How
to Preserve Your Herbs
by
Jenny Boice
Are
you wondering what to do with all of your herbs now that the end of the season
is drawing near? If you harvest and
preserve them, you can enjoy them all winter long.
Dried or frozen herbs last for a year and sometimes longer.
The
first step in preserving your herbs is to harvest them.
The best time to harvest your herbs is in late summer or before they
begin to flower. To harvest, cut
healthy branches about an inch or two from the ground.
Cut them in mid-morning after the dew has dried from the leaves but
before the heat of the day. Shake to
remove any insects. Remove any dead
or diseased leaves. Rinse with cool
water if necessary then dry thoroughly with a towel.
If drying, be sure to remove all of the moisture to avoid molding.
To
dry your herbs, gather them in small bunches, tie them together with string and
hang them upside down. Hang them in
a warm, dry place out of direct sunlight. You
could also lay them out flat on a screen to dry.
Herbs are sufficiently dry when they are brittle and crumble easily.
Once the herbs are thoroughly dry, remove the leaves from the stems and store
the leaves in a sealed container away from bright light.
I like to use a small canning jar and store them in the cabinet.
If you leave your leaves whole and crumble as you use them, they stay
fresh longer. The best herbs for
drying are spearmint, peppermint, oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme and lavender.
You can also freeze your fresh
herbs. Freezing your herbs is the
best way to preserve their essential oils. Frozen
herbs retain their flavor and potency for several weeks or months depending on
the herb. To freeze your herbs,
remove the leaves from the stems, spread the leaves out on wax paper on a cookie
sheet and freeze overnight. The next
morning, put the frozen leaves in a freezer bag for long term storage.
Remove as much excess air from the bag as possible.
The best herbs for freezing are dill, marjoram and basil.
The decision to freeze or dry
mainly depends on what you plan to do with your herbs as well as the types of
herbs you are dealing with. Herbs
that have soft and delicate leaves are best frozen.
Herbs from the mint family are good candidates for drying because they
tend to hold their flavor. If you
plan to make tea from your mint plants, you want to dry your herbs.
If you want to make pesto, freezing your basil is the way to go.
You could also prepare your pesto now and put it in ice trays.
This makes for a quick and easy treat later.
Preserving your herbs is very
rewarding and fun too. There’s
nothing better than opening your freezer in the middle of winter to find fresh
pesto, sprinkling dried lavender buds into a hot bath or making a cup of mint
tea while you sit in front of the fire place with fond memories of your herb
garden.
Disclaimer:
This article is for educational purposes only.
Jenny is the owner of Divine Creationz. She is a Clinical Master Herbalist. She provides personal health consultations. She specializes in making customized herbal formulas. Jenny is also a certified Tibetan Acupressure System Practitioner and certified Reconnective Healing practitioner. Jenny has been doing energy work for 3.5 years. www.DivineCreationz.com