Wherever possible, I like to use fresh herbs, but there are exceptions: I prefer dried sage to fresh, and I use dried herbs in rubs and for sausage.

Herbs can be dried in several ways, from simply hanging them up, to using a full-on dehydrator. I have a dehydrator; it’s said that drying at a lower temperature retains more nutrients, but it’s hardly worth getting out for small quantities. It’s then I use the ‘keep warm’ setting on my cooker. Twenty minutes on keep warm and the herbs are dried nicely. Apparently you can also use a microwave to dry them – you dry them between paper towels using 30-second bursts of power. I tried it some years ago with little success – I don’t really get on with microwave ovens!

My tips for drying are:

• Dry the herbs well after washing them
• Strip what you’ll want to keep from any stems before drying – trying to sort brittle stems from the leaves afterwards is a pain, particularly thyme.
• Use the ‘keep warm’ setting on your cooker, it’s around 70°C, 160°F
• Check after 15 minutes and every 5 minutes after that
• Store it in airtight containers and check after 24 hours that it’s thoroughly dry

…in the words of Forrest Gump: “And that’s all I have to say about that”!