When it comes to summer cooking, fresh herbs seem to end up on every dish I make. Torn basil brightens up just about any salad, and chopped parsley, mixed with a bit of olive oil, salt, and freshly-cracked pepper can make a simple side of grilled veggies sing.
As I welcome the bounty of herbs I’ve been scoring in my weekly CSA hauls, I thought we should review the basics when it comes to storing herbs.
You can treat basil, parsley and cilantro just like a bouquet of fresh flowers. Trim the ends, place in a glass or reused jar with an inch or so of water. Keep them on the kitchen counter, but you should be warned, the smell of the gentle aromatics will scream, “Use me!” If your kitchen gets warm, you may want to wash and dry the herbs right when you bring them home and keep them in the fridge instead. To store, wrap them in a damp towel and place them in the refrigerator. I find the crisper drawer works best.
Other herbs like thyme, rosemary and chives need to remain dry until just before using. To store these herbs, wrap them in a re-usable plastic bag and place them in the warmest part of the fridge. If the herbs are wrapped too tightly or are exposed to moisture, they may mold prematurely.
varieties of mint are winter hardy. Lemon mint, chocolate mint and apple mint
are easy for me. Basils are not winter hardy, but are easy to grow from seed.
There are 2 sweet basils that are very nice. I have all of these right now. And
use them in many ways, like salads, in scrambled eggs. Mints are good in hot tea or iced tea. Oregano can be dried for winter use.