Freshly harvested herbs intoxicate with aroma and taste. However, if we conserve them properly, they will retain most of the healing substances and essential oils longer. Essential oils, i.e. active substances contained in the leaves and flowers of herbs, evaporate quickly when in direct contact with air. The sun and heat additionally speed up this process.
Therefore, thyme, rosemary and other herbs from the Mediterranean should be dried in bunches suspended in a bright, shaded place, sheltered from wind and rain. In turn, the leaves of mint, lemon balm, sage and lemon verbena are removed from the shoots and individually spread on a linen fabric or fine-mesh stainless wire mesh, which we unfasten on a wooden frame.
Torn leaves should be carefully inspected before spreading, removing all infested and damaged leaves. After three days, the leaves should be sufficiently dry. For the storage of dried products, tight tin cans or jars made of dark glass with a screw cap are suitable.
How to preserve herbs
We can flavor vinegars and oils with the sprigs of herbs. Put the fresh herbs in delicate wine or fruit vinegar or in cold pressed oil. In this way, you can use, above all, tarragon, laurel, lovage, and also rosemary. An aromatic addition to herbal vinegars and oils can also be grains of mustard, pepper, juniper and coriander, added in small amounts (a few grains per 0.5 l of liquid) and fennel seeds (up to half a teaspoon).
A glass, closed vessel with vinegar or oil and herbs should be placed in a sunny place or at least in a bright and warm place, so that after some time most of the essential oils will dissolve in the liquid.The mixture should take one to three weeks to flavor. If we consume it regularly and use it very quickly, the herbs may remain in the bottle. If the flavored oils and vinegars are used slowly, the sprigs must be removed and the seeds drained.
Remember that the durability of the aromatized oil depends on its type. Cold pressed olive oil, stored at 16-18 ° C, is suitable for consumption for 12-18 months. Olive oil should not be stored at lower temperatures (e.g. in a refrigerator) because it becomes cloudy. Delicate sunflower oil takes on an unpleasant aftertaste after just 3-4 months. The herbal vinegar is suitable for consumption for a very long time, because it does not lose its flavor for many years.
Herbal tinctures with fragrant medicinal plants were very popular in Old Polish cuisine. Today they are back in favor again. Homemade tincture even seems to be a fashionable hobby. Alcoholic herbal liqueurs often have a beneficial effect on our he alth, but they should be used very carefully and in moderation, and prepared according to old, proven recipes.Already in the Middle Ages it was observed that herbal drinks containing a small amount of alcohol can heal certain ailments and also have a great taste.
When to collect herbs
Medicinal and spice herbs accumulate the most aromatic substances in their leaves before noon. However, you should not pick herbs on a rainy day, because then they contain the least valuable flavor and he alth substances.
If we only use the leaves of the plant, cut the whole shoots just before flowering. Peel the flowers of chamomile, mallow, lemon balm and mullein when they are not yet fully developed. They should be immediately dried or preserved in sugar.
The inflorescence umbels of fennel, cumin and cumin, intended for drying or preserving, should be cut as soon as the seeds turn brown.
