PRESERVING HERBS
Gaby Bartai
SEE MORE IN DIGITAL KG +
Of the top 20 culinary herbs, only six or so can be harvested through the winter. Up to a point that isn’t a problem; herbs, like all crops, have their season, and evergreen stalwarts like rosemary, sage and bay step up as summer salads give way to winter roasts and casseroles. But the preserved flavours of summer can light up a winter’s day – and preserving season starts early for herbs, which are mostly at their peak in July.
HARVESTING HERBS
The optimum time to harvest herbs for storage is mid-morning – I’ve seen sources which pin it down to 10.30am – on a dry, still day in early summer. There’s logic behind this prescriptiveness: wet plant material won’t dry well, and will stick together if you freeze it, so you need to wait until the dew has dried. By late morning, however, the heat of the sun will be burning off the volatile oils that give the leaves their flavour.
Leaf herbs should be harvested before they flower – once they do, the leaves become tougher and have less flavour – and flowers should be harvested just before the buds open fully. Seeds are ready to harvest just as they are about to fall; tap the seed-head and if the first seeds fall loose, it’s time to cut the seed-heads or pods and get them indoors.
Evergreen herbs can be harvested fresh all year round, so there is no need to preserve those unless you and the plant will be parting company. I make an exception for thyme, however; the plants are more likely to come through the winter if you harvest lush growth in summer, and dry that for winter use, and then leave the plants unmolested until spring.