Preserving Herbs

At some point, you might decide you have too much coming from your herb garden and not enough people to give it to.  When that happens, you might want to consider preserving your bounty for later use.  Or maybe you want to enjoy your herbs year round.  Here are a few tips on how to do this with some of the more popular herbs:

Freezing Basil:
The “A Pinch of” Blog suggests chopping basil and then freezing it into cubes.  Once ready to use, thaw the cubes over a strainer, or drop them into a sauce or soup.  Sandra Bowens, from the same site, also suggests creating pesto with extra basil.  She explains the process here. 

Drying Herbs:
PlanetGreen.com explains that you can dry herbs two ways.  The first way is air dry and another way is to use a dehydrator.  They don’t recommend using the microwave.  Some herbs that dry well are basil, oregano, parsley, rosemary, thyme, sage, mint, tarragon, lemon balm and dill. 

Storing Cilantro:
Real Simple Magazine says the best way to store cilantro is to treat it like a bouquet of flowers.  Trim the ends of the bunch, place it in an inch high glass of water and place it on the counter at room temperature.  This should keep it fresh for a couple of weeks.  If you use the fridge, the leaves will turn black. 

Enjoy the Plants Year Round:
If you want to enjoy your herbs beyond the warm months, you can simply relocate your plants indoors, says re-nest.com.  You will just need to carefully dig around the plant, then move it to a pot or container.  Be sure to place the plant in a bright window for good sunlight.  See the detailed instructions here.  Herbs that do well indoors include basil, thyme, marjoram, sage, oregano and parsley. 

Get Crafty:
You don’t necessarily have to eat all of the herbs you grow; you could use them in bouquets, wreaths and displays or in gifts.  To do this, Amy Jeanroy from About.com provides the steps to preserve herbs with glycerin. 

>> Do you know of ways to preserve herbs, not discussed above?  Share with the community by clicking the Reply button above.