Storing Fresh Herbs

[Mark R (LR)]

I haven't tried these tips yet, but I just ran across an article on storing herbs that sounds very promising. I sometimes skimp on herbs because such a large portion of them often go bad before I can use them. If these techniques work, I'll be using fresh herbs more often. http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/04/the-best-way-to-store-fresh-herbs-parsley-cilantro-dill-basil.html

 

[R. Hutchins]

Mark,

Ever considered growing your own? What fresh herbs do you most often use? I use basil, parsley, chives, oregano, thyme, cilantro and rosemary. All of them grow in a planter just outside my kitchen door. I harvest them as I need them. If they overgrow I harvest the excess and nuke 'em until they are dry. I then grind them a bit and store them in plastic prescription bottles. I find those brown plastic pill bottles to be excellent at keeping moisture out.

Just a thought for you. The sealed take out containers with water in the bottom should work for you too. Let us know how they work for extending the shelf life of fresh herbs.

 

[Mark R (LR)]

I've done that in the past, but the yard at my current home is rocky, sloped, and very shaded. I used to love going out with scissors and snipping a few chives to liven up a salad or picking enough basil for a nice pesto. I hope to give that a shot in planters in the not-too-distant future.

 

[James Lake]

Sweet...thanks for the link. We grow our own when we can, but can't grow them year round.

 

[Mary Teal]

James Lake, plant your herbs in planters. I live in Oregon too, and the only one I can't keep going is the basil. But rosemary, thyme, tarragon, sage, oregano, chives, garlic, and green onions all winter over for me in the Willamette Valley. If during the winter we expect a hard freeze, I'll put the planter boxes and pots under my deck with a sheet of visqueen over them, till freeze is over.

 

[Mark R (LR)]

I wanted to follow up to let you know that this worked really well. The two containers on the left are cilantro after one week, the container in the middle is mint after one week, and the two containers on the right are Italian parsley after two weeks.