Rosemary plants....

[chef jimmyj]

Dave, Dry any that does not get canned, so they can be kept as long as needed. Reconsitute as needed to oil pack. I started blending oils because pure olive oil sets up like Pudding at refer' temps. You may get some clouding but it will be clear at room temp...JJ

 

[daveomak]

pretty hard to kill unless ya get a hard freeze........just dry them on a sheet pan with paper towels in the oven (off) with the light on. when dried, it will have a more intense flavor........sorta like garlic!

Chefrob, morning......I dried the rosemary, stem on, in the fan forced dehydrator at 100 for 4 days........Tell you what.......it is still flexible, aroma and flavor are great..... I think the oils are still there....... Almost tastes like fresh...... A lot better than store bought......

Now... If I lived where you live, I would not have had to use the dehydrator... 

.... I love it when a plan comes together....Thanks....

 

 

[lovinspoonful]

Yeah you have two different varieties. Some varieties of rosemary are hardier than others, and there are a few of them that might make it through the winter in the ground if you're in the western part of WA and if they are well established by winter and are semi-protected such as up against a fence or wall.

If you bring it indoors for winter see that it gets as much light as possible and that you don't water it too much. They like dry sandy soil and when they're not in growing season you don't want the roots to rot. Larger plants might get a little stringy but they will survive the winter to grow again in the summer.

It's worth trying to get a few of them established outdoors. They grow to 3' tall or so and you'll have more rosemary than you could ever use.

 

[artisanbeard]

Smoke them bad boys!! Seriously though, I often do a heavy harvesting before it starts to frost here and I let the stems dry out a little bit by just tying them and hanging them upside down from my pot rack...when I am ready to smoke something like Lamb, Venison, or Beef (something that I would be seasoning already with rosemary) I will throw the dried stems on the coals and it results in a nice flavorful smoke. I also do this with other woody herbs, like sage and thyme.

I have a small herb farm (probably 120 rosemary bushes) so I have quite a bit at the end of the season to work with.

You might be able to get a more cold-hardy variety (the more upright varieties tend to do better with cold) but Washington might be a little too much...I've never grown anything in the Northwest, so I don't know.

Good luck!

-Kyle (ArtisanBeard)

 

[corndog]

Hi Dave,

I know this is a very old post, but would like to contribute, since this site had been such a great place for me to learn about using my new MES 40.

Dave, I freeze my rosemary and thyme. I use to dry it but after a friend told me about freezing it, and trying it, I prefer the frozen to dry.

I cut 4" to 6" stems, wash them in cool water, and pat dry with paper towels or you can use a salad spinner if you are doing a lot.

After everything is dry, place the herb stems in freezer bags removing as much air as possible, and toss in the freezer. Let them be for several weeks.

After a month or so, you can remove the herbs from the freezer and place on counter or cutting board. Using a rolling pin, roll over the unopened bags. The leaves will release from the stems...at least most of them will. You can pick the remaining leaves off by hand or return to the freezer and repeat this process in a few weeks. I usually just hand pick those few leaves that are still attached to the stem.

After you get all of your leave off the stems, place the leaves in small labeled mason jars with tight fitting lids. Store the jars in freezer.

I do this a couple times a year. I date my jars so that I know which is the oldest. I have used herbs that had been in the freezer for a year, and they were almost as good as fresh picked. I have a huge rosemary plant. I give it a hair cut a couple times a year so I always have plenty to share with neighbors and leftovers for the freezer.

Hope you find this useful.

Corndog :sausage:

 

[daveomak]

Sorry it took so long to get back to you guys... somehow this got moved from my subscribe list.....   Dave

Smoke them bad boys!! Seriously though, I often do a heavy harvesting before it starts to frost here and I let the stems dry out a little bit by just tying them and hanging them upside down from my pot rack...when I am ready to smoke something like Lamb, Venison, or Beef (something that I would be seasoning already with rosemary) I will throw the dried stems on the coals and it results in a nice flavorful smoke. I also do this with other woody herbs, like sage and thyme.

I have a small herb farm (probably 120 rosemary bushes) so I have quite a bit at the end of the season to work with.

You might be able to get a more cold-hardy variety (the more upright varieties tend to do better with cold) but Washington might be a little too much...I've never grown anything in the Northwest, so I don't know.

Good luck!

-Kyle (ArtisanBeard)

Kyle, evening... Thanks for the tips....   Yeah, it gets cold here... usually get 2 weeks below zero... Not too many zone 5 rosemary plants around....  Dave

Hi Dave,

I know this is a very old post, but would like to contribute, since this site had been such a great place for me to learn about using my new MES 40.

Dave, I freeze my rosemary and thyme. I use to dry it but after a friend told me about freezing it, and trying it, I prefer the frozen to dry.

I cut 4" to 6" stems, wash them in cool water, and pat dry with paper towels or you can use a salad spinner if you are doing a lot.

After everything is dry, place the herb stems in freezer bags removing as much air as possible, and toss in the freezer. Let them be for several weeks.

After a month or so, you can remove the herbs from the freezer and place on counter or cutting board. Using a rolling pin, roll over the unopened bags. The leaves will release from the stems...at least most of them will. You can pick the remaining leaves off by hand or return to the freezer and repeat this process in a few weeks. I usually just hand pick those few leaves that are still attached to the stem.

After you get all of your leave off the stems, place the leaves in small labeled mason jars with tight fitting lids. Store the jars in freezer.

I do this a couple times a year. I date my jars so that I know which is the oldest. I have used herbs that had been in the freezer for a year, and they were almost as good as fresh picked. I have a huge rosemary plant. I give it a hair cut a couple times a year so I always have plenty to share with neighbors and leftovers for the freezer.

Hope you find this useful.

Corndog

Corndog, evening...  Great tip about freezing....   thanks....  Dave

 

[diggingdogfarm]

Arp, is the cultivar that's allegedly the most cold hardy.

I agree on the uprights being much hardier, the prostrate types suck, they're not at all thrifty and productive (not in this area anyway)!!!



~Martin

 

[oldschoolbbq]

My green thumb went Brown , and the F-I-L won't allow a garden. So it's whole spices and grinding or fresh from the Farmer's Mkt.

 

[hotnspicy]

I had a little time to do some trolling here today & saw the "Rosemary" post.  Dave I am kind of on the same page with JimmyJ but a little different.  I freeze most of mine in ice cube trays with EVOO, butter or a combination.  That works great for most of the hearty type herbs like rosemary & thyme.  It doesn't work so well with basil....or at least last year it didn't, but this year I mixed it up with the EVOO in a blender first & then froze it.  The bright flavor should still be there.  Did the same with my parsley varieties.  Its great to drop a cube in your saute pan & cook up some chicken or baste your herb oil over some baked tilapia.  Use a few cubes to oil down your roast turkey or chicken.  I hear you can also use chicken broth.

You sure can have 2 types of rosemary.  I grow lots of it cause it keeps bugs away.

 

[xutfuzzy]

You can try all of the great ideas above, but also try to leave the plant in the ground.   I have a rosemary bush that is on its 3rd summer here in Cincinnati, meaning that is has survived two Midwest winters.  It goes dormant over the winter and won't grow, so as I continue to clip off pieces in the winter to cook with the bush gets down to almost nothing, but come spring that thing comes back to life.  I swear it has more than tripled in size over the summer.   Mine is more of the upright version, if that helps.

 

[mike johnson]

Dave, I planted my rosemary plant out side 5 years ago. I figured it would die but it didnt. I have had as much as a foot and a half of snow and its still going. Its more of a bush now. As for preserving it, Icut long spears of the plant and hang upside down to dry in my pantry. If the spears are thick enough you can use them as skewers when grilling chicken.

 

[daveomak]

If it didn't freeze for 3 months at a time, and I remembered to water it, it might live... the snow doesn't melt here, it dehydrates...  Sagebrush and baby's breath love it here....  I need a green house...