If you love Asian cuisine, you probably know the aromatic lemon or lemongrass. It can be cultivated on the windowsill and during the warm summer months also in the garden or on the balcony. Properly cared for, new shoots will sprout again and again during the growth period, which you can harvest continuously. Read this article on how to do it.

Grass plant with a fine lemon aroma

Lemongrass belongs to the grass family and forms long leaves that are similar in shape to our native reed grass. They grow in tufts from a thickened bulb and are also white at the bottom with a delicate lilac shimmer.

Cut lemongrass fresh if possible

Always harvest the lemongrass fresh during the summer months, because then the flavor of the spice is most intense. If the cut bunch contains more stalks than you need, you can wrap the lemongrass in kitchen paper or newspaper and keep it in the fridge for up to 14 days. Alternatively, lemongrass can be frozen and preserved for up to six months.

Harvest procedure

To ensure that the lemongrass continues to grow well, you should, if possible, only harvest bulbs that have new shoots on the side. Use a very sharp cutting tool as lemongrass is relatively tough. Clean the knife before harvesting so that no germs get into the plant.

  • Cut off the stem of the plant above the root
  • Only the white part of the stalks is suitable for consumption.
  • Above this part, which is about ten centimeters long, the green parts of the plant are cut off.

When harvesting, be careful not to touch or even crush the roots that remain in the ground. These are very sensitive, so that often no new tufts of grass grow from injured root parts. Side shoots that have already developed could also die.

Use the harvested lemongrass

Only very young and tender bulbs can be eaten, finely chopped. Lemongrass is usually broken open several times, crushed with the back of a knife or flat iron and cooked for a while. Before the dishes are served, the lemongrass is sieved out.

tips and tricks

Harvesting and regular pruning are important care measures that ensure good growth and dense clump formation. If the lemongrass grows too high, you should also harvest the green tips of the leaves. Roughly crushed, you can use them to prepare a delicious lemongrass tea.

SKb

Category:

Herbs