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Using vinegar to preserve your fresh herbs is only one way to make them last all year.
RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Farmer’s markets and gardens are bursting with tasty fresh herbs this time of the year, so it is a perfect time to not only enjoy them fresh, but to also try preserving herbs for use later. Especially the frost-tender ones, such as basil and pineapple sage, which will be gone with the first nip of frost. Preserving fresh organic herbs is a great way to add flavor to your food, plus by not purchasing pesticide-grown plants you support a healthy environment at the same time! And you'll save money by not having to buy tiny bottles of the dried stuff that loses its flavor before you have time to use it up.
Drying herbs couldn’t be simpler and is a great way to preserve parsley, rosemary, mint, thyme, and many others. But some herbs will be mere shadows of their former selves when dried, hardly worth the time and effort it takes to do it. Luckily, there are lots of simple alternatives, such as freezing and making herbal butters and vinegars, and pretty much all herbs are suited to these methods.
Freezing Herbs
Freezing herbs is easy, even if you have a small freezer. The simplest way to freeze herbs is to spread dry, clean whole or chopped leaves onto a cookie sheet, freeze overnight, and put the frozen herbs into sealed containers in the freezer for later use. Frozen herbs prepared this way last for months before they start to get tired-looking. I like to freeze chives for sprinkling on baked potatoes in the dead of winter, when my herb patch is locked under snow.
For longer storage, freeze herbs by snipping leaves into small bits, packing the bits into an empty ice-cube tray, filling about ¾ full with water, and freezing; one measured tablespoon of herbs per cube is a good amount. The next day, top off with water and freeze again (this covers the floating bits with ice to prevent freezer burn). Pop the finished cubes into a sealed container in the freezer. Drop frozen cubes into soups, stews, and such, for fresh-cut flavor.
Pesto also freezes well—freeze it in an ice-cube tray and store the cubes in airtight containers in the freezer. First, discover the secret of making gorgeous, emerald-green pesto.
Please don't play Russian Roulette with herbs in oil
Hi Marta,
Glad you enjoy my tips :-) Let me know what else you'd like me to write about in the future!
To address your questions:
You can put fresh herbs in vinegar and store at room temperature without any special treatment.
Do NOT put fresh herbs into oil unless you plan to refrigerate it and use it up within a few weeks. Oil holds the moisture in the fresh plant material while sealing out oxygen -- the perfect recipe for botulism poisoning if you store it at room temperature. Vacuum sealing takes out air (oxygen), but since oxygen is not a limiting factor in this instance, vacuum sealing will not help prevent the potential problems.
The photo that ran with the article is just a generic picture of flavored vinegar in pretty bottles. I wouldn't use rubber stoppers as they may leach chemicals that may or may not be bad to consume -- I stick with cork for sealing bottles -- but that's a personal choice. No question the bottles are pretty.
I don't think boiling water bath canning will make fresh herbs + oil safe to store at room temperature either. Herbs + oil are neither acidic nor highly sugared (two factors that inhibit spoilage and allow foods like jelly and pickles to be safely processed in boiling water).
I'm afraid you are pretty much stuck with my advice to either refrigerate and use promptly if you want to use fresh herbs in oil OR to completely dehydrate your fresh herbs before you put them in the oil if you will be storing it at room temperature.
Vacuum sealing oils and/or vinegars?
Does anyone know if you can use a food Vacuum sealer to preserve the oils and vinegars because I would prefer to use the FRESH herbs instead of dried, but my fridge space is limited. Also I see in the photo of your article that you used the rubber sealed bottles...can you just boil those and presserve them like canning or does it still require a fridge?? Thanks for all the great tips!! Keep em coming!