Storing Homegrown Herbs
This is the fourth article in a
series on growing herbs . Garden
ersfind growing fresh herbs a rile
of spring.
Do your parsley flakes turn
faded and flat testing? What’s the
best way to stone herbs? Culinary
herbs can be eaten fresh, dried or
frozen for later use. Stella of basil,
parsley, rosemary, thyme, mints,
sage and others can be collected
early in the morning just after the
dew has dried on the foliage. It is
at this time of day when their
essential oils are at their peak.
Rinse the herbs to remove any
dust or dirt and pat dry with paper
towels.
Store the herbs in glass contain
ers with airtight lids in a coll, dry
location. Keep them out of direct
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Store them at 70°F or less.
The shelf life of herbs vary. For
whole leaves and flowers, store
for one year only. Ground-up
herbs last six months.
For long term storage, freezing
is a quick method of staring herbs
for cooked dishes. Your (unvested
herbs can be or packaged
whole in small plastic bags,
labeled and placed directly into
the freezer. Another freezer
method is herb cubes. Place
chopped herbs in an ice cube tray.
Fill with water and freeze. What
frozen they can be popped out and
tossed into soups, casseroles, and
stews.
Place harvested herbs on drying
racks made of screens or cheese
cloths trays. Small bundles of
herbs can be tied and hung in a
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dry. well-ventilated room away
from direct sunlight. Sunlight will
break down the essential oils and
reduce flavor quality.
Excessive moisture also causes
reduced flavor. Eventually herbs
will turn moldy. Your herbs will
be dry enough to store when teh
foliage crumbles in your hand.
Check for condensation inside the
jars. This is a sign that the herbs
were not completely dry and
should be removed and dried more
thoroughly. For the best quality
store the leaves whole and crush
just before using.
You can also experiment with
oven and microwave drying. In a
conventional oven herbs can be
spread on oven racks or cookie
sheets and dried at 120°F until
they crumble in your hand. The
amount of time for drying will
depend on the type and quantity of
hobs being dried. Herbs being
dried in the microwave can be
placed in between several sheets
of paper towel and dried at a
medium power for 2-3 minutes at
a time until crumbly.
Finally handle hobs with care.
Always use clean dry utensils
when handling herbs.
Questions on the above may be
directed to Thomas S. Becker,
Extension Agent-Horticulture,
112 Pleasant Acres Road, York
PA 17402. Phone number is
840-7408.
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GETTYSBURG (Adams Co.) Recognized as Outstand
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silon Sigma Phi, the national service fraternity of Coopera
tive Extension employees, Linda K. Fox, head secretary In
the Adams County Extension Office of Penn State, re
ceives the award from Roland Freund, president of the fra
ternity during the 80th annual meeting of the Adams Coun
ty Cooperative Extension Association in January.
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