Herbs gone wild!
The good news is the little mixed herb planter i bought is doing great. so great, in fact, that i need to repot the plants into a larger planter. no problem.
but now i have more herbs that i know what to do with! no matter how much rosemary chicken and rosemary potatoes i cook, i'm still going to have rosemary coming out my ears. what's the best way to dry, or store this stuff, so i can use it later? like in the winter? i've got: sage, rosemary, lemon thyme, basil. the sage plant is gigantic! what do i do with it??
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7 Comments:
Hang it upside down in bunches in a cool dry place. Once dry, crumble and store in airtight containers.
You can also make pesto from the basil and freeze it, it stores beautifully.
I know some folks like to freeze sprigs of fresh herbs (or chopped also) with some water in ice-cube trays to preserve. That way you can just toss a cube into soup or other food and you have more tender herbs than dry. Once frozen, store in an airtight bag to use when you need them.
Wish mine would grow faster!
sadiepix at 8:58PM on 06/14/08
If you are in a warm enough climate: DC and south, or in the deep south or southwest, and have a really well-drained spot (probably a sunny bank) the rosemary will live over the winter. I sometimes (in Albuquerque) cut some to use "fresh" in the winter. It's a little dark and tough but still has good flavor.
Blue Iris at 9:20PM on 06/14/08
Over the winter: same goes for sage and thyme. They can live over in warmer places but sage and thyme lose their leaves.
Blue Iris at 9:21PM on 06/14/08
Rosemary and thyme freeze pretty well..just strip the leaves and spread in a thin layer on a tray of some sort. Once frozen loose this way, bag them up and scoop out what you need. Best used in sauces and such, but that's probably how you'd use them fresh anyway.
Cary at 10:56AM on 06/15/08
Remember to take cuttings and root them now to keep plants alive through the winter!
Hot Tomato at 3:42PM on 06/15/08
Make herb butters, for topping steaks, fish, for roasting chicken, making crostini, and tossing into pasta. Freezes very well too, and butter captures all those oils and aerosols that make the herbs so delicious really well. Let your butter soften but not melt. Mince your herbs finely, and mix them with the butter with a little coarse salt. Lemon zest is a additional delicious option. Scoop it onto a sheet of plastic wrap roughly into a log shape, then roll it up tightly. Wrap it well, then refrigerate, and once it's firmed up again, you can freeze it indefinitely.
simon at 10:13PM on 06/15/08
Try some chopped rosemary or sage in your favorite shortbread recipe, the herb flavor w/the sweetness is wonderful.
Even here in WNY my thyme & sage winter over very well....I keep them in the pots & just put alittle straw on top of them to protect them from the elements. This is my first year moving them from the pots into the ground, I'm just going to put a blanket of straw over them there, and they should be fine.
mepolo at 9:07AM on 06/16/08