Preserve garden herbs now to enjoy all year

Posted

BRUSH PRAIRIE – So you’ve planted a few of your favorite herbs in containers or maybe even in their own raised garden bed, and you’ve watched them grow and thrive, snipping off a few sprigs here and there to use in summer salads, pasta sauces and iced teas. But now summer’s days are numbered and the question looms: What should you do with all of those luscious looking, deliciously scented herbs?

There are lots of options for preserving herbs and enjoying their flavors and scents year-round, but many people are intimidated by the preservation process, says Erin Harwood, co-owner of Garden Delights Herb Farm.

“It’s easy to be intimidated,” Harwood says. “But, really, it’s pretty simple once you learn how to do it.”

Harwood and her mother, Eloyce O’Connor, have been perfecting the herb-preservation process for more than a decade – growing their favorite culinary, medicinal and beauty-product herbs at O’Connor’s Brush Prairie farm near Hockinson High School, then drying, freezing or preserving the herbs in alcohol, oils, vinegars and honey.

With dried, frozen or preserved herbs, you can remember the taste and scents of summer even in the dead of winter, Harwood says.

“What I love about it, is that I can pull those herbs out in the winter time and, when I taste or smell them, I remember my favorite time of the year – when summer is turning into fall,” Harwood says.

On Tue., Aug. 18, the Brush Prairie herb gardeners will share their expertise and tips for harvesting and preserving your garden herbs. The class is the second of a three-part series, which began in May with a “How to Grow Herbs” course and ends in September with a class on the many ways to use your preserved herbs.

Harwood and O’Connor’s Aug. 18 class “Harvesting and Preserving Herbs” can be taken as a stand-alone or in conjunction with the other two classes. The cost for the Aug. 18 class is $25 per person. The class is from 6:30 to 8 p.m., at the Garden Delights Herb Farm, 15417 NE Parkinen Road, Brush Prairie. To sign up for the herb preservation class, call (360) 892-4479, email info@gardendelightsfarm.com or register online at www.gardendelightsfarm.com.

Both teachers – O’Connor taught local schoolchildren for several decades and Harwood teaches at Clark College in Vancouver – the Garden Delights Herb Farm owners love to share their own trial-and-error herb growing, harvesting and preserving experiences with other interested herb gardeners.

Harwood rejects the perfectionism that other gardeners sometimes have when it comes to harvesting and preserving herbs.

“There’s the ideal and then there’s what works best for you,” Harwood says.

For instance, the “ideal” harvesting time is in the morning – after the dew has evaporated from the herbs because herbs that are too damp can mold more easily, but before the sun has had a chance to dry out the plant’s essential oils, which provide the flavor and scent that make herbs so satisfying.

“So that’s the ideal, but it’s not the only time you can harvest your herbs,” Harwood says. “My mother lives here and she can harvest at the ideal time, but I have a child and I work, so sometimes I can’t harvest until after 4. Is that ideal? No. Does it still work? Yes.”

Harwood urges people to remember what made them plant their favorite herbs in the first place and then use that same appreciation for the herb to guide them in their preservation efforts.

“We know this can be intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be,” Harwood says. “If you grew herbs because you thought they would bring you joy, you should remember that when you’re harvesting and (preserving) them. It shouldn’t be stressful. It should be fun and bring you the same joy.”

Although Harwood and O’Connor’s Aug. 18 class will cover a variety of herb preservation techniques, the herb gardeners shared one easy technique that any herb lover can conquer.

“Freezing is one of the best ways to preserve your herbs,” Harwood says. “Many people think about drying first, but I like freezing … it preserves the color and taste and scent, and it’s easy to do.”

Following is Harwood’s step-by-step instructions for freezing your herbs:



• 1. Harvest the herbs at the most convenient time of the day for you. Try to harvest after the dew has dried but before the sun has gotten too hot. Typically, the best time to harvest your herbs is in the morning, around 8 a.m.

• 2. Decide if you want to freeze individual herbs or maybe make a mix. Harwood recommends mixing basil, marjoram and chives for a good all-purpose mix that can be tossed into stir-fries and other savory dishes throughout the year.

• 3. Chop the herbs to your preference. Some people like large pieces of herbs in their recipes while others, including Harwood, prefer their herbs finely minced.

• 4. Mix your herbs together in a large bowl if freezing a mix.

• 5. Pack your chopped herbs or herb mixture into an ice cube tray. Try pack the herbs as close to the top of the tray as possible.

• 6. Cover the herbs with a layer of olive oil or water, depending on what you plan to use them for later. For instance, Harwood says water is a good cover for herbs that will wind up in soups, while oil is better for herbs that are headed for a stir-fry.

• 7. Freeze the herbs overnight.

• 8. Pop the frozen herb cubes out of the tray and pack them into freezer-safe bags. Remember to label the bags, as frozen herbs tend to look exactly alike.

• 9. Use the herbs for up to a year, popping a couple cubes into a stew or using an herb cube to spice up a stir-fry on a cold winter’s night.

• 10. Savor the taste and scents of summer all year long!

AT A GLANCE

“Harvesting and Preserving Herbs”

What: Join Erin Harwood and Eloyce O’Connor, owners of Garden Delights Herb Farm, to learn how to quickly and easily harvest herbs from your garden. Participants will have the chance to harvest their own herb bouquet from the farm’s herb gardens. The farm’s owners will demonstrate and discuss the wide variety of ways to preserve herbs, from simple drying and freezing to making culinary confections such as herbal sugars and honeys.

When: 6:30 to 8 p.m., Tue., Aug. 18

Where: Garden Delights Herb Farm, 15417 NE Parkinen Road, Brush Prairie

Cost: $25 per person

Register: By email at info@gardendelightsfarm.com; by phone at (360) 892-4479; or online at www.gardendelightsfarm.com.