How to Harvest and Store Oregano

If you cook Italian food at home, you probably keep a good supply of oregano on hand. But once you've tasted oregano you've grown yourself, those tiny jars on the supermarket shelves will never look the same again.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Drying Screens Or Racks
• Baskets
• Garden Shears
• Gardening Gloves
• Olive (not Virgin) Oil
• Unsalted Butter
• Freezer Containers
• Glass Storage Jars
• Ice Cube Trays
• Plastic Storage Bags
• Twine
• Twine
• Baskets

1. Pick individual oregano leaves to use fresh throughout the growing season.

2. Harvest larger amounts by cutting back the entire oregano plant three times during the season: first when the plant is about 6 inches tall, again just before it starts to flower, and a third time in late summer.

3. Store fresh oregano in plastic bags in the refrigerator.

4. Freeze oregano to retain the most flavor and aroma. Freeze entire branches on cookie sheets, then strip the leaves from the stems and put them back into the freezer in plastic containers. Or mix finely chopped oregano leaves with just enough olive oil or butter to bind them together, and freeze the mixture in ice cube trays.

5. Dry oregano by cutting entire stalks from the plant and hanging them in a warm, dry, well-ventilated spot. Store dried oregano leaves in an airtight jar.

Tips & Warnings

• Pick oregano in the morning after the dew has dried on the leaves but before the sun's heat can dissipate the volatile oils that give the plant its distinctive flavor and aroma.
• Though frozen oregano tastes much better than the dried form, it is limp and unattractive. Use it in stews, casseroles and other dishes when taste matters more than appearance.

[Trish62]

on 3/11/2009 Good useful information. Thank you! 5*