Fragrant Harvest

by: Laura Langston

Make the most of the magical herbs that grow in your garden. Learn when and how to pick and preserve nature’s own remedies, seasonings and crafty flowers

Herbs are useful as well as attractive. They perform beautifully in dried flower crafts, as seasonings and in remedies. It’s a shame to let them grow, blossom and fade without taking advantage of all their many properties. So we offer this simple guide to harvesting and preserving your herbs. When you harvest your herbs will depend, to some extent, on whether roots, flowers or leaves are used, and on what you’ll be using them for. If you’re crafting potpourri, for instance, you might gather rose petals, calendula flowers or poppy pods. In the kitchen, you might need basil leaves, chive flowers or dill seed. Making medicine, you might reach for feverfew leaves, camomile flowers or marshmallow root (herbs intended for medicines are harvested and dried by the same “rules” as other herbs). Generally, whatever your end result, keep these points in mind: NOTES Dill, rosemary, savory and sage—the treasures of your herb garden can translate into teas, medicines and heaven-sent seasonings. Harvest culinary herbs before their flowers bud, dry using a variety of simple techniques, and enjoy. A piece of screening, elevated so air can flow under it, is perfect for drying small-stemmed plants such as thyme, and flowers such as lavender and geranium (left). Harvest flowers just prior to full bloom, and seeds—sunflower, poppy and coriander—when they turn from green to brown. Many soft-leafed herbs—dill, chives, parsley, lovage and fennel—freeze even better than they dry. Put clean, dry herbs, whole or chopped, into plastic freezer bags. Or slip them into ice-cube trays and top with water. Hanging herbs in paper bags keeps dust and insects out. • Pick herbs on dry days only, late in the morning, after the dew has evaporated but before the sun is hot. Or pick at dusk. • Check plants daily: many open or mature quickly once they begin. •For optimal flavour, harvest culinary herbs just before buds open. (Once the plant flowers, it concentrates its vitality on blooms rather than leaves.) • For medicinal uses, harvest roots in fall before the ground freezes, and don’t harvest first-year plants—the roots need time to develop, strengthen and store the medicinal properties. •Harvest seeds when they turn from green to brown. Some may be brown but are still moist inside, so make sure seeds are also brittle and crushable. •Harvest flowers just prior to full bloom. •Discard wilted, yellowed or insect-attacked leaves, flowers, seeds or roots. •Fresh herbs are fragile. Handle gently, taking care not to crush leaves or flowers. DRYING Always dry herbs as quickly as possible. Choose a warm, dry spot with good air flow. Avoid kitchens, where airborne grease will cling to plants. Choose a dry basement, spare room, barn or an airy closet. Darkness isn’t necessary, but it does help retain flavour in culinary herbs and colour in dried flowers. If plant material isn’t starting to dry in a few days, a little extra air circulation from a fan or air conditioner (set on “circulate,” not “cold”) can help. Just make sure the flow is gentle and indirect, and not too hot. DRYING ON A FLAT SCREEN A piece of screening, elevated so that air can flow under it, is excellent for drying small-stemmed plants such as thyme, flower heads such as camomile, flower petals such as roses, and the decorative leaves of scented geraniums or lady’s mantle. Larger-stemmed herbs, especially those being used for cooking, such as tarragon, can also be dried this way. Just strip the leaves from the stems first. Spread herbs or flowers in a single layer and cover them with a thin sheet of cheesecloth or paper towel to keep the dust away. Stir them daily, changing their position to make sure they dry evenly. DRYING UPSIDE DOWN Gathering stems together with elastic bands and suspending them with a piece of string from the ceiling or a clothes hanger is a common way of drying culinary and crafting herbs such as sage, rosemary and artemisias. Hanging herbs sometimes attract insects or dust particles. To avoid this, tie the bundles and slip them into paper bags before hanging them. Punch a few holes in the bags to encourage air flow. Keep the herb bundles small and loose; large, tight bundles may hinder air flow, distort the herb’s shape or encourage mould. Select four to six stems per bundle. DRYING UPRIGHT BOTTLE IT Herbal vinegars—a great treat—can be expensive to buy but easy and economical to make at home. And they are another way of preserving the harvest. Single herbs—or combinations thereof—can be turned into herbal vinegar. Some cooks use a hot steeping method, warming the vinegar and herbs together, then leaving them to steep. Others insist heat destroys the acidity of the vinegar and dilutes the herbal taste. Whatever your opinion, cold steeping is faster and easier, and produces a highly flavoured vinegar. Start with a good-quality white or red wine vinegar, rice vinegar, sherry vinegar or cider vinegar. Take one clean, large glass jar and fill it three-quarters full with the herbs of your choice. Make sure the herbs are fresh, clean and in good shape. Top the herbs with vinegar. If the herbs float, take a wooden spoon and gently push them below the surface. Leave the blend to steep for at least four weeks (several months is better). Strain, bottle and store away from direct light. Slip a clean, fresh herb sprig into the vinegar when you bottle it if you plan to use it or give it away soon. Here are two recipes to get you started: ITALIAN BLEND Place handfuls of clean, dry oregano, basil and rosemary into a large glass jar. Add flat-leafed Italian parsley, two hot peppers and a few unblemished, clean and peeled garlic cloves. Top with white wine vinegar. FRENCH BLEND Place handfuls of clean, dry tarragon, thyme and chives into a large glass jar. Add two bay leaves, a few peppercorns and a clean, peeled shallot or two. Top with rice or white wine vinegar. A great choice for everlastings—flowers or herbs with stiff stems, such as lavender and yarrow—is to dry them in empty dry vases, jars or tin cans (avoid plastic, which encourages mould). Don’t crowd the herbs. To keep them separate, fasten a piece of chicken wire over the top and poke the stems through the holes. MACHINE DRYING Oven drying must be done carefully. As with the screen method, the herbs are dried in a single layer. The trick is maintaining a low enough oven temperature (38°C/100°F) over two to six hours. Oven drying requires regular stirring and careful watching. If you begin to smell the herbs while they are in the oven, they are losing precious oils. A less labour-intensive option is a food dehydrator. Use the lowest setting and check the herbs often. Leafy herbs such as nettles and scented geraniums might dry in a few hours, while flower heads might take a day or two. Herbs should be “cornflake crisp” when dry, which can take several weeks at room temperature (less with machine drying). Dried herbs should retain their colour. If they have turned brown or faded quite a bit, they were dried too rapidly or at too high a temperature and, in the case of culinary herbs, have lost a significant amount of flavour. Avoid storing dried herbs in plastic bags or plastic containers—it invites mould and mildew. If you have room, you can leave delicate crafting herbs such as baby’s breath to hang. Otherwise, store herbs in clear, covered glass jars and keep them in a cool, dark place. Replace dried culinary herbs annually. FREEZING Many soft-leafed herbs freeze even better than they dry. These include basil, parsley, chives, cilantro, lovage, dill and chervil. Wash the herbs, run them through the salad spinner and slip them into plastic freezer bags. You may want to chop the herbs ahead of time if you’re going to use them as a garnish; otherwise, freeze them whole. They’ll crumble easily when frozen. In recipes, use one teaspoon of frozen herbs to half a teaspoon of dried. Fresh herbs can also be slipped into ice- cube trays, topped with water and frozen. Try blue borage flowers or sprigs of mint to garnish summertime drinks.

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