New spices and herbs keep appearing on the market, only a few of which can get a place in our kitchen. An exception is the olive herb, which thrives well here in the garden and is used dried as a seasoning and medicinal plant.

The olive herb is not only suitable for seasoning dishes

What you should know about the olive herb

The aromatic herb comes from Spain, Portugal and Morocco. It actually tastes of olives, but also a little bit of thyme and rosemary. Just like the two well-known herbs, it goes well with roasted meat and harmoniously rounds off sauces and salad dressings.

It is also known by the following names:

  • sacred herb
  • holy flower
  • cypress herb

Dry the olive herb

If you have planted olive herb in your garden, you should wait with the first harvest until a strong bush has formed. Then you can regularly harvest and dry the branches of the herb. When drying, you should proceed as gently as possible so that the herb only loses a little aroma.

Air dry and dry in the oven

  1. Separate clean, fresh branches.
  2. Wash them and dry them well.
  3. Bundle the branches and hang them upside down in an airy, preferably warm but not sunny spot.
  4. After a few days, when the dry leaves can be easily stripped off the stems, the drying process is complete.
  5. Fill the dried olive herb into airtight cans or glasses and keep them in the dark.

You will reach your goal faster if you dry your olive herb in the oven.

  1. To do this, preheat the oven to 40 degrees.
  2. Place the herbs on a baking sheet in the oven.
  3. Place a wooden spoon or a thick oven mitt between the oven door to allow moisture to escape.
  4. After a few hours the herb has dried and can be stored.

You can also achieve good drying results in the dehydrator.

Use of dried olive herb

Anyone who loves Mediterranean cuisine will be happy to use the olive herb. It is suitable for seasoning salads and pestos, it refines meat, fish and mushroom dishes. However, you should not cook the dried herb, but pour it over the food just before serving or stir it in at the end of the cooking time.
An effective medicinal tea can be prepared from dried olive herb. It has a positive effect on gastrointestinal infections, flatulence and against the yeast fungus Candida albicans.

The garden journal freshness ABC

How can fruit and vegetables be stored correctly so that they stay fresh for as long as possible?

The garden journal freshness ABC as a poster:

  • as a free PDF file to print out yourself

Category:

Vegetable garden