How to Store Rosemary
How to Store Rosemary? You can store rosemary in different ways. In this blog, we will elaborate on all the possible ways of storing Rosemary.
- In packaging fresh from supermarket, 7 days
- Rosemary freshly picked in the refrigerator, 4 days
- Dry rosemary yourself, longer than a year
- Freeze chopped rosemary, half a year
- Freeze whole rosemary leaves, 1 year
Storing fresh rosemary
If you have bought fresh Rosemary in an airtight container, leave it in the container. This special air quality is made to keep the Rosemary as long as possible.
With packaging and all, the Rosemary goes in the refrigerator in the vegetable drawer. You can usually keep the fresh rosemary for a week. Please note the date on the packaging when you buy this. Buy the package with the expiration date furthest from the day of purchase.
If you have used the rosemary and you have something left or if you have your own rosemary picked from the garden, there is another method to preserve it.
Store Rosemary In The Refrigerator
Rosemary that comes straight out of the package and that you love about or that has been cut from a plant, should be stored in wet kitchen paper. Wrap the Rosemary in this kitchen paper and place it on a plate.
Then place the wrapped rosemary in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator. Now you will be able to keep it for about 4 days.
Store Rosemary In Freezer
There are 3 ways to freeze and store rosemary for a long time:
- Place the leaves loosely in a plastic bag and place in the freezer drawer.
- Freeze the leaves in the ice cube holder
- Puree the leaves with oil and put this in the ice cube tray
Store Rosemary In Freezer Bag
When you have bought rosemary from the store in an airtight container, take it out. To freeze, rinse the twigs well under running water. This is to remove any pesticides.
When you have picked twigs from a shrub in the garden, rinse it well to remove pests.
Zip the leaves from the twigs and discard the twigs. Place the leaves in a freezer box or freezer bag and close it tightly. Then put the freezer bag in the freezer. The leaves can be stored this way for 1 year. Place a sticker on the bag or box with the date of packaging.
Store Rosemary In Freezer In Water
Start by washing the Rosemary as described above and zip it off the sprigs. Place the leaves, without cutting, in an ice cube tray. The taste is better preserved without cutting and in ice.
So add water and put the container in the freezer. The rosemary will then be kept for 1 year. After that, the smell and taste will still decrease.
Tip: here too, put a sticker with the date of packaging on the box and what is inside. This way you don’t have to open all the boxes you have.
Store Rosemary In Freezer With Oil
Wash the rosemary leaves as described above and zip them from the twigs.
Put the leaves in a container and mash the leaves fine with, for example, a hand blender. Add a dash of oil to make a nice puree. This is the best way to preserve the flavor of the Rosemary.
Put the puree in an ice cube tray or another freezer container and put it in the freezer. After six months, the taste declines.
Rosemary Preservation By Drying
Rosemary can be stored for a long time by drying. You don’t have to use a lot of caprioles for that.
First, wash the Rosemary carefully under a running tap. Dry the rosemary on kitchen paper or carefully knock off the water.
Make bundles of the rosemary of about a twig or 5 to 7 of about 20 cm long. If you bundle much more together, the inner branch will not dry properly and quickly enough and will start to mold.
Put a nice string around the Rosemary or a rubber band. Hang the rosemary in a dark cool place where it is always dry. In a damp kitchen it will not dry and the chance of mold will come into play.
To store and dry Rosemary, hang the bundles in a cellar cupboard, meter cupboard or a room in a cupboard where it is thoroughly dry. Just make sure it can be well ventilated. Turn the bundle every now and then when it rests against a wall. This will also dry the back.
After 2 weeks it will probably be completely dry. Take a look and feel whether this is really the case. Once dry, you can keep Rosemary for a very long time.
If you let it dry for use, you can remove the string or elastic band from the Rosemary and zip all the leaves into a container.
Now you can keep the rosemary as whole leaves in a container, but crushed and crushed is also an option. Put it in an airtight box with a ‘Rosemary’ sticker or in a glass jar with the lid on tight.
This way the scent is well preserved. You can keep dried rosemary until it is used up. When it gets wet, it usually starts to mold and it is important to throw it away.
It may be that you have dried it for decoration purpose, then after a week or 2, you can hang it at its destination as a bundle. You can also make fragrance bags from Rosemary.
Preserved Rosemary By Drying In The Oven
You can also dry rosemary by leaving it in the oven for a while. This is faster, but it costs you 2 hours of electricity.
Wash the Rosemary under running cold water and let it drain on kitchen paper. You can also dry it.
Turn the oven on to 50 degrees. Put kitchen paper on the baking tray and place the leaves on it that you have zipped from the branch. Then put the oven tray in the oven, in the middle, and leave the door ajar. This way, moisture can escape from the leaves and the drying process goes better.
Let the oven run for 2 hours and then see if the leaves have become brittle. Store the leaves dry in a box with a tight-fitting lid or in a glass jar with a lid.
This way the Rosemary stays dry and cannot go moldy. You can crush the leaves or use them as a whole to sprinkle on the food during preparation. Now you can keep Rosemary good for a very long time. They will probably run out soon !
