How to Dry Sage Leaves for Cooking Herbs

Fresh sage leaves can be dried and ground for cooking. Herbs that are dried and ground at home from fresh herbs are much more flavorful and aromatic than herbs purchased in a store. The photo to the left is a comparison of sage dried at home from fresh sage leaves (top) and dried organic sage purchased from the store (bottom). As you can see, the sage dried from fresh leaves is much more colorful also.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. 
   Fresh Sage Leaves

   Buying or Harvesting Sage
   
   Buy fresh organic sage leaves, or harvest sage from your herb garden. Fresh sage leaves can be purchased at most grocery or health food stores.

2. 
   Drying Sage Leaves in the Dehydrator

   Drying Sage for Cooking
   
   Spread the fresh sage leaves out on a flat surface so that the air can flow freely around them. The leaves should not overlap. Dry at 95 degrees F, for 2 days. Sage can also be hung by the stems to dry, but a food dehydrator is ideal. Herbs retain their flavor, aroma, and health benefits best when not exposed to extreme heat or sunlight while drying. The air flow of a commercial dehydrator will yield the best results. Test the sage for dryness. The leaves should brittle, not soft and pliable.

3. 
   Grinding Dried Sage

   Grinding Sage for Cooking
   
   When the sage is completely dry, grind it in a food processor, spice mill, or coffee grinder.

4. 
   Dried Sage for Cooking

   Storing Sage for Cooking
   
   Store the dried and ground sage in an air tight container and label with the contents and date of preparation. Dried herbs will last up to 12 months when stored in a cool, dry location.

Resources

• How to Grind Herbs for Cooking or Medicine
• How to Dry or Dehyrdate Tomatoes

[gailM]

on 10/12/2009 Great article! I still rub the dried sage leaves in my hands to activate the aroma before putting it in my cooking. We put sage leaves or peppermint leaves in our pocket when we were selling at the farmer's market. If we pinched it now and it seemed the aroma lured buyers to our booth.

[JoyNmyHeart]

on 10/1/2009 Love sage. Thanks for showing me how to dry sage leaves for cooking. I have several herbs in my herb garden but no sage....will be adding that next!