Fresh herbs or Dried?
By Marilyn Zink
I’m so glad the herbs are starting to grow again in my garden.
I was getting tired of using dried herbs and I’ve run out of some of my dried herbs that I used over the winter after harvesting them last fall.
I grow the usual culinary herbs – rosemary, thyme, oregano, marjoram, sage – as well as a number of other herbs that have various uses. I still have a bit of rosemary, sage and thyme but ran out of oregano and marjoram quite a while ago.
I guess that’s an indication of which herbs I use the most of. Despite a common belief that dried herbs last a long time, you really shouldn’t keep them longer than one winter.
Some say you can keep dried herbs up to one year, but I prefer to keep them less than that, as the herbs eventually lose their flavour over time. Dried herbs can be checked for flavour. The herbs should be green still have a strong aroma when crumbled between your fingers. If the herbs are brown, throw them out as they have definitely lost their flavour.
Where and how dried herbs are kept is especially important. They need to be kept away from heat, light and air. Little spice racks may look nice over a stove but this is not the place to store dried herbs.
If the herbs are brown, throw them out as they have definitely lost their flavour.
Dried herbs have a more intense flavour then fresh herbs. Despite that, I am looking forward to using fresh herbs in my meals. I used some fresh chives recently in an evening meal and I enjoyed herb tea made with peppermint and lemon thyme.
While fresh herbs can be bought in a grocery store, nothing compares to snipping your own herbs for use in your kitchen. It’s best to snip a few branches in the morning right after the dew has dried or in the early evening. Avoid snipping in the heat of the day.
I like help the herbs get growing in the spring by topping up the soil with fresh manure. I break up the compacted soil, removing weeds, dried leaves and dead branches. Then I mix that up with bags and bags of well rotted manure, which is often mixed with a good organic topsoil too.
The herbs have already thanked me. I’m sure they’ve grown a good inch or two in less than a week. With the warm sun, coupled with water and the good food they get to eat from the soil I’ve added, the herbs should be big and bushy in no time.
Marilyn Zink is the publisher.editor of the Herbal Collective magazine, www.herbalcollective.ca and an avid herb gardener. She has written two ebooks on herb gardening.
