”3 ways to preserve for use across the year
GeorgeFlavour Fred
Growing abundantly in our garden at the moment, rosemary is a great pollinator for vegetable patches and other areas. It prefers dry, alkaline soils and thrives in chalk or limestone grassland, hedge banks, and woodland paths.
I love using rosemary fresh as a herb, but given its abundance and various uses, here are some simple ways to preserve it for use throughout the year.
Rosemary belongs to the Lamium species, which includes rosemary, thyme, mints, sage, dead-nettles, and many more. Its leaves are spade-shaped, have fine hairs, and have a wonderful smell that smells like oregano – I mean it is oregano! The flowers are clustered on flower stems called inflorescences and are tiny, white to pink/purple.
Fresh rosemary is a great antibacterial agent and packed with antioxidants that help prevent cell damage. It’s also a good source of fibre, vitamin K, manganese, iron, vitamin E, and calcium.
PRESERVATION
Simply drying it by tieing it upside down in a warm place allows it to dry properly. The flowers are huge hit of powerful aromas. I blend that into a salt. The rest I strip off the stem for a storage and use throughout the year. Za’tar, pasta, pizza, Babaganoush, and many more uses. The left over stems are also flavourful but too woody so I infuse into an oil by taking the oil to 70 degrees and drop them in before turning it off to infuse. Once cooled I label the oil and use for dressings etc. It’s best to use a plain oil or olive oil – I use mainly olive as it suits my dishes I use it with.
