The garden is exploding and I’ve been trying to find ways to preserve all the herbs ready to be picked. I tend to dry most things but was reading up on preserving herbs in salt.
I had never thought of this before yet preserving things in salt is one of the oldest ways of preserving things. This also retains the herb’s flavor much longer. Any of the quick drying ways in an oven or dehydrator can cause the herbs to lose their flavor and color.
Supplies for Preserving Herbs in Salt
You’ll need a few things you may have around the house already:
- Ball Glass Mason Jars – Wide Mouth or Weck Jars with Clamps
- Sea salt, kosher salt or any salt without iodine
- Herbs! You can use dill, parsley, chives, rosemary, basil…the list goes on.
Steps for Preserving Herbs in Salt
I looked up a few different “recipes” for preserving my herbs and there are different ratios people tend to follow. Some do a 5:1 ratio (herbs to salt), some do 4:1. I followed one that didn’t offer any ratio and to be honest I think I ended up using too much salt, but that’s ok. I just need to pack in more dill.
I started with a layer of salt on the bottom of the jar, packed in the dill so it was covering the bottom layer completely and alternated between salt layers and herbs.
Some of the salt should dissolve from liquids that get pulled out of the herbs, which is why I think I put too much salt in mine. Not nearly as much salt dissolved as some of the tutorials showed so again, I need to go cut some more dill and pack it into the jar.
As space will free up due to salt dissolving in the liquid, pack in more of your herbs and then leave some space so that the herbs don’t touch the lid of your container.
Keep your container in the refrigerator and there you have it.
Your herbs should stay fresh for a few months. When you’re ready to use, just rinse off the salt or if you’re using in a recipe, reduce the amount of salt you use since your herbs will be salty.
I’ve got my eyes on some basil that I’m looking forward to preserving the same way!
xx
Stephanie
7 Comments
Valerie
July 4, 2019 at 12:02 pmI’ve never grown any herbs so I have never really thought about preserving them, this seems pretty simple.
Paula @ I'm Busy Being Awesome
July 4, 2019 at 12:32 pmThis is such a brilliant idea and the look so pretty
Melissa Damiani
July 4, 2019 at 12:40 pmThis is such a wonderful idea! My husband and I just expanded our garden this year! Now I’ll know what to do with my extra herbs! Melissa Damiani | Gratitude Grace Glamour
Melissa Damiani
July 4, 2019 at 12:42 pmThis is such a wonderful idea! My husband and I just expanded our garden this year. Now, I’ll know what to do with the extra herbs. Thanks so much! Melissa Damiani | Gratitude Grace Glamour
Kileen
July 4, 2019 at 8:46 pmSuch a great post and so helpful! Will be doing this to my basil now!
Kileen
cute & little
Bella B (xoxoBella)
July 5, 2019 at 3:00 pmI have never even heard of this but it looks so easy and doable! I’d love to do some rosemary…which is my fave all year round.
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July 9, 2019 at 8:20 am[…] Preserving Herbs in Salt from The Hermes Homestead IG: @seaotta […]