Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Drying Rosemary

Rosemary is one of the last herbs to be affected by frost. I can usually rely on harvesting fresh leaves until Thanksgiving. We plants several plants in the herb bed which enables us to enjoy fresh through the summer and fall and dried through the winter and early spring.

Rosemary dries beautifully on the stem in a paper bag. Once the herb is completely dried, I place in a jar with a tight fitting lid. The flavor and aroma typically last for a year.

Our rosemary had a rough start, but took off later in the season.
This is one of five rosemary plants we planted.

Cut low on the stem and place entire stem in a paper bag.
The bag will catch any falling leaves as the stem dries.

Loosely fold down the bag, and place in a warm dry place.
Dried herb can be placed in a jar with a tight fitting lid. Use within a year.
One of my favorite ways to use rosemary is in homemade focaccia, pasta sauces, sprinkled over roasted potatoes and in poultry rubs.

How do you preserve your herbs?

7 comments:

  1. I never thought of just drying the rosemary ... I usually bring the plant indoors and pick from it. Great share!

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    1. Thanks Bren! We have one pot of rosemary that we keep in the house during the winter. But I do like dried rosemary in long-cooking dishes and breads. We have so much in the beds I hate to lose it all! It's tasty fresh or dried.

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  2. I almost always use the paper bag method for drying my herbs. Not labor intensive at all. I'll shake the bag once in a while for the more tender leafier herbs to fluff them up.

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    1. I agree!! And the bag prevents dust from settling on the herbs (unlike the hanging method). Easy and foolproof!

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  3. I am lucky in Florida to be able to just grow rosemary right through the winter. It actually does better during the cooler weather here even if we get a frost or two. Since I have quite a large plant, I am going to try this method to dry some. Thanks for the tips.

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    1. You are lucky! I'm envious of your year-round growing opportunities! Our rosemary usually survives long enough to use on the Thanksgiving turkey, then I switch to the dried herb. Let me know how the drying goes!

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