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<blockquote data-quote="Marguerite" data-source="post: 204733" data-attributes="member: 1991"><p>I began harvesting my herbs a week ago. Yes, it's spring - I know. But I had to harvest my mint because I detected some caterpillar activity, and from experience the best way to deal with it is to cut the mint back hard, to about an inch high, and hang the bunches to dry. Under these circumstances I don't dry in the oven - I hang the bunches so the caterpillars will drop off the bunch as it dries out. That way the end result is still free of caterpillars.</p><p></p><p>Yesterday I harvest basil - again, necessary. A lot of herbs MUST be used or they either bolt to seed or they get leggy. By harvesting and tip-pruning from the beginning of the season, you get bushier, thicker growth and a much bigger, longer harvest.</p><p></p><p>Some herbs don't dry well. Chives, parsley, basil, tarragon - I used to try to dry them but no more. Instead, I make stuff with them and freeze that. Chives and parsley can be chopped and frozen into ice cube trays, then popped out and kept in a bag of chive cubes or parsley cubes in the freezer. Basil - I make pesto sauce and keep it in either the fridge or the freezer. Tarragon - I make bearnaise sauce and keep it in the freezer. And now my tarragoon is growing back. I will have a big harvest of basil and tarragon in time for difficult child 1's wedding. I talked to the caterer last night, she will be very happy to use our home-grown herbs for the sauces at the reception. In fact, she will use my sauces! Because BF2 is allergic to pine nuts which are usually used in pesto sauce, I'm making pesto with toasted cashew nuts.</p><p></p><p>I keep harvesting through the growing period. I have a thin line strung across the ceiling of our family room and I tie bunches of herbs to it. When they're dry and crisp I shred the leaves into jars. Once the jar is full I use my stick blender to grind it down - it's depressing to see how much bulk gets ground down to such a small quantity. But what concentration of flavour is in that quantity! You have an entire summer of garden flavour condensed into a pinch.</p><p></p><p>Depending on what herbs, I wouldn't use a whole bunch at once (unless it's a bouquet garni). Home-grown is always going to be stronger.</p><p></p><p>A suggestion for gifts - make some bouquet garni that you can dry (in other words, don't include parsley!). For gift bunches I use whatever woody herbs I have in the garden, such as thyme, rosemary, oregano and bay. You can either tie them in a bit of muslin or just tie the little bunches with kitchen twine but leave a long length on one side so the cook can tie the long end to the lid of the pot for easy removal later.</p><p></p><p>You can make Asian bouquets but you need to tie them into muslin - a slice of ginger (it still has flavour even when it dries), a piece of star anise, some szechuan peppercorns, some lemongrass. It makes wonderful flavour addition to chicken stock.</p><p></p><p>I've also made pot pourri in the past - I would spread rose petals to dry, on newspaper. Once dry they would be packaged into paper bags and I would dry other flowers for colour, maybe peel some oranges and lemons for the coloured peel. Some allspice berries, some cinnamon and orris root and a sprinkle of essential oils, and you have a wonderful pot pourri.</p><p></p><p>I also find it very calming, very therapeutic. </p><p></p><p>A herb you could try to grow through winter - salad burnet. I'm told it stays green in winter, even in snow. I read that it used to be used to ward off scurvy in the winter months. it has a very mild flavour, like cucumber. It's also pretty. It looks leafy and delicate, like a fern or like chervil, but is tough as old boots. I just bought two new plants this spring - I had lost my previous plant in the searing heatwaves two years ago. It's a leafy green perennial that is circular, it can grow to a couple of feet across although the babies I bought were only a few inches. I've currently got mine surrounded by lemon basil (part of last night's harvest). It's like parsley in that you can't dry it and expect to have any flavour. You just keep it growing, so you cna use it fresh!</p><p></p><p>Enjoy your herbs. Way to go!</p><p></p><p>Marg</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Marguerite, post: 204733, member: 1991"] I began harvesting my herbs a week ago. Yes, it's spring - I know. But I had to harvest my mint because I detected some caterpillar activity, and from experience the best way to deal with it is to cut the mint back hard, to about an inch high, and hang the bunches to dry. Under these circumstances I don't dry in the oven - I hang the bunches so the caterpillars will drop off the bunch as it dries out. That way the end result is still free of caterpillars. Yesterday I harvest basil - again, necessary. A lot of herbs MUST be used or they either bolt to seed or they get leggy. By harvesting and tip-pruning from the beginning of the season, you get bushier, thicker growth and a much bigger, longer harvest. Some herbs don't dry well. Chives, parsley, basil, tarragon - I used to try to dry them but no more. Instead, I make stuff with them and freeze that. Chives and parsley can be chopped and frozen into ice cube trays, then popped out and kept in a bag of chive cubes or parsley cubes in the freezer. Basil - I make pesto sauce and keep it in either the fridge or the freezer. Tarragon - I make bearnaise sauce and keep it in the freezer. And now my tarragoon is growing back. I will have a big harvest of basil and tarragon in time for difficult child 1's wedding. I talked to the caterer last night, she will be very happy to use our home-grown herbs for the sauces at the reception. In fact, she will use my sauces! Because BF2 is allergic to pine nuts which are usually used in pesto sauce, I'm making pesto with toasted cashew nuts. I keep harvesting through the growing period. I have a thin line strung across the ceiling of our family room and I tie bunches of herbs to it. When they're dry and crisp I shred the leaves into jars. Once the jar is full I use my stick blender to grind it down - it's depressing to see how much bulk gets ground down to such a small quantity. But what concentration of flavour is in that quantity! You have an entire summer of garden flavour condensed into a pinch. Depending on what herbs, I wouldn't use a whole bunch at once (unless it's a bouquet garni). Home-grown is always going to be stronger. A suggestion for gifts - make some bouquet garni that you can dry (in other words, don't include parsley!). For gift bunches I use whatever woody herbs I have in the garden, such as thyme, rosemary, oregano and bay. You can either tie them in a bit of muslin or just tie the little bunches with kitchen twine but leave a long length on one side so the cook can tie the long end to the lid of the pot for easy removal later. You can make Asian bouquets but you need to tie them into muslin - a slice of ginger (it still has flavour even when it dries), a piece of star anise, some szechuan peppercorns, some lemongrass. It makes wonderful flavour addition to chicken stock. I've also made pot pourri in the past - I would spread rose petals to dry, on newspaper. Once dry they would be packaged into paper bags and I would dry other flowers for colour, maybe peel some oranges and lemons for the coloured peel. Some allspice berries, some cinnamon and orris root and a sprinkle of essential oils, and you have a wonderful pot pourri. I also find it very calming, very therapeutic. A herb you could try to grow through winter - salad burnet. I'm told it stays green in winter, even in snow. I read that it used to be used to ward off scurvy in the winter months. it has a very mild flavour, like cucumber. It's also pretty. It looks leafy and delicate, like a fern or like chervil, but is tough as old boots. I just bought two new plants this spring - I had lost my previous plant in the searing heatwaves two years ago. It's a leafy green perennial that is circular, it can grow to a couple of feet across although the babies I bought were only a few inches. I've currently got mine surrounded by lemon basil (part of last night's harvest). It's like parsley in that you can't dry it and expect to have any flavour. You just keep it growing, so you cna use it fresh! Enjoy your herbs. Way to go! Marg [/QUOTE]
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