4 Interesting Ways to Preserve Fresh Thyme
- Freeze Your Freshly Cut Thyme.
- Dry or Dehydrate Your Thyme.
- Make a Bouquet Garni for Now or Later.
- Make Thyme Oil, Vinegar, Butter, or Honey.
Wash the herbs (still on their branches), dry them thoroughly, strip the leaves from the branches, and put them in labeled plastic zipper-type freezer bags. With herbs such as rosemary and thyme, you don't even need to strip the leaves from the branches. Press out all the air, seal and freeze.
Carefully remove herbs from any packaging, including twist ties. Remove any damaged leaves or stems. Rinse herbs under cool running water, turning constantly until thoroughly clean. Let herbs drip-dry for a moment over the sink.
Properly stored, fresh thyme will usually keep well for about 10 to 14 days in the refrigerator. Thyme that is spoiling will typically become soft and discolored; discard any thyme that has an off smell or appearance.
Water completely each time but allow the pot to dry before watering again. Fertilize thyme with a weak solution of fish emulsion or liquid seaweed, diluted by half every two weeks. Cut back overly woody stems on the thyme plant to force fresh new growth. Trim off flowers and dry them for a sachet or use them in tea.
When you trim thyme for light rejuvenation, you are basically ensuring that your thyme plant doesn't become too woody in the future. In late summer, after the thyme plant has flowered, select the one-third oldest stems on the plant. Using sharp, clean shears, cut these back by two-third.
Lemon thyme is best used fresh. Chop lemon thyme leaves just before use, and add at the very end of the cooking process before they lose flavor and color. Lemon thyme may be added to poultry, seafood, vegetable, marinades, stews, soups, sauces and stuffing while fresh sprigs of this herb make a lovely garnish.
about three to four years
A majority of herbs are perennials throughout most of the United States. That means they come back year after year and usually get bigger or spread in territory each year. Some of our most-used cooking herbs are perennials, including sage, oregano and thyme.
Is dried thyme as healthy as fresh? As with most herbs, the fresh form is often seen as the most healthy; however, dried thyme is also healthy. When dried, thyme will lose some of its volatile oils along with vitamins. The upside is that the nutrients that are left can be preserved for a long time.
Instead of sticking them in a glass of water, wrap them loosely in a damp paper towel. Store the bundle in an airtight container or resealable bag in your crisper drawer. The paper towel keeps the herbs just moist enough so they don't dry out, and the container or resealable bag keeps oxygen out.
If you don't want to refrigerate your fresh sage, you can always freeze the leaves. To do so, wash and pat them dry, remove the leaves from the stems, and pack them loosely in freezer bags for up to one year.
Store your dried herbs in airtight containers. Small canning jars work nicely. Zippered plastic bags will work, as well. Your herbs will retain more flavor if you store the leaves whole and crush them when you are ready to use them.
Seal the jar with the lid and store in the refrigerator. Don't forget to change the water every day. This process will help the herbs retain moisture in the dry environment. Hard herbs like rosemary, thyme and chives should be wrapped loosely in a damp paper towel.
Store the basil leaves like salad greens. Pick, wash, and dry the leaves, then store in the fridge wrapped in a dry paper towel and sealed in a plastic bag. Clean, dry, ready to roll. This baggie will be the basil's home for the next several days.
Freezing herbs is easy. There's no need to blanch them; just rinse, remove the leaves from the stems and let them dry on a flat tray. You can then put a bunch of these leaves together in a bag and freeze them. You'll end up with a clump of herbs that you can cut up and add to sauces, soups, etc.
To hang dry herbs, tie sprigs or branches into small bunches (large, dense bunches can develop mold and discolored leaves). Hang the bunches up to dry, leaves downward, wrapped loosely in muslin or thin paper bags to keep out dust and to catch falling leaves or seeds.
Put rosemary in small Ziploc bag. Use a separate Ziploc bag for the thyme. Let thyme and rosemary stay in the freezer for several weeks. That's how easy it is to preserve the rosemary and thyme from your garden to use in wonderful soups and stews all winter long.
Rosemary, with its pine scent, and common thyme, with its camphor notes, extend their magical qualities into the kitchen. Both herbs enhance numerous dishes—singly or in combination. In fact, the two marry well and are used together in such blends as herbes de Provence, which also employs marjoram, oregano, and savory.
Simply wrap your rosemary sprigs in a damp paper towel and place it in a zip lock bag. Seal the bag and place it in the crisper of your refrigerator. This should keep it fresh for up to three weeks. Alternatively, you can place the wrapped rosemary inside a plastic storage container that you can reuse.
Of course, you can freeze rosemary leaves in ice cube trays, suspended in either olive oil or filtered water. Take individual clippings of rosemary, leaves still attached to the stem, and place them on a baking sheet. Place the rosemary sprigs in the freezer for a couple of hours, until they are frozen solid.
Simply push the end of the thyme stem through a hole and carefully but forcefully pull the stem through. The leaves will be collected in the strainer, ready to use whole or be chopped. No more annoying herb picking.
