How to dry parsley at home - dried herbs and parsley root for the winter

Preparing parsley

The best option is when you grow your own greens in your own garden. Grass should be collected in dry, sunny weather, after the dew has disappeared.

For drying, choose fresh green twigs with delicate foliage. It is advisable to collect parsley for subsequent storage before the plant blooms.

If you don’t have your own harvest of this spice, you can buy it at any food market. In this case, you should choose fresh elastic bunches, without yellowed leaves. You should also avoid purchasing greens that are in cups of water, since sellers use this method to prolong the presentation of greens that may no longer be fresh at all.

The next step is to sort out the parsley, removing yellowed parts and wilted branches. If the lower part of the stems is wilted, then it also needs to be trimmed.

Next, the grass is washed.To do this, take cool water into a large saucepan and rinse the parsley thoroughly in it.

After this procedure, it is laid out on paper towels and allowed to dry. You can also dry the twigs by placing them in an empty glass or mug, fluffing up the leaves.

Before drying, parsley root is thoroughly washed under running water, preferably using a coarse brush. Then use the sharp side of a knife to scrape off a thin layer of skin. The peeled roots are cut into thin slices or strips.

How to dry parsley

On air

The longest, but no less effective way of drying is in the fresh air.

Greens can be dried either in the form of slices or whole branches. You can chop not only the leaves, but also chop and dry the stems of the plant.

Green cuts are placed on flat plates or trays, in a layer of no more than 1 centimeter, and placed in a well-ventilated room. To ensure that chlorophyll is preserved in the greens and they do not turn yellow, drying should be protected from direct sunlight. Periodic stirring of the cuttings also contributes to uniform dehydration.

In bunches, parsley is dried with the leaves down, tied on a rope, or laid out on pallets. The first method allows you to not control the drying process, and with the second option, the greens will need to be stirred frequently.

Parsley roots are dried naturally in the same way as herbs - on pallets in crushed form.

The total drying time varies from 5 to 14 days, depending on the type of product, how it is cut and weather conditions.

In the oven

An oven will help you cope with the task much faster. To do this, it is heated to a temperature of 45 - 50 degrees.Greens or roots are placed in the oven and dried with the door open for about 5 - 6 hours.

To save time, the green mass is crushed and spread on baking sheets in a thin layer. In this form, parsley can dry completely in literally 1.5 - 2 hours.

Watch the video from the Family Menu channel - Parsley for the winter. Drying

In an electric dryer

Greens can be dried whole sprigs, or chopped. The roots are cut into strips or wheels.

On the unit, turn on the special “For Herbs” mode or manually set the temperature to 40 - 45 degrees. With such heat exposure, parsley will quickly dry out, retaining all the beneficial substances and aroma in maximum quantities.

The drying time depends on the ambient humidity, the type of spice and the size of its cut. To ensure that food dries more evenly, trays with parsley need to be swapped every 1.5 hours.

A video from the Ezidri Master channel will show how to properly dry parsley in an electric dryer

Microwave

Place the parsley on a flat dish covered with a napkin. You can use paper plates instead. The device is turned on at full power for 2 minutes. After the readiness signal, the plate is removed and the product is inspected. If additional drying is required, the procedure is continued. Control examinations are subsequently carried out at intervals of 1 minute.

In a convection oven

Chopped herbs or roots are placed in a convection oven. The unit door is not closed completely, allowing air to circulate. The heating temperature is set to 40 - 45 degrees, and the blowing power is set to the maximum value. It will take literally 20 minutes to dry the green mass. The roots take a little longer to dry – about 40 minutes.

How to store dried parsley

A well-dried product crumbles perfectly, so if you dried the grass on branches, the greens can be easily freed from the stems.

Chopped parsley is poured into jars and the lids are tightly screwed on. Parsley root seasoning should be packaged in paper or linen bags.

The storage place should be dark and well ventilated.