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It can not be avoided, summer is
winding down. The signs are apparent, birds are flocking, the days
are shortening, leaves are slowly turning. Look at your
herb garden. The tiny plants that you nurtured are most likely
sprawling all over now. Can you see any ground between the
herbs at all? I am constantly picking herbs for the
kitchen. Making a salad consists of preparing the lettuce, and then
a quick run out to the herb garden for a handful of arugula leaves,
an assortment of whatever blossoms are available from borage,
nasturtium and calendula petals with a sprinkling of lemon basil
blooms, and some chives and salad burnet. Toss in some
tomatoes, sprinkle with crumbled blue cheese and dash with raspberry
vinaigrette - delicious.
It is easy to assume that these
fresh herbs will be in endless supply. But we know they won’t.
We don’t know when, but frosty mornings will catch the
unprepared chef without their herbal bounty. Time to harvest for
winter!
Most herbs retain their flavor
better when frozen, but if you prefer to use the herbs dried, by all
means dry them. It is recommended that you crumble dried herbs
before adding to your recipe, to release the flavorful oils.
Basil is one herb that retains it’s flavor better when frozen.
The drawback is, that when frozen, the basil leaf blackens.
This does not affect the flavor. To freeze herbs, pick
sprigs 4-6 inches long, rinse off quickly and pat gently between
paper towels. Drop the sprigs into a zip-lock freezer bag and
label before placing in the freezer.
To dry herbs for culinary uses,
it is best to dry them in a food dehydrator, slow oven or microwave.
If you rubber band them and air dry them, you must hang them in a
warm dry place. Never hang them in the garage or basement
where it is damp and they can absorb adverse odors. Herbs
hang-dried take one to two weeks. It is best to package them
in an airtight canister, jar or ziplock bag and store them in a dark
place so they aren’t hanging around getting dusty.
Herbs dried in the dehydrator
take several hours or overnight. Herbs dried in a slow oven
(150 degrees) take several hours. In the microwave, place
herbs on a layer of paper towels, use 30 second to 1 minute
intervals and watch CLOSELY as herbs can ignite. Open the door
of the microwave in between to release the moisture. You will
know your herbs are dry when they are brittle. After packaging
your dried herbs, check them the next day for any moisture or
condensation inside the container. If there is moisture,
the herbs were not dry, they will mold. So you must empty the
container and redry the herbs.
Herbs to dry include basil,
thyme, sage, parsley, rosemary, savory, marjoram, oregano, lemon
verbena, mint, and all the tea herbs. Herbs to freeze include
cilantro, basil, rosemary, thyme, chives, tarragon,
parsley, oregano, rosemary, marjoram, savory, lemon verbena,
mint. Tarragon , cilantro and chives do not hold their flavor well
when dried. Tarragon (as well as the other culinary herbs) can
have it’s flavor preserved by making herbal vinegars. The best
way to use your chives all winter is to let the plant be hit by at
least one heavy frost and then dig up a small plug of the bulbs,
pot them up and bring them into the kitchen. They will grow on
your windowsill for fresh chives all winter for salads,
omelets and baked potatoes.
While you are potting up
plants, bring in your rosemary and lemon verbena before the frost.
Take cuttings from the scented geraniums and pineapple sage, then
cut back the mature plant and repot that if it isn’t too big.
Dry those tea herbs too, on a cold, snowy winter night, nothing
brings the sweet scent of the herb garden back like that steam
released when you pour boiling water over a blend of dried mints and
lemon verbena.
Hope to see you at Salt Box
Gallery!
Let me know how you like the website, drop me an
e-mail entitled "Regarding
website."
Happy Herbal Harvesting.
Marian
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