Hi!
to ATP!
I made a very simple drying rack out of cheesecloth. I just hung it from the ceiling in our back room using a staple gun.
Gather sprigs of your rosemary in the morning and rinse it very lightly. Strip the leaves from the stem and sprinkle them thinly on top of your drying surface. When they're dry enough to snap in two when you pick one up, they can be stored.
Another that I love to do is making herbed vinegars. The following is a re-posting of an article I wrote a while ago.
Herbed Vinegars
Making flavored vinegars from herbs harvested from your own garden is very easy, and so very tasty!
The best vinegars to use are -
Red wine vinegar - Attractive color; mildly gusty.
White wine vinegar - Nearly clear; very delicate flavor.
Rice vinegar - Very subtle flavor.
Champagne vinegar - I haven't found this one locally here, but it's touted to be similar to white wine vinegar.
Apple cider vinegar - Pretty, light brown coloring; strong flavor of apples.
Malt vinegar - I haven't made an herbal vinegar with this one yet, but I like it on fish and chips! Very powerful scent and strong flavor.
White distilled vinegar should be reserved for very strong or hot compositions as its flavor can be a bit overpowering to your final product.
If you are planning on giving some of your flavored vinegars away as gifts or you place high emphasis on a visually pleasing end product you'll want to boil your chosen vinegar for just about three minutes to sterilize it. If you skip this step, your vinegar may appear cloudy after a few months in storage.
Herbs
------ Please practice safety first! ------Never harvest and consume any plant unless you know it's safe to eat! ------
You can use fresh or dried herbs, but by far the better choice is fresh from your garden. Choose a day after a rain or rinse the chosen herbs the day before you plan to harvest them. Rinsing them after they're picked will lessen their flavor content. Pick them in the late morning when they are dry, but preferably before they get hot from the sun.
Pull pieces of leaves off of them stems and add them to whatever jar you've decided to use. You can recycle old mayonnaise and mustard jars, use jelly jars or do what I like to do and use the bottles the vinegars are packaged in.
Pour vinegar over the herbs and cover. You may begin checking the flavor after a few days. However, I just let mine sit for at least three weeks before using to allow the flavors enough time to slowly steep from the herbs. I like mine strong, but if you like a more delicate flavor simply remove the herbs from the bottle once the desired taste is reached. Pouring this mix over a bit of cheesecloth is helpful if you'd like to strain out all of your steeping herbs.
If giving as a gift - after straining, add a whole sprig of the herb to the jar for increased visual appeal.
Mix and match your own concoctions of herbs and spices - whatever sounds good to you.
One of my favorites is Rosemary, Tarragon & Chives - with a Nasturtium flower for added color.
-Two sprigs of Rosemary
-Two sprigs of Tarragon
-As much chopped Chives as will fill about half of your container - they have a subtle flavor in vinegar.
-One Nasturtium bloom, pick a color that goes well with your chosen vinegar's color.
Remember that any added ingredient is entirely optional - if you're short on Nasturtium blooms or Chives, simply leave them out. Add Peppercorns or Garlic cloves, whatever you'd like!
Have fun with these easy, and yummy treats! Your flavored vinegars will keep indefinitely.
Added note:
I prefer to store mine out of direct sunlight so the colors don't fade.
Chelle
September 7, 2010.
