No more waste: this is how you can use your leftover herbs
With grown your own fresh herbs, you not only contribute to your own health, but it is also better for the environment, because your herbs do not have to be transported first. Something you have less influence on is the amount of herbs you have in your house. After all, we cannot control exactly how fast and how well our plants grow 😉. As an enthusiastic home grower, you probably can't wait for your vegetable garden to be full of useful herbs, but it can also happen if you just don't have the time to cook extensively. Of course, it would be a shame if you ended up having to throw these herbs away. Fortunately, there are several ways in which you can process fresh herbs in order to keep them longer. Below we have listed a few, so that you can make the most of your home-grown herbs!
Herb oil
Many fresh herbs are perfectly suitable for making a tasty herb oil or herb vinegar. You can make this very easily by putting your leftover herbs in a sealable jar or bottle and filling it with oil or vinegar. It is best to leave the bottle in a dark place for 1-2 weeks, so that the flavours of the herbs can soak in. Et voilà: a tasty, homemade seasoning to use in the kitchen!
Drying herbs
This is perhaps the easiest way to enjoy your home-grown herbs for longer. You can dry fresh herbs by tying them together with string and then hanging them on a hook. Depending on the amount of herbs and the climate in the room, it will take about one to two weeks for your herbs to dry. When the herbs are crumbly, they are ready and you can use them to make your own dried spice mixes!
Herbal ice cubes
This may sound crazy, but you can also use your leftover fresh herbs to make tasty ice cubes. You can put fresh herbs in the compartments of an ice cube tray and then fill the tray with olive oil. You can then use these herb cubes as a seasoning in a pasta sauce or stew.
Herbal salt
Another way to enjoy your fresh herbs is to make a jar of seasoning salt. Such a jar also looks very nice, so it is also very suitable as a gift for a cooking fanatic. Making herbal salt is again very simple: add 20g of fresh herbs of your choice to 200g of coarse sea salt, let it stand for a month and then mix into fine salt in a food processor.