Harvesting Herbs - Page 4

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Sep 25, 1998

Salting Herbs

Herb flavored salt can be used to season foods. Use different herbal combinations for certain recipes, or make one which can be used for many dishes. (There are a few of these available commercially.) To make a salt blend, take washed, dried, finely chopped herbs. Use non-iodized or Kosher salt. Take a clean air tight container and sprinkle about ¼ inch of salt for the first layer. Then sprinkle a thin layer of herbs, then another layer of salt, repeating layers until the container is filled. Make the last layer salt, and seal the container. The salt should be ready in about one week. Mix the salt and herbs well and return to the air tight container.

How to Freeze Herbs

Some herbs such as chervil, cilantro, and lemon balm lose much of their aroma when dried. And herbs such as chives, parsley, French tarragon, mint, basil, lovage and sorrel, keep well in the freezer. Freezing keeps the essential oils in the herbs. For many herbs, however, their texture will be lost when frozen (basil, for instance). So again it is a personal decision on which method to use to store each herb. To freeze herbs whole, wash and pat dry and pack in freezer bags. To use, cut off a chunk, chop, and use in your recipe. put them into individual plastic bags or small plastic jars and freeze them. If individual frozen pieces sounds better to you, then lay individual leaves on a cookie sheet, freeze, then pack in a freezer container. Herbs can also be minced and frozen with a bit of water in ice cube trays.

Herb Vinegar

Herbal vinegars are great additions to so many foods. For complete instructions on making herb vinegars, see my past article on this subject. Some popular herb blends for vinegars are: sage/caraway (for pork), mint/rosemary (for lamb), basil/savory (for beef), sage/lovage (for poultry), fennel/bay (for fish), lemon/dill (for fish).

Herb Pastes

This is an excellent way to freeze herbs. Puree them or chop them and add oil, somewhat like pesto but without the extra ingredients. The flavor blends into the oil, and the oil prevents the herbs from freezing. Use your discretion concerning the type of oil. For some flavors, olive oil may be too strong, so I would use a safflower or canola oil. To make, use one cup of oil and two cups of pureed herbs. Mix well and store in freezer containers immediately to avoid any chance of botulism. When making oils, you must be extra careful to be aware that herbal oil mixtures must not be left out at room temperature, and must be stored in the freezer, not the refrigerator, if not used up in a short time. When using, take out of the freezer and cut a piece off, and replace the rest in the freezer.

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