Herbs are one of the most versatile ingredients in cooking, adding flavor, aroma, and nutritional value to a wide variety of dishes. Not only are herbs delicious, but they can also help us reduce food waste, preserve food, and save money in the kitchen. In this blog post, we’ll explore the many benefits of herbs in cooking, how to care for herb plants, and some tips and tricks for using and storing herbs.
Using Herbs in leftovers
Leftovers are a fact of life, but they don’t have to be boring. Adding fresh herbs to your leftovers can give them a new lease of life and turn them into a delicious meal. For example, if you have some leftover roasted vegetables, add some chopped fresh rosemary and thyme, and you’ve got a tasty side dish that’s perfect for a roast dinner.
Similarly, if you have some leftover rice or quinoa, adding some chopped parsley, coriander, and mint can give it a fresh and flavourful twist. Or, if you have some leftover chicken or turkey, shred it and mix it with some chopped dill and a dollop of Greek yogurt for a quick and easy chicken salad. Herbs simply make a leftover meal feel, well, not like leftovers!
Herbs as a preservative
Some herbs have natural antibacterial and antifungal properties that can help preserve food. For example, adding a few sprigs of thyme to a pot of soup can help extend its shelf life and prevent spoilage, isn’t that cool? So which herbs can be used in this way?
- Rosemary: With antimicrobial properties, rosemary helps preserve meats and can be used in marinades and rubs.
- Thyme: Thyme contains thymol, which has antifungal and antibacterial properties. It’s used in preserving meats, soups, and stews.
- Oregano: Oregano’s high content of thymol and carvacrol gives it strong antimicrobial properties. It’s used in preserving tomato-based products.
- Sage: Sage has antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, making it useful for preserving fatty meats and in pickling.
- Bay Leaves: Bay leaves repel insects and discourage mold growth. They’re used to preserve grains, legumes, and pantry staples.
- Dill: Dill has antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, commonly used for preserving pickled vegetables.
- Basil: Basil contains compounds like eugenol and linalool, which have antimicrobial properties. It’s used in preserving tomatoes, vegetables, and in making pesto.
Regrow herbs
If you’re someone who loves fresh herbs but hates how quickly they can wilt and go bad, consider regrowing them! Some herbs, like basil and mint, can easily be regrown from cuttings. Simply take a cutting, place it in a glass of water, and wait for roots to form. Once the roots have developed, you can plant the cutting in a pot with soil and watch it grow.
Not only is regrowing herbs a fun and rewarding activity, but it’s also an excellent way to reduce waste. Instead of buying new herbs every time you need them, you can simply regrow the ones you already have.
How to store your herbs
Herbs have different storage needs. While some thrive in water, it will cause others to wilt. We can differentiate between hardy herbs and tender herbs. Hardy herbs do best stored wrapped in the refrigerator (check out Chef Dan’s herb hack below) whilee tender herbs are best stored in a sealed jar with their roots in a bit of water, also in the fridge Basil is an anomaly and do well stored like a bouquet, in a jar without a lid and out of direct sunlight.
So, who is tender and who is hardy?
Tender: Parsley, Coriander, Dill, Mint, Tarragon, Chervil.
Hardy: Rosemary, Thyme, Sage, Savory, Chives
Here is a picture taken from Serious Eats. It may surprise you that all these coriander stems are exactly the same age and have been in the fridge for 51 days!
How to look after supermarket herbs
So we have all bought supermarket herbs, hoping that they will be a permanent feature on our kitchen window sill and then watched them wilt in despair. So how can we keep supermarket herb plants alive?
Firstly, buy the healthiest looking ones, if they are already browning you have no chance to resuscitate them. Make sure you have the perfect south-facing window to house them, they need lots of sun, especially if you are dealing with basil. Repotting is also important, especially if their roots are crammed into their small plastic pot, make sure you use good soil with drainage. Water them regularly, lots of supermarket herbs are grown in water so they are not used to dry soil, this means watering them everyday or every other day is ideal (we know this goes against every plant care advice, but it is very different with hydroponic grown plants). Finally, fertilize, especially in spring and summer (growing season). Good luck, even the best plant parent might struggle to keep supermarket potted plants alive but it is so fulfilling when you do!
Check out some of Chef Dan’s Herb Storage Hack for those hardy herbs: