Seized by who knows what secret passion,Mrs R bought a flowerpot full of “Italian Cooking Herbs” the other day. So now we’ve got Oregano, Thyme, and Rosemary on our kitchen windowsill.
So now what? Do I just reach up and snip off some rosemary and add it to my scrambled eggs? Or do I have to harvest and dry these herbs before we use them?
Fresh herbs are less strongly flavoured than dried. You may not like the spiky Rosemary needles in your omelette but the other two will be fine. Save the Rosemary for the roast lamb.
You may need to keel clipping them to stop them getting too big as well, and water according to the instructions - overwatering kills more houseplants than drought.
I cut some leaves off the herbs in my herb garden and use them in cooking (I do wash them first).
All three dry well for storage/future use AND can also be used fresh.
Concur about the overwatering, esp. where rosemary is concerned. (Constantly moist soil --> root rot.) Let the soil dry – poke your finger into the top inch or so of dirt to check first, until you get a sense of how often you need to water, which will depend on ambient humidity, soil & container type (dirt in clay pots dries out a LOT faster than plants in plastic containers) and how good the drainage is i.e. how big the holes in the pot are.
All are easiest to harvest by pinching your fingers near the growing tip of the stem, and zipping your fingers down towards the bigger leaves. (Picture petting a cat backwards, against the grain of the fur.) The leaves will strip right off and, in the case of thyme, are so small they usually don’t need further chopping.
All 3 will put out tiny, inconsequential blooms if they get enough sunshine. The blossoms are edible and look very cute sprinkled on top of a salad.
Rosemary has a strongly pine-y flavor. You can also sprinkle it into pet bedding, etc. or tuck it into the linen drawer for a nice fresh scent.
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You can take the herbs and layer/weave them through fresh asparagus. Drizzle with olive oil, and roast.
I’d let the oregano and the thyme fight it out, but I’d put the rosemary in it’s own pot.
When adding fresh herbs, it’s best to do it at the end of the cooking cycle. Dried herbs tend to retain pungency throughout, fresh herbs lose it quickly. When your eggs are about ready to come out of the pan, add the herb of choice and mix it in. Or just sprinkle on top of the cooked food.
Thyme is good in nearly everything, fresh or dried.
I use oregano in a lot of things, none of them Italian (except porchetta roast). I don’t like it in eggs.
Rosemary is a tricky bugger (if it doesn’t die on you.). Generally, I’ll stick a twig in my roast chicken cavity. I’ve tried it with lamb, but wasn’t very impressed. IMO, it’s not a very useful cooking herb but it does make stuff smell nice.
I liked rosemary in my bbq/smoker, if you have one. Mine is just a layered BBQ with a lid.
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Oh, sorry. I though this was Herb Tarlek advice.