Preserving Herbs

I didn't know whether to put this in Gardening, Cooking, or General?

Does anyone here preserve any herbs for winter use?
If so, what do you find the best method to preserve them over winter?

Do you use the ice cube tray method, or freezing them whole, still on the stems, dry them . . or what?

Thanks muchly.

Re: Preserving Herbs

Good question. Have just starting growing foodstuff this year and would be interested. Google and youtube are one thing, but there's nothing better than personal recommendations

Re: Preserving Herbs

I haven't done a great deal, but I have dried sage and rosemary. you don't have to do much, just hang a bunch up somewhere dry

You can sort & pick over the herb then chop it roughly and make it into a paste with water or oil, then dispense into ice cube trays & freeze. that way you can make your own mixtures as well

You can keep rosemary alive over winter if you do it carefully
The strange thing about rosemary is that the upper part, the green stuff, will resist frost, but the roots will freeze & hence the plant will die

if the plant is in a pot you must bring that indoors during winter. It doesn't have to be completely inside the house, just protected from frosts, so a shed, greenhouse or garage would do if you know the winter is mild

You can leave the plant outdoors if it is planted sufficiently deeply in yer actual ground.
So that means the plant must be sufficiently old or mature. That would mean having it in a pot for 3 or 4 years till it got big enough to plant deeply enough, and late spring or early summer so that the roots have time to grow & penetrate

Re: Preserving Herbs

I have rosemary and bay because you can go into the garden and pick them any time of year as they are evergreen. Great at Christmas. The bay is a bit of a pain because you have to keep trimming it or it explodes. Freezing more delicate herbs whole in a zip-lock food bag is perfectly effective. You just break a bit off and chuck it in the cooking and it's fine. They retain a stronger aroma if frozen.

Re: Preserving Herbs

Mine is incredibly hardy but maybe it depends where you plant it. It's in a fairly sunny & sheltered position surrounded by other shrubs.

Re: Preserving Herbs

Hi

My sage, rosemary, mint and lemon verbena over winter well.

The more delicate ones I use the ice cube method.

I also make a lot of flavoured olive oil, just stick the fresh herbs in a jar with the oil, keeps for ages.

Re: Preserving Herbs

Great ideas everyone.
I didn't know Rosemary was not frost proof in pots so I was lucky mine survived the winter -it was in quite a big pot .
The rest of the herbs have gone mad this year and are all over the place .
I have now planted a thyme border as I am so fed up with weeds and the thyme seems to hold its own against them and looks nice too .

Re: Preserving Herbs

Same here, Annie. My Rosemary is probably getting on for about 4 ft high now, and has overwintered for years.
Mine is planted surrounded by other shrubs too.
I took some cuttings last year, just incase it never made it through the winter, but it did fine and now the cuttings are growing too.

When I asked the question first, I was thinking more about the more delicate leafed herbs. I have some flat leafed Parsley I use a lot in the dog treats I make, and was wondering the best way to preserve that, along with some mint.

Thanks everyone for your input so far.

Re: Preserving Herbs

Of the herbs I grow I pick rosemary/sage/ thyme/marjoram right through the winter most years. I have a number of plants of each and pruning at various times seems to help keep them going.
Chives I chop with scissors and put in a drum in the freezer, parsley in individual twists of cling film.
Mint and lemon balm die back. They don't seem to freeze so well.
I do this with mint..
Preserved mint sauce
http://theordinarycook.co.uk/2011/10...ed-mint-sauce/

Other herbs like Basil/Tarragon/Coriander I buy as plants and keep on the windowsill. I haven't had much success in growing them.

Re: Preserving Herbs

I freeze chopped mint and parsley occasionally, the others l just pick fresh from the garden.

I bought this large bowl of herbs last year from a garden centre reduced to £2 but the label was weathered! l'm not sure what the centre herb is? I thought it was a type of mint but as there are other types of mint in it, l'm not so sure!