through a damp Scottish autumn, a dehydrator on a low setting is a reasonable substitute, and the same brittle-and-snapping dryness test applies. An oven is harder to keep gentle enough and easy to scorch with, so it’s the less sensible option.
Why does bay lose flavour faster than rosemary or thyme?
Bay’s dried flavour fades within a few months, where herbs like thyme hold up much longer. If you use a lot of bay, freezing keeps its flavour for longer.
How much dried herb do I use instead of fresh?
The standard kitchen conversion, since dried herbs are more concentrated, is to use roughly a third as much dried as a recipe calls for fresh, a teaspoon of dried in place of a tablespoon of fresh. That’s general cooking practice and only a starting point, so taste and adjust.
Is lavender dried the same way as the other herbs on this list?
Not quite. Lavender is dried for its flowers, not its leaves. Cut the flower spikes as the lowest florets open and hang them upside down in a warm, dark, airy spot.
What about basil, parsley or chervil?
Soft, leafy herbs generally lose flavour badly in drying, and freezing is the better route. Parsley can be dried by hanging a bunch of stems in a warm, dark, well-ventilated place for a few weeks, but dried parsley has less flavour than fresh. Basil is best used fresh, and freezing is the usual alternative to drying.
Sources
Show the 7 sources
- RHS: Rosemary — Grow Your Own: Evergreen so harvested all year, soft new growth in late spring and summer has the best flavour, hang in a warm, dark, well-ventilated place, strip leaves and store in an air-tight jar
- RHS: Thyme — Grow Your Own: Soft new growth in late spring and summer has the best flavour, hang sprigs for a few weeks, dried leaves retain a strong flavour
- RHS: Sage — Grow Your Own: Fresh growth in spring and summer has the best flavour, leaves best used fresh but can be dried or frozen, chopped leaves in an ice-cube tray
- RHS: Oregano — Grow Your Own: Flavour best before the flowers open, hang leafy sprigs in a dark, well-ventilated place, dried leaves added to sauces, marinades and cooked dishes, especially tomato-based
- RHS: Bay — Grow Your Own: Evergreen, harvest any time, fresh leaves stronger and slightly bitter, dry in a warm room or press in a book, store airtight and use within a few months, freeze to keep flavour longer
- RHS: Savory — Grow Your Own: Summer savory milder and sweeter before flowering, harvest mid-summer to autumn, winter savory earthy and peppery, harvested most or all of the year, pots moved somewhere bright, cool and frost-free, hang sprigs to dry
- RHS: Lavender — Growing Guide: Leaves and flowers used for drying