How long can home dried herbs be stored?

How long can home dried herbs be stored? - Spice Bottles on Shelf

I am growing the "heal-all herb", Prunella Vulgaris, and am planning to dry the leaves and flowers in order to make a medicinal tea. How long is it safe to keep the herb once dried? I would prefer to do a large a batch as possible.



Best Answer

If properly dried and kept airtight, it will keep safely indefinitely. If it spoils it wasn't dried enough. Active drying should of course be started promptly after picking. But safety of dried herbs is rarely the issue. Loss of flavour is more likely to be the limiting factor.

Many herbs lose flavour just from the drying process, others stay tasty for a long time, and some are in between - they can handle drying but not for long. I've seen attempts to categorise herbs to predict how well they'll taste good after drying, but haven't found them convincing. Mint and some related species keep fairly well, but basil (for example) isn't really worth drying.




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How do you store dried herbs long term?

  • Whole herbs generally last longer. ...
  • Make sure your dried herbs are completely devoid of any moisture. ...
  • Store these herbs in an airtight black coloured or dark container so that the exposure to the oxygen does not spoil them. ...
  • Keep these jars away from sunlight; instead store them in a dark and dry place.


  • Do dried herbs last longer than fresh herbs?

    Dried herbs are less expensive than fresh herbs, and less-time consuming than growing your own. They also keep for much longer, and can technically be used for a year or more, although they may start to lose their flavour after three months.

    How long can herbs be stored?

    The Quick VersionHerbHerb TypeAverage LifespanParsleyTender3 weeksCilantroTender3 weeksDillTender2 weeksMintTender2 weeks8 more rows



    How To Store Dried Herbs




    More answers regarding how long can home dried herbs be stored?

    Answer 2

    For dried herbs to conserve well, it should be dried properly to reduce the water content to below 5%. Afterwards, you store it in airtight jars, to protect it from humidity and sunlight. Especially avoiding humidity is important, dry herbs can easily absorb humidity from the air and this will allow the herbs to start to oxidize and become stale sooner.

    If you plan to harvest a lot, I also recommend to portion and store the herbs in separate jars. Keep one jar for daily use, and store the others away in a dark cabinet. The reason is that every time you open and close the jar, some humidity will go in, and some aroma of the herbs will be lost. The storage of herbs is in fact not much different from storing dry tea leaves. Thus, you may have a look at this guide which I published on linked in: Tea Storage for Business. It's maybe too much, but it will be useful for you.

    Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

    Images: Pixabay, Tara Winstead, Mikhail Nilov, Skylar Kang