It will be news to us if you have never used for culinary, cosmetic or even medicinal purposes the wonderful rosemary, because it is widely distributed all over the world. Its scientific name is Rosmarinus officinalis.
Although it looks more like a conifer, rosemary is a relative of mint. Many people grow it in their gardens or rosemary in a pot at home not only for its wonderful fragrance and its many uses, but also for its beautiful purple, pink, blue or white flowers.
The Egyptians once believed that rosemary would bring them happiness, but even superstitions aside, it remains a versatile herb that is good to have around the house. It is a suitable seasoning for almost all meat dishes, for stews, for delicious baked potatoes and for what not. The good news is that it's easy to grow indoors as long as you give it enough light, water it regularly and prune it.
Rosemary, however, can make you obsessed, both figuratively and literally. It is not a small plant and given the fact that it is good to be pruned, you will reach a point where you will not be able to rationally utilize it. How can you then store fresh rosemary?
Lets that you already grow rosemary in your garden or in a pot on your balcony or on your windowsill. You should trim its tips before it has flowered, because that is when they contain the most nutrients. I.e. you'll get the most out of the rosemary itself.
There are several ways to store rosemary and we will not look at how to dry it, but how to keep it fresh and green for longer.
Trim the rosemary, but into no more than 20 cm long sprigs, which you can then store in the fridge, freezer or even at room temperature.
In room conditions, rosemary can grow for quite a long time if you simply soak it in a vase or glass full of water. Cut off the ends of the plant with a knife and place it in a suitable container of water that can be covered with plastic wrap. The water is changed every few days and the rosemary leaves are gently wiped with paper towels to remove any moisture that has accumulated on them. If you see that dark spots have formed on the plant, then it is no longer usable.
In the refrigerator, rosemary is stored for a longer time. Wrap the cut sprigs in parchment paper that you have previously soaked in water. This is best done using a spray bottle. Then store the bouquet of rosemary in a plastic bag, making sure that it has enough humidity and that the maximum temperature of the refrigerator is no higher than 5°C.
Rosemary can also be frozen, but for this purpose it must be washed in advance (when stored in the refrigerator and at room temperature, it is washed immediately before use). After washing it, dry it well and seal it in plastic bags, by making sure to remove the air from them well. In case you keep a lot of green spices in your freezer, it's a good idea to label each one. Greens frozen in the freezer can be stored for quite a long period of time and there is no guarantee that you will remember which bag you store what in.
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