Question about preserving herbs

[shelleyinmichigan]

Ugh.....I needed to read farther.....the small distiller DOES NOT seperate the oils regardless of what their website said....sorry about that.

So I broke the jar that came with my little still , shown above, and generally needed some replacement parts. I can get a new one just like it for $30. But it takes hours on my electric stove and the product is actually hydrasol, a mix of the essential oil and water, not true essential oil. So I was looking around at what my choices would be.

I found this:

https://oilextech.com/shop/essenex-100h/

It is a true steam distillation process (not boiling the herbs), done in 6 minutes in the microwave. AND it separates out the hydrasol from the essential oil, so that I would be producing true essential oils as well as the hydrosol. But 6 minutes in the micro is SOOOO much less energy usage than hours on the stove. I always feel bad about how much energy my projects use.

Costs $155, but it's a one time thing. I have had my little still for enough years to know that I will get a lot of use out of it. If I started selling the essential oils, I could make the money back quickly - lavender essential oil sells for upwards of $20 an ounce. I never could sell what I made before because it wasn't true essential oil.

So .... holding my breath .... I think I am going to go for it!

[ElizabethB]

Since the growing season is in full swing I decided to revive this thread

In addition to drying- do mostly, freezing - which I am not fond of - pesto - love it, infused oils and vinegar - love it - I have another couple of favorite ways to make use of herbs.

I grow LOTS of sweet Basil and have Basil Mayonnaise in the refrigerator all summer.

1 cup mayonnaise - home made or if commercial use Hellmann's - there really is a difference in taste
2 tbsps. premium olive oil
2 cloves garlic - smashed and peeled
Zest of 1 small lemon
2 tbsps. fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 cup loosely packed fresh basil

Put all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until basil is finely chopped and all ingredients are incorporated. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

If you make your own mayonnaise it is good in the refrigerator for 3 or 4 days. If you use Hellmann's it will keep for 2 or 3 weeks.

That is NEVER a problem. Use as a dip for veggies or chips, on a sandwich instead of plain mayonnaise, as a salad dressing. On top of broiled fish or grilled steak.

Another favorite is herbed butter.

Use either salted or unsalted butter at room temperature. 1 stick.

Add - oh - Maybe 1/8th cup finely minced herb of your choice. Work the herbs into the butter. I either use a wooden spoon or my very clean hands. Use a spatula and transfer the butter into small molds.

I found some rubber (?) candy molds at Hobby Lobby that are perfect. Freeze the butter in the molds. Pop the butter out and store in a zip lock in the freezer until ready to use. Do label your zip lock. The first time I did this I figured I would be able to identify the herb in the butter by appearance - WRONG ANSWER

I make herbed butter with dill, basil, thyme, oregano, rosemary, sage, parsley and cilantro. This year I made a batch with fennel - I reduced the amount of herb to 1 tbsp. to a 1/4 lb of butter.

The herbed butter is wonderful for cooking and a must have on the holiday dinner table. When we go out to dinner we are frequently presented with a plate of assorted, flavored butter. HMMMM Mine are better.

Enjoy your herbs

[imafan26]

Mostly I use herbs fresh. I have done flavored oils and vinegars but they don't keep very long and I don't use them up fast enough. The only other thing I do with them which takes very little skill or time is to make herb butters. I can add minced garlic to any herb butter.

Herbs I have done

Rosemary, garlic butter
dill, garlic butter
parsley, salt and garlic butter
Parmesan cheese, basil, parsley and garlic butter
Thai curry paste cillantro roots, ginger (or galangal), chili peppers, kaffir lime leaves, lemon grass.

[applestar]

So both elizbethB and imafan make herb butters. Sounds easy enough and do-able.
I think I try with oregano and garlic chives.

Imafan, ElizabethB said she uses about 2 Tbs finely chopped fresh herbs per stick of butter. Is that about how much you use, imafan? ElizabethB, you used half the amount of fennel because it's too strong?

I was thinking I have silicone Madeleine pan -- I might be able to use that to mold the butter.

I was wondering if you could mix EVOO to the butter/herb mix and still have it solidify. What would be the right proportion, I wonder?

What are typical use for the different herb butters? I can see fish and baked potatoes, maybe cooked vegs....

[applestar]

Shelley, glad you revived this thread. Are you still trying to decide about the distiller?

rainbowgardener, did you get that microwave gizmo? How is that working for you? I don't have a microwave oven -- I hate those things -- so I'll have to go with the stovetop one if I ever get one. (And your posts always makes me want to get one )

[rainbowgardener]

I did and unfortunately I was very disappointed in it. Good news, it does produce some herbal essence after only 6 min in microwave, which is WAY less energy use than the stove top model. Bad news, the product is also a hydrosol, not a true essential oil. Despite the company's claims, I never could get any actual pure oil from it. And even if it worked exactly as proclaimed, you would be getting a few drops of essential oil from cups of materials, plus some hydrosol. Worse news, the hydrosol resulting is much more dilute than what my stove top model produced, much less fragrant. Bottom line is you just don't get as much of the essence out of the herb microwaving it for a few minutes with very little water as you do boiling it for a long time.

So now I am very conflicted. I can get a low quality product with very little energy use or a much higher quality product with much more energy use.... sigh.


PS, I will say the microwave model works better the more oil is in the material you start with. What worked best for me was juniper berries and citrus peel, which have quite a bit of oil in them.

[Susan W]

I keep thinking I'll mess with herb butters, perhaps the time has come! I have plenty of herbs growing in the back and side yard. Sometimes forget, or just don't do things as cooking for one not a great inspiration for dressing things up!

Another herb use, not culinary is making an air-fresh. Again, I have not done this, but sounds simple and a quick google will get you hints. This is putting mint in cheap vodka, let it set in a jar, then put in a spritz bottle. One of my market customers was getting mint for this. I haven't seen her this season, perhaps moved from neighborhood.

[ElizabethB]

How much you use in herbed butter is really up to you. It just depends on how strong an herbed flavor you like. Start with less - taste - add more if you want a more intense flavor. Yes on using less of the fennel -it is strong. Basil and dill are my favorites and I like an intense flavor so I may use a little more. Rosemary maybe a little less. I usually just use one herb but I like the idea of incorporating garlic. A couple of weeks ago we had a tomato butter. I am thinking maybe some sun dried tomatoes and basil +/- garlic.

I have never had a problem with the infused oils going bad. Of course it does not sit in the pantry very long. My DIL said that hers went rancid. When I asked her where she stored it she said "On the window sill" No wonder it did not last.

If you have a lot of basil do try the basil mayonnaise - a party in your mouth.

I remember my grandmother making sachet from dried lavender and rose petals. She made little packets from scraps of fabric and stuffed them with the lavender and rose petals. She used the sachet in her lingerie drawer and in the chest where she stored bed linens. When I visited she would tuck one under my pillow. I can still smell it.

Dried but preferably fresh - I love to cook with herbs. I am always playing around with different herbs - either alone or combinations - in different dishes. Some of my favorites are rosemary with lamb or venison. Dill - lots - with fish - especially with salmon. Dill with carrots. I love a Beurre Blanc sauce with dill or basil on pan grilled asparagus. A Hollandaise sauce with either dill or basil over poached eggs or on fish. Fresh oregano, thyme and basil in a fresh from the garden tomato sauce. When you get in the habit of cooking with your herbs you don't have to worry about having a lot of excess that needs keeping. The end of the season is when I harvest and dry for winter use.

[ElizabethB]

Plant extra dill an let some flower. the back swallow tail butterfly will lay her eggs on the plant. The caterpillars devour the plant before moving off to make their chrysalis. The plant recovers and puts out tons of new stems and foliage. Skipper butterflies are attracted to mint.

[shelleyinmichigan]

Yes, still thinking about it......

What I initially wanted it for was to get the oils out of all the catnip I have and turn it into insect repellant for personal use, but the more I look for a distiller the more I find I can do with other goodies I grow as well.

I make a jewelweed salve by slowly cooking the stems and leaves in a small amount of olive oil. I don't remember where I got that technique but even through my years of soap making I know some about combining molecules. The oils, not being water soluble, need another oil molecule to bind with. In the end the jewelweed did prove to be very effective on my poison ivy blisters.

Which makes me wonder if I could extract the oil in the same manner. Only drawback is I have two indoor cats with a STRONG propensity for catnip. Can you say prison riot?



rainbowgardener, did you get that microwave gizmo? How is that working for you? I don't have a microwave oven -- I hate those things -- so I'll have to go with the stovetop one if I ever get one. (And your posts always makes me want to get one )[/quote]

[rainbowgardener]

see my post from earlier today, above, re my experience with the microwave distiller.