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My New Favorite Way to Preserve Herbs From the Summer Garden...
This is a very old technique and so simple to use! I am honestly quite surprised I had not heard of it until recently, being that I have been immersed in a traditional/ whole food, natural diet "world" for so many years!
In the summer when your herbs are luscious and beautiful, and when drying seems daunting and time consuming, with added risk of mold or improper drying- what better way to preserve them than Herbes Salées!
I have done a bit of research on this after first being introduced to this "salting of herbs" by our most recent guest on the show and after recently reading one of my favorite farm blogs, Slow Down Farmstead. (gotta give credit where it's due) For years I felt the stress of being so busy with canning tomatoes, freezing green beans, and getting ready to start a new homeschool year at peak garden season- August for us- that indeed, the task of drying my rosemary, thyme, savory, dill, basil, and so many other wonderful herbs, just seemed to fall to the wayside. No more! With herbes salées, that preservation is possible and it is even better than drying.
All you do is finely chop your herbs and mix them with a high quality salt!
After salting, place in clean glass jars with tightly fitting lids in the fridge. I added a thin layer of salt to the top of the jar per some recipes I found online.
I made three separate batches: Dill by itself, basil and parsley together, and a thyme, savory, sage blend.
For several years I used only Redmond Real Salt, which is from the salt flats of Utah. I then switch to Himalayan Pink Salt and/ or Celtic sea salt for a few years. According to recent studies, the micro plastic (read:dioxin) content in sea salts is at a very high level. This is such sad news to me, and unfortunately, not surprising. However, it means that I will be switching back to Redmond Real Salt.
While you should let the jars rest in cold storage for a month or more before opening, like my meades, I had trouble waiting! I opened the jars after just a week or more to use the herbs already, which tells me I am going to need to make a few more batches to get us through to next year- they are so delicious!!! I also love the convenience of this method, which apparently hails from the Canadian French of Nova Scotia. The flavor is truly improved, and quite strong. A little goes a long way. last night I cooked beans from the garden. I added some butter when they were finished and then tossed in a tablespoon of my dill herbs sales- it was so amazing!
I have seen some folks, such as our recent guest on Hearth & Helm, include wild herbs such as dandelion as well. I could see some of these mixtures being not only tasty, but medicinal too!. I think I will try an experimental "lemony" batch next, using wild wood sorrel and feral lemon balm. I would also imagine that Monarda (Bee Balm) would be excellent!
I hope perhaps you are inspired to try making your own herbes salées!
Many Blessings,
Vasalisa
This is a very old technique and so simple to use! I am honestly quite surprised I had not heard of it until recently, being that I have been immersed in a traditional/ whole food, natural diet "world" for so many years!
In the summer when your herbs are luscious and beautiful, and when drying seems daunting and time consuming, with added risk of mold or improper drying- what better way to preserve them than Herbes Salées!
I have done a bit of research on this after first being introduced to this "salting of herbs" by our most recent guest on the show and after recently reading one of my favorite farm blogs, Slow Down Farmstead. (gotta give credit where it's due) For years I felt the stress of being so busy with canning tomatoes, freezing green beans, and getting ready to start a new homeschool year at peak garden season- August for us- that indeed, the task of drying my rosemary, thyme, savory, dill, basil, and so many other wonderful herbs, just seemed to fall to the wayside. No more! With herbes salées, that preservation is possible and it is even better than drying.
All you do is finely chop your herbs and mix them with a high quality salt!
After salting, place in clean glass jars with tightly fitting lids in the fridge. I added a thin layer of salt to the top of the jar per some recipes I found online.
I made three separate batches: Dill by itself, basil and parsley together, and a thyme, savory, sage blend.
For several years I used only Redmond Real Salt, which is from the salt flats of Utah. I then switch to Himalayan Pink Salt and/ or Celtic sea salt for a few years. According to recent studies, the micro plastic (read:dioxin) content in sea salts is at a very high level. This is such sad news to me, and unfortunately, not surprising. However, it means that I will be switching back to Redmond Real Salt.
While you should let the jars rest in cold storage for a month or more before opening, like my meades, I had trouble waiting! I opened the jars after just a week or more to use the herbs already, which tells me I am going to need to make a few more batches to get us through to next year- they are so delicious!!! I also love the convenience of this method, which apparently hails from the Canadian French of Nova Scotia. The flavor is truly improved, and quite strong. A little goes a long way. last night I cooked beans from the garden. I added some butter when they were finished and then tossed in a tablespoon of my dill herbs sales- it was so amazing!
I have seen some folks, such as our recent guest on Hearth & Helm, include wild herbs such as dandelion as well. I could see some of these mixtures being not only tasty, but medicinal too!. I think I will try an experimental "lemony" batch next, using wild wood sorrel and feral lemon balm. I would also imagine that Monarda (Bee Balm) would be excellent!
I hope perhaps you are inspired to try making your own herbes salées!
Many Blessings,
Vasalisa
