I didn’t grow up learning how to cook. When I say I had no idea how to season my food as a young adult, I mean NO idea. I didn’t even use salt and pepper. It took me years to not just learn how to cook from a practical application standpoint, but also how to use herbs and spice blends.
When I started gardening, growing herbs wasn’t at the top of my list. I didn’t really think there could be much difference between the dried stuff I bought in the store and using it fresh out of the garden. I started to grow them to include in our CSA boxes and on our market stands. When I had leftovers that maybe didn’t sell at the market that day, I brought them into my own kitchen and began to learn how fresh use differed from dried use.
Today on Just Grow Something, we cover the top 10 most versatile herbs to grow at home that are good for fresh and dried use, how to change how you use herbs depending on if they’re fresh or dried, how to dry them without a dehydrator, and how to use them in spice blends to kick that flavor up in the kitchen throughout the entire year. Let’s dig in!
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I did not grow up learning how to cook.
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In fact, my brother and I really weren't even allowed in the
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kitchen when my mom was cooking. The only dish that I learned to
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cook growing up was chili con carne, and that was because I
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needed to learn the recipe in order to earn my Girl Scout
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cooking badge. So when I say I had no idea how
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to season my food as a young adult, I mean no idea 0 I didn't
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even use salt and pepper. It took me years to not just
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learn how to cook from like a practical application
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standpoint, but also how to use herbs and spice blends to take
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those dishes from just. OK, you completed the recipe.
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Good job to that was really good.
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May I have seconds please? When I started gardening,
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growing herbs wasn't at the top of my list.
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I didn't really think that there could be much difference between
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the dried stuff that I bought in the store and using it fresh out
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of the garden. I wasn't really even sure how to
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use fresh herbs, but once I started growing vegetables for
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the public, there were more and more requests for fresh herbs
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like basil, oregano and parsley and Rosemary that were staples
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in other people's kitchens. So I started to grow them to
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include in our CSA baskets and on our market stance.
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When I had leftovers that maybe didn't sell at the market that
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day, I brought them into my own kitchen and just sort of began
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experimenting and learning how fresh use differed from dried
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use. And then began to dry the
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leftovers of my fresh herbs and discovered that not only did
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those taste better than the store bought, but they retained
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that freshness so much longer. Eventually I started growing and
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drying herbs to blend with other spices and package as seasonings
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and teas for sale at the farmers markets.
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I have come a long way with Seasoning Baby.
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Today on Just Grow Something, we're going to cover the top 10
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most versatile herbs to grow at home that are good for fresh and
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dried use. How to change how you use herbs
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depending on if they're fresh or dried, how to dry them without a
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dehydrator, and how to use them in spice blends to kick that
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flavor up in the kitchen throughout the entire year.
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Let's dig in. Hey, I'm Karen, I started
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gardening in a small corner of my suburban backyard and now 18
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years later, I've got a degree in horticulture and operate a 40
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acre market farm. I believe there is power in food
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and that everyone should know how to grow at least a little
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bit of their own. On this podcast, I share
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evidence based techniques to help you plant, grow, harvest
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and store all your family's favorites.
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Consider me your friend in the garden.
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So grab your garden journal and a cup of coffee and get ready to
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just grow something. Thank you to everyone who
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responded to my question about your preferred episode length.
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I had a bunch of responses to the poll on Spotify, several of
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you replied to the e-mail or DM Ed me, and I have sort of
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combined all the results. The overwhelming majority, like
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90% of you said give me all the details no matter the episode
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length, with another 10% saying give me all the details but
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break it up. The final 10% said short and
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sweet is the way to go. So I really appreciate the
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feedback. This doesn't mean that I'm going
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to change the format or the length necessarily for every
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episode going forward, but it does mean that I won't feel like
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I need to cut myself off if I start to deep dive into a topic.
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Because most of you seem to like that.
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And I'm guessing that those of you who prefer the short and
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sweet aren't going to be upset if it's just an episode here or
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there where I get long winded. My favorite response to this
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came from Kathy, who said that her preferred episode length was
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three hours because she uses the podcast to procrastinate going
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outside when it's cold out but she's supposed to be out.
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Like adding compost to her garden beds or whatever.
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I mean, I love the sound of my own voice so much.
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I started a podcast and even I don't think I could listen to
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myself for three hours, but I appreciate the sentiment.
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I also appreciate our newest patron over on Patreon.
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Matt T has joined at the Buy Karen a Coffee level, which I am
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super appreciative of. This podcast runs on coffee,
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cuss words and magic mind. So I appreciate your support,
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Matt. And then just before I hit
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record on this episode, I also got an e-mail that Chris S has
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upgraded her commitment level over on a Patreon.
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So I couldn't be more thankful for that.
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If you are interested in joining Matt and Chris in supporting
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this podcast and my coffee habit, you can find multiple
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options for either one time or monthly support@patreon.com/just
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Grow Something or Buy Me a coffee.com/just Grow Something
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which will both be LinkedIn the show notes.
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And you can also support the show by heading to the shop at
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just growsomethingpodcast.com and checking out all of the cool
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shirts and the hoodies and the mugs and T-shirts and totes and
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They're all designed by me. I get a few bucks towards the
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production and everyone else getting their cut.
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The link to the shop will also be in the episode description
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for your shopping pleasure. When I bring fresh herbs for
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sale to the farmers market, I frequently get asked how to use
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those differently from like the dried herbs that you buy in the
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store, and that is a great question.
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There is absolutely a difference in the way that we use fresh
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herbs over dried, and a lot of that has to do with two things,
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the oil content and the texture. Dried herbs generally have a
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higher concentration of essential oils than fresh herbs,
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but the total oil content is not increased.
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It's the relative concentration that rises due to the loss of
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water during drying. Fresh herbs are about 80 to 90%
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water, so drying them removes this water and concentrates the
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oils which are responsible for their flavor and aroma.
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At the same time, this removal of water also reduces the volume
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of the herb itself and a modification of the texture of
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the herb from pliable to slightly crunchy.
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There are differences in flavor between fresh herbs and dry
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herbs. Fresh herbs contain subtle,
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bright, and delicate flavors due to the presence of that water
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and the fresh cellular compounds.
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Fresh herbs are best used as a garnish or added toward the end
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of cooking to preserve their flavor, unless they are one of
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the stars of the dish, like in a caprese salad.
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Dried herbs have more intense and concentrated flavors because
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the water is removed and those oils are condensed.
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Often they are slightly different in taste because
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drying changes the chemical structure of some oils.
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For example, dried basil has a much more earthy tone compared
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to the fresh basil's sweet and aromatic profile.
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The differences in these flavor and texture profiles changes the
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way that we use herbs in our cooking.
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You would never use dried basil as a substitute for fresh basil
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in caprese. The texture and the flavor would
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be entirely wrong, and you generally wouldn't use fresh
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oregano as part of a rub for your roasted chicken.
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Speaking from experience, these types of subtle differences can
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take some time for an inexperienced cook to learn.
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That doesn't mean that we can't swap one for the other in most
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applications, but it does mean we need to know how much to use
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when we do, and when to add them.
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If a recipe calls for dried herbs and you want to substitute
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fresh because you can grab it straight from the garden, you
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don't want to add the same amount as the recipe calls for
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because the taste would be too subtle.
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Inversely, if the recipe calls for fresh thyme and you only
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have dried, you'll need to adjust how much you use to avoid
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overpowering the dish. So how do we adjust the amount
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of herb that we're using depending on whether it's fresh
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or dried? The general rule of thumb is a
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one to three ratio, so you use one part dried herb for every
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three parts fresh herb. So if the recipe calls for one
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teaspoon of dried oregano, then you're going to multiply it by
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three and use 3 teaspoons or one tablespoon of fresh oregano.
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If it calls for one teaspoon of fresh oregano, then divide by 3,
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so 1/3 of a teaspoon of dried oregano.
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OK, so one part dried for every three parts fresh.
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How we use it in cooking or the timing of when we use it is also
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important. For fresh herbs, we want to add
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it late in the cooking process or as a garnish at the end to
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preserve their delicate flavor. Some herbs will actually turn
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bitter if they are added too early in the cooking process.
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Dried herbs we can add earlier in the cooking.
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In fact, we want to because that gives the oils times to
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rehydrate and actually infuse into the dish.
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And if a recipe isn't going to be cooked and it calls for fresh
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herbs, you usually want to stick with fresh if you can't, again,
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because of that texture and that flavor difference.
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But maybe you're not using a recipe.
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Maybe you're coming up with something on the fly using
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whatever you have on hand in the kitchen.
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As best as I try to meal plan each week, and I'm absolutely
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using Bunny ears here, I often find myself in this situation in
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the middle of the summer when we've worked on the farm all day
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and the chores are done and we've come in the house starving
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and it's 8:30 at night and all I've got is whatever I can just
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pull real quick from the garden to pair with maybe some
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defrosted chicken breast. So here's a good guideline when
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deciding when to use fresh or dried.
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Fresh herbs are best for salads, salsas, garnish, fresh things
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like pesto where you want a light and fresh flavor.
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Dried herbs are really good for soups, stews, baked dishes,
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spice blends, or meat rubs where we want robust and concentrated
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flavors. So understanding these
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differences actually is going to help you maximize the flavor and
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the impact of your herbs, whether you're using them fresh
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or dried. So if I am seasoning the chicken
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before I roast it and I plan to pair it with like mashed
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potatoes, I'll use dried herbs or a homemade dried blend to rub
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into those chicken breasts before I roast them.
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But if I plan to grill it on the stove top and then let it cool
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and then just slice it and layer it on a big green salad, which
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definitely has a fresher flavor to it, I will still season the
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chicken breast with that dried herb blend before I cook it.
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But then I will absolutely add fresh herbs to the salad and on
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top with the chicken to garnish before serving.
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So this takes it from a heavier meal I might serve later in the
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fall with the kind of meat and potatoes vibe to a fresh summer
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salad for a couple hungry farmers that still has loads of
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flavor layered on. So what are the top 10 herbs
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that I think every gardener should grow to use both fresh
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and dried in the kitchen? Let's go.
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Number one. Top of my list absolutely is
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basil. OK, basil.
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We generally are going to want to start those seeds indoors and
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transplant the seedlings after frost.
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They need full sun, well draining soil, consistent
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moisture, but not waterlogged. The one thing about basil I
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think that people get wrong is how to harvest it.
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So you actually want to use scissors or snips of some sort
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to cut the stem of your basil just above a leaf node.
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OK, this is going to cause that stem to branch out and this is
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how you get a bushy basil. We don't want to just pick
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individual leaves because all you're going to get is this long
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skinny sort of stem that's growing up and up and up and
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flopping over. You're not getting anything in
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the way of new leaves off of that and eventually it's just
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going to die. So to get that sort of bushing
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habit, you want to do the cutting back and your regular
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harvesting actually promotes new growth.
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So basil is one of those where the more you use it, the more
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you get from it. You do want to make sure if it
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starts to form flower buds, you want to pinch those off and
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that's going to encourage that leafy growth because once it
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goes to flour, number one, it changes the flavor of the basil
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a little bit and also changes its growth habit.
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OK, fresh basil is fantastic for pasta salads, pesto for sure.
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And of course there's Caprese salad.
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So that's fresh basil and mozzarella and tomato with like
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a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper, right?
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Super easy, super fresh. One of the things that I
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actually think makes basil an easy introduction to fresh herbs
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is because it is so versatile because you can use it fresh in
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so many ways. And if you have extra things
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coming out of the garden in terms of leafy greens that have
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a strong flavor, so maybe arugula and you're kind of tired
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of arugula salads, you can make an arugula pesto, but that using
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just arugula might be overpowering.
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So you use the basil as a base for that pesto.
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And then you add in the arugula arugula to sort of bring it up
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to that spiciness you might want, but without it being
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overpowering. Same thing goes with using
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carrot tops as pesto. Using just the carrot tops may
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be a little too, I don't know, green for some people.
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I love it. Not everybody does.
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So you can use the basil as a base for this in your pesto and
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then add those carrot tops in there, right?
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Lots of ways to use fresh basil. But of course, dried basil is
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also very versatile. I tend to use it in sauces and
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soups, but also in a lot of herb blends.
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So good one to start with. Absolutely.
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Number one is basil #2 is parsley, right?
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Parsley grows really well from either seeds or transplants.
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Full sun or part shade. Very versatile.
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We kind of want to keep that soil consistently moist.
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The way that we harvest parsley is to snip the outer stems at
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the base, but we want to avoid cutting that central growing
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point. So trim the outer leaves really
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regularly. That's going to continue to
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promote that growth, but you want to leave the central grow
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point alone so it can continue to grow for you all season long.
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Parsley is a biennial, so the first year that you plant it,
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you're going to be able to continuously harvest off of it
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all season long, and then it's going to go dormant over the
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winter time in most areas. If you can protect it from
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freezing completely solidly in the ground in the second year,
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it will kind of have this burst of green growth early in the
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spring, and you can harvest once or twice off of it.
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But you're very quickly going to notice that it's going to try to
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go to flower and the shape and the flavor of the leaves changes
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at that point. So that is the point where I
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stop harvesting off of it and I let it go ahead and do its
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thing. It's going to go to seed and it
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will reseed itself and you can actually get it to kind of
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continue doing its thing that way year after year.
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Parsley, probably fresh use is most famously used in Taboulay.
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It actually that dish calls for a large amount of parsley, more
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than you would actually imagine. But it's also really good used
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fresh in soups and also as a garnish.
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You put it over top of your salads and that sort of thing.
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Dried, it's really good for soups and stews and also again
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in seasoning mixes #3 on my list is thyme.
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Thyme prefers full sun, well draining soil.
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It can tolerate drought very well once it's established.
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So you really only want to water it when the soil is really,
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really dry. Thyme, you want to just harvest
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the springs as needed, preferably before they flower.
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Now the flowers of thyme are edible and they make a very
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pretty garnish over top of salads and such.
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But you want to continue to harvest them before they flower
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because again, that's going to kind of slow the growth down.
00:16:40
Anytime you let something go to flower, it thinks its job is
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done, it's reproducing, so it's not going to grow as quickly for
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you to maintain thyme plants. You want to trim that woody stem
00:16:50
back about once a year to encourage new growth, and that
00:16:55
is something that will kind of be apparent to you as you see it
00:16:59
grow. About the second or third year
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you're going to see, oh gosh, it's kind of getting woody down
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at the bottom and all the new growth is at the top.
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So if you cut it back pretty well every single year, you're
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going to avoid some of that. For fresh use, thyme is really
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good with roasted vegetables or meats or in breads, dipping
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sauces, that sort of thing. Dried, you want to use them in
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rubs or soups. There's also the sort of herb de
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Provence blend that is very famous in in French cooking.
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Thyme is a is a good player in that as well #4 is oregano.
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I grow this right alongside my time.
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They were all in the same bed, so they prefer they both prefer
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that full sun and that well drained soil, and they're both
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very drought tolerant. Oregano, same thing.
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You want to trim it back pretty frequently.
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Snip the stems before they start to flower for the best flavor.
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Again, the little flowers are edible, but if you want it to
00:17:52
continue growing for you really well, then you want to go ahead
00:17:54
and and harvest it before it flowers.
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Once it does flower, then you can trim it way back and that's
00:18:00
going to encourage it to regrow. Fresh oregano is really good on
00:18:04
top of pizza. It's good tossing into sauces or
00:18:07
marinades, or you can add it to that Caprese salad that we
00:18:11
talked about, dried. Perfect for use in Italian
00:18:15
seasonings, soups, dressings, anything that needs that sort of
00:18:19
Italian flavor. Oregano really does give it that
00:18:22
kick. It's kind of the base for a lot
00:18:24
of Italian flavors and another one that goes along with that is
00:18:29
number 5, and that is Rosemary. Now a lot of these are
00:18:31
perennials in most areas, oregano and thyme specifically,
00:18:35
Rosemary is only perennial in certain areas.
00:18:38
You listen to listen to last week's episode, we talked a lot
00:18:40
about that. We can't grow Rosemary here very
00:18:43
frequently or very successfully as a perennial, but I will grow
00:18:47
it outdoors all summer long and I usually bring 1 into the
00:18:50
house. Usually my best looking specimen
00:18:53
will come into the house and I'll overwinter it so I continue
00:18:55
to use it. Rosemary does require full sun.
00:18:58
It also likes that well draining soil, so if you have very clay
00:19:01
soil you might want to amend it a little bit.
00:19:03
It also does prefer drier conditions, so just alongside
00:19:07
the thyme in the oregano, it can do pretty well in a drought.
00:19:11
If it is a perennial in your area, you are going to want to
00:19:14
prune it to shape it annually and to promote new growth.
00:19:18
But if it's you're growing it as an annual, you're just going to
00:19:22
snip those sprigs as needed. If you have an established plant
00:19:28
that is sort of growing like a Bush year round, then you have
00:19:32
to worry about this very little. You know, you can kind of take
00:19:34
it as often and as frequently as you need it once it's
00:19:37
established. But if you're like me and you're
00:19:39
growing it as an annual, you want to get it, you know, to
00:19:44
where it's at least 6 to 8 inches tall before you start to
00:19:47
snip off of it because you don't want to kind of slow down the
00:19:50
growth at that point. But the more you snip it, the
00:19:53
more it's going to want to try to grow.
00:19:55
It is a slow growing plant. So ideally I end up having
00:19:59
multiple Rosemary plants going at one time just so I can get
00:20:03
what I need. But it really just depends on
00:20:05
how much you use Rosemary. The interesting thing that I
00:20:09
find with Rosemary is. You can almost always use it
00:20:13
either fresh or dried depending on the application, because the
00:20:17
texture really is about the same either way.
00:20:20
I think the difference with Rosemary fresh to dried is just
00:20:25
once again, that sort of that flavor profile.
00:20:28
So it's going to be a little bit more Rosemary forward if it's
00:20:31
dried versus if you're using it fresh.
00:20:34
So I will use fresh Rosemary for roasted meats and potatoes, even
00:20:39
in breads and stuff. I will use the dried if I'm
00:20:42
doing like a rub or if I'm doing a marinade or if I'm making an
00:20:45
herb blend. Number six on my list of 10
00:20:49
herbs to grow for fresh and dried use is sage.
00:20:53
I don't use a ton of sage. I use it for some very specific
00:20:58
dishes, but it's one that is perennial in almost every area I
00:21:04
believe, and it grows sort of like a Bush.
00:21:09
It likes full sun. It likes that well drained soil.
00:21:12
This is one again, that you want to let dry out between
00:21:15
waterings. This is also another one that
00:21:17
will get woody if you let it. So you definitely want to trim
00:21:20
those woody stems back in the early spring in order to harvest
00:21:24
sage. You can do this one of two ways.
00:21:26
This is one where you can just sort of pick the leaves off as
00:21:30
needed. You don't necessarily need to
00:21:31
cut the whole stem. I tend to cut the stem back just
00:21:35
a little bit because I feel like that helps encourage just kind
00:21:39
of shaping it as a Bush, especially before it flowers.
00:21:42
Once it goes to flour, I just kind of will, you know, pick a
00:21:45
few of the leaves here and there as I need it.
00:21:48
I will use sage fresh in stuffings or if I'm doing like a
00:21:53
stuffed meat of some sort and in pastas.
00:21:56
And then when it's dried, I use it in poultry seasoning.
00:22:00
I use it for soups. And then I also will sometimes
00:22:03
add it to teas and it kind of gives it a little bit of a, a
00:22:06
different flavor profile to it #7 is cilantro.
00:22:10
And the way we use cilantro fresh versus dried is actually
00:22:15
very interesting. And here's the thing about
00:22:17
cilantro that I think probably probably frustrates people the
00:22:20
most at the farmers market when we have tomatoes in season,
00:22:25
generally speaking, it's the end of June at the absolute earliest
00:22:29
before we really have tomatoes coming in from out in the field.
00:22:32
Certainly 4th of July or later, right middle of July is really
00:22:36
when we start to get the flushes of tomatoes coming on.
00:22:38
And of course, that would mean, oh, it's peak time to make
00:22:41
salsa. Unfortunately, cilantro prefers
00:22:45
cooler weather, so we often don't have cilantro growing at
00:22:49
the same time that our tomatoes are super abundant.
00:22:52
It is very frustrating for people and I'm trying to find
00:22:55
ways to mitigate this by maybe growing them in protected areas
00:22:58
like in the greenhouse or someplace where I could keep it
00:23:01
cooler. So stay tuned for that.
00:23:03
But yes, cilantro does prefer cooler weather.
00:23:05
It likes the full sun, it likes a moist soil.
00:23:08
So this is one that you really just kind of throw out and sow
00:23:12
directly in the ground and let it come up.
00:23:14
And it's one that I always recommend succession planting
00:23:17
every few weeks in order to get a continuous harvest because it
00:23:20
will bolt fairly regularly as soon as it starts to get warm,
00:23:24
number one. And after you've been harvesting
00:23:26
off of it for a couple of weeks, it's just going to want to go
00:23:28
ahead and shoot up those flowers.
00:23:31
So succession planting every couple of weeks is really key if
00:23:34
you want a continuous harvest of cilantro in order to harvest it,
00:23:37
you just snip those leaves back and you want to do this
00:23:41
regularly. This is another one that likes
00:23:42
being cut back #1 it's going to encourage that new growth, but
00:23:46
#2 it also delays that bolting too.
00:23:51
Now the difference with cilantro, we use it fresh, we
00:23:55
use it in salsas and curries or as a garnish, but we don't
00:23:59
really dry the leaves for use. What we do do is allow the
00:24:06
cilantro to go to flour and produce seed and then we harvest
00:24:12
those seeds when they are brown and dry.
00:24:14
And this is coriander. So we use dried coriander seeds
00:24:20
in spice blends like garam masala and Taco seasoning.
00:24:24
So you don't really ever, I've never seen anyway, any type of a
00:24:28
recipe that's going to ask for dried cilantro.
00:24:31
It's either fresh cilantro or it's coriander seed.
00:24:34
So I find that very interesting in in terms of the way that we
00:24:37
use cilantro as an herb #8 is dill.
00:24:42
This is another one that you probably should directly sew
00:24:45
because it's got a very deep tat root and it doesn't really love
00:24:48
being transplanted. But if you have a short season,
00:24:51
you know, area, then you may have to start it in store
00:24:53
indoors and just transplant it outside.
00:24:56
It does like the full sun. It does like that well drained
00:24:59
soil. You want to water it regularly,
00:25:01
but don't waterlog it. These are going to get tall in
00:25:06
most instances. So you may have to actually
00:25:08
steak the dill in order to keep it from falling over and what we
00:25:12
call lodging, which means it's going to flip over and kind of
00:25:15
pull its its roots up. And that's, that's a problem.
00:25:18
In order to harvest dill, you want to snip those those leaves.
00:25:22
So we're going to use dill weed in this manner.
00:25:26
So when you're harvesting the leaves, we consider that dill
00:25:29
weed and you want to do that before they start to flower.
00:25:32
When they do flower, then you're going to go ahead and let them
00:25:36
produce their seed and then you harvest those seeds when they
00:25:40
turn Brent and that is going to be your dill seed.
00:25:43
So when we're using it fresh, we're using the dill weed fresh.
00:25:47
Generally speaking, we're adding that.
00:25:48
We're using it for fish or in salads or in dips, dried, you
00:25:54
can dry the leaves. I have done this before and I
00:25:57
use that for my dips as well, or in certain spice blends that I'm
00:26:01
using for like fish and such. Or you use the seeds dried in
00:26:07
pickling or spice blends. So a little bit similar to our
00:26:12
cilantro where we're using both the leaves and the seeds.
00:26:15
But there are a few more applications for the dillweed to
00:26:18
be used fresh and dried, but then also using those seeds
00:26:21
dried as well #9 is chives. This one is very versatile just
00:26:26
because it's got that sort of oniony flavor to it and it just
00:26:30
continues to grow all season long.
00:26:31
It is a perennial herb. It prefers full sun, but it can
00:26:34
tolerate part shade. It likes well drained soil.
00:26:38
But like I talked about last week in that episode, it can
00:26:41
take some abuse. I have abused my chives for
00:26:44
many, many years, and they're just now starting to pay me back
00:26:47
for it. So you in order to maintenance
00:26:50
this these plants, you do want to split those clumps up every
00:26:54
few years because otherwise they will be overcrowded.
00:26:58
And then you want to cut the flowers to prevent them from
00:27:01
self seeding if you don't want them to kind of spread a little
00:27:05
bit further than maybe you want them to.
00:27:07
Those flowers are edible by the way, so you can use and they
00:27:10
taste very oniony. So you can kind of crumble those
00:27:13
into to salads and stuff as well.
00:27:15
Or I make an A chive vinegar, a chive flower vinegar that I then
00:27:20
turn into a vinaigrette. It's very good.
00:27:22
You can start harvesting chives once they are about 6 inches
00:27:26
tall. You just want to snip those
00:27:28
leaves about one to two inches above the soil line along the
00:27:32
outside, leaving enough for the plant to just sort of regrow.
00:27:36
You only need to harvest these as needed.
00:27:38
You don't needed, you don't want to do the whole plant all at
00:27:41
once because you want it to sort of have a way to soak in the sun
00:27:45
and continue to be able to growing.
00:27:47
So just harvest along the outside and as they sprout up
00:27:51
and let the center point continue to grow.
00:27:53
Fresh uses for chives, I mean, are endless, right?
00:27:57
You can throw them on tops of soups or on salads, eggs, mix
00:28:00
them into potatoes, mix it into cheese, use them for dips, use
00:28:03
them for butter. The same thing goes with dried
00:28:06
chives. So you can dry chives and either
00:28:08
kind of grind them up into something that blend looks like
00:28:11
a green onion powder. You can mix it into spice
00:28:14
blends, use them in soups, use them in stews, use them in
00:28:16
casseroles. So chives are very, very
00:28:19
versatile, especially again, because of that oniony type
00:28:22
flavor. And then #10 is mint.
00:28:25
And I always, always, always get asked when I bring fresh mint,
00:28:30
cut mint to sell at the farmers market, how to use fresh mint or
00:28:35
how to just use mint in general because everybody loves the
00:28:38
smell of it, but other than tea, they don't know what to do.
00:28:41
So First off, mint grows best in containers.
00:28:46
If you do not want it to spread just, I'm going to put that out
00:28:48
there right now. It does like part sun or full
00:28:52
sun and it does like a well watered spot, preferring it kind
00:28:57
of consistently moist. But mint will stand up to some
00:29:00
abuse, hence the reason it spreads so easily.
00:29:03
So you do want to sort of prune it aggressively to keep it under
00:29:06
control even if you have it in a container.
00:29:08
Because trust me, I have seen it, it will spill up and over
00:29:11
top of the container. And anywhere that mint plant
00:29:15
touches soil, it is going to root and it's going to want to
00:29:18
spread. So just, I'm, I'm warning you
00:29:20
right now when we are harvesting mint, I prefer to cut the stems
00:29:25
back because again, this is helping to prune it at the same
00:29:28
time that I'm harvesting off of it.
00:29:30
You can just pick individual leaves and it's not going to,
00:29:33
you know, do any harm. You do want to do this before
00:29:36
they start to flower because your best flavor is there.
00:29:38
But once they flower, they actually are great for the
00:29:40
pollinator. So yeah, I just let it go fresh
00:29:43
use. I love fresh mint just in my
00:29:47
water or I will put it in one of those water containers that has
00:29:53
the center part where you're supposed to put fruit.
00:29:55
And I will do like mint with watermelon in there and just let
00:30:00
it sort of infuse in my water. So it's really good in any type
00:30:03
of a of a drink, cold drink or whatever.
00:30:05
It's great for desserts. It's also really good in salads,
00:30:09
especially brute salads. Amazing.
00:30:11
It pairs right. And then we were talking about
00:30:14
tabouleh before with the parsley.
00:30:17
Mint also pairs with the parsley to a lesser extent in tabouleh
00:30:21
as a fresh mint for dried. There's the obvious use for the
00:30:26
teas, but also it's very good for seasoning lamb and fish and
00:30:32
vegetables. So don't sleep on using mint in
00:30:35
the garden. Number one, it's just amazing to
00:30:37
have in the garden. It smells fantastic.
00:30:39
You can also put them on in containers all around your deck
00:30:43
spaces and just it's, it's great in the summertime to help with
00:30:45
insects, but also using it fresh in all kinds of ways and then
00:30:50
drying it for use later on. Now you've got all these fresh
00:30:55
herbs that you've gathered from your garden and you're prepared
00:30:58
to dry the extra, but maybe you don't have a dehydrator.
00:31:02
I will say that we started with a very inexpensive like $25
00:31:08
round dehydrator from the hardware store.
00:31:11
It had like 4 trays I think in it.
00:31:15
And that did the trick for me for a number of years until it
00:31:19
just couldn't keep up with how much I was drying because I
00:31:22
wasn't just drying herbs, I was also drying fruits and
00:31:25
vegetables. And so quite a few years back we
00:31:29
upgraded to a nine drawer Schefman model that I have been
00:31:34
using for it's been at least five years now and it's perfect.
00:31:39
It was a great investment for us without having to like jump up
00:31:43
to whatever the next, you know, huge name brand $500, you know,
00:31:48
dehydrator was like, I use that dehydrator constantly and it has
00:31:52
done perfectly fine for us. Great investment.
00:31:55
But if you're not sure about needing a dehydrator, you can
00:31:58
absolutely dry herbs without one.
00:32:02
The first way to do this is just by air drying.
00:32:05
You can bundle the stems together with some twine or some
00:32:08
cord or some, you know, whatever.
00:32:09
Do whatever you've got and then just hang it upside down in a
00:32:13
cool, dry and dark place. I generally would recommend
00:32:18
putting a fan or something in there because you want that
00:32:20
airflow to prevent any mold. We are drying something that has
00:32:23
a good amount of moisture in it and just dry them until they
00:32:26
basically are crumbly, right? The second way to do this is by
00:32:31
using your oven. So most ovens will have a very
00:32:35
low setting on them, maybe at about 100 to 120°F.
00:32:40
That's where you want to set this.
00:32:42
If yours does not go that low, then you also have another
00:32:45
option. You do basically want to spread
00:32:47
the leaves on a baking sheet, set your oven to the absolute
00:32:51
lowest setting, and then you want to keep the door slightly
00:32:54
open. Hey, we need that airflow.
00:32:56
We also don't want to be cooking these herbs, we want them to
00:33:00
just drop. We still want to maintain the
00:33:02
nutrients and you also is going to affect the the flavor profile
00:33:05
if you sort of cook them right. If your oven does not go that
00:33:10
low, then you can turn the oven on until it reaches whatever its
00:33:14
normal setting your lowest setting is and then turn it off
00:33:18
and and put the herbs in there. You just want to be checking
00:33:21
these about every 30 minutes just to see where they are in
00:33:25
the drying process. And again, once they're sort of
00:33:27
drying crumbly, then they're good to go.
00:33:30
The third way to do this I don't love, but if it's the only
00:33:34
option you have available to you, it's better than nothing.
00:33:36
And this is microwave drying. I have seen people take the
00:33:39
leaves and put them between paper towels and just microwave
00:33:45
the the leaves in 32nd bursts until they were completely dry.
00:33:50
There is a risk of sort of burning them with this method.
00:33:54
I mean, there's a risk of burning them with the oven
00:33:55
drying method too, don't get me wrong, especially if you're not
00:33:58
sure what your oven setting is. But microwaves are pretty
00:34:01
powerful. So, you know, if it's if you're
00:34:04
doing it in 32nd bursts and you see that they're getting almost
00:34:07
there to where they're dry, then maybe drop it down to like 22nd
00:34:10
bursts just so you you don't burn them.
00:34:12
OK. Once your herbs are completely
00:34:15
dried, then we want to make sure that we are storing them
00:34:19
properly. So you want to store them in
00:34:20
airtight containers away from heat and away from light.
00:34:25
Technically, crumbling them just before we use them actually
00:34:30
preserves their maximum flavor, but understandably that's not
00:34:34
quite as convenient as just crushing them up and and storing
00:34:37
them in smaller containers, so just do that if that works best
00:34:40
for you. That's how I do it.
00:34:41
I store mine in blue glass jars or in smaller spice containers
00:34:46
depending on how much I have and whether or not it's already
00:34:49
blended with other herbs or not. Despite most kitchen layouts,
00:34:55
the worst place to store your herbs is that cabinet above the
00:34:59
stove. You know where all the heat
00:35:02
likely accumulates while you're cooking.
00:35:04
So for short term storage, you know, things that you replace
00:35:07
frequently because you use them all the time, that's not a bad
00:35:10
place. But for long term storage of
00:35:13
your dried herbs, this should absolutely be done like in a
00:35:15
cool closet somewhere or someplace else where you're not
00:35:19
keeping them so close to the heat so we don't degrade the
00:35:22
flavors. So what kinds of blends can you
00:35:27
make with the herbs I just mentioned?
00:35:29
There are a lot of ways to combine some of these for some
00:35:33
simple blends and rubs, and ways to combine the herbs with other
00:35:38
items to really make some outstanding flavors that are not
00:35:41
only super convenient but also super flavorable.
00:35:44
The first very basic easy one is Italian seasoning.
00:35:48
This is a very basic blend of oregano, basil, thyme, Rosemary
00:35:53
and sage. You can use this for meatballs
00:35:57
and meatloaf pasta sauces. You can add this into vinegar
00:36:01
and oil for an Italian vinaigrette, you name it.
00:36:04
It's super flavorful. It can be tailored to your
00:36:07
preferences when you blend it. So I tend to go light on the
00:36:12
sage, heavy on the thyme and a really good amount of oregano.
00:36:17
And I often add parsley to this blend too.
00:36:19
So make it your own. That is the beauty of doing all
00:36:22
of this, right? Poultry seasoning is another
00:36:25
really simple 1 sage, thyme, oregano or marjoram if you
00:36:30
prefer a more subtle flavor here and that's something that you're
00:36:32
growing. And then crushed Rosemary.
00:36:35
I use a mortar and pestle for this and I throw the Rosemary in
00:36:38
and just grind it really well so that it is very, very fine.
00:36:42
I guess at that point, add in some black pepper and a touch of
00:36:46
a nutmeg and there you go. You have an all-purpose poultry
00:36:49
seasoning that you can use for chicken, Turkey, your favorite
00:36:53
holiday stuffing or dressing, whatever you want to call it.
00:36:56
Depending on where you live. To really get into more spice
00:37:01
blends, you can add things that you grow in your garden and dry
00:37:06
it. So red pepper, dry red pepper to
00:37:09
make paprika or for making red pepper flakes, you can dehydrate
00:37:14
your onions and your garlic to make into powder and then start
00:37:18
grabbing things like sea salt and other additions that you may
00:37:21
not be able to grow, you know, say cumin and that sort of
00:37:23
thing. But that takes these blends to
00:37:26
the next level. So you're using a ton of stuff
00:37:29
that's coming out of your garden.
00:37:30
You're adding in other additions.
00:37:32
And the bonus here is you can control the salt.
00:37:35
If you have someone in your family that's on a restricted
00:37:39
diet, all of the seasoning blends that I sell at the
00:37:44
farmers market are salt free. And I just tell people if you
00:37:48
want salt, then add salt because I would didn't want to be
00:37:52
restricting it to only those who could have the salt in their
00:37:55
diet. So I don't put any salt in any
00:37:58
of these blends and then I add it myself.
00:38:00
Generally, kosher salt, some of my favorite blends that utilize
00:38:04
other things, you know, like cumin or salt or pepper, are the
00:38:08
things that you add in our Montreal steak seasoning, Taco
00:38:11
seasoning, and meat rubs for like steak and pork and that
00:38:15
sort of thing. You can look all kinds of blends
00:38:18
up online and find out what the ingredients are, figure out what
00:38:23
you're growing, figure out what you need to add to that, and
00:38:26
then you get to adjust it to make the flavor profile what you
00:38:30
and your family really, really like.
00:38:35
So hopefully this has inspired you to start growing more herbs
00:38:39
in the garden to use both fresh and dried.
00:38:42
If you've not used a ton of herbs and cooking before, it can
00:38:45
be a little bit confusing knowing what works well with
00:38:49
which type of dish and when to add it during the cooking
00:38:52
process. I struggled with that part,
00:38:55
especially when I was learning to use fresh herbs.
00:38:58
I was often throwing them into the pot too early and they were
00:39:02
losing their flavors, or even worse, they were getting bitter.
00:39:05
But experimenting in the kitchen was how I learned what worked
00:39:09
and what didn't. And I still experiment all the
00:39:12
time with new flavor profiles when I cook.
00:39:15
It's also helped me refine my dried herb blends, not just for
00:39:19
our family, but for our farm customers too, to help us take
00:39:23
our food to the next level. I think you can too.
00:39:26
Until next time, my gardening friends, keep on cultivating
00:39:29
that dream garden, and we'll talk again soon.
00:39:31
Thanks for listening to another episode of the Just Grow
00:39:33
Something podcast. For more information about
00:39:36
today's topic and to find all the ways you can get in touch
00:39:38
with me or support the show, go to justgrowsomethingpodcast.com.
00:39:43
Until next time, my gardening friends, keep learning and keep
00:39:46
growing.
