[IronChefATL]

Are there other practical ways to store herbs, other than wrapped in the bag they came in in a big lexan????

So the Chef de Cuisine asked me the other day "can you figure out a better way to store the herbs?" My reply "well tell people not to throw the bags back in the lexan without rolling it back up, and to be more neat when removing what they need."

I have seen people wrap the herbs in damp towels. One place we would hang them, in the bag, from the wire racks.

The basic problem with any "system" is that the cooks actually DO IT. We use everything pretty quickly, so a method that preserves them better is not nessecary.

So anyway besides telling people to clean up after themselves and leave things neat and/or the way they found them. What other ideas do you folks out there have for storing herbs?

[KeeperOfTheGood]

Hey oh

Well, I would say that it depends on the way in which you use them. It would also depend on the type of establishment you have. It would also depend on the specific herbs.

I have found, and heard chefs talk of this all the time, that basil will freeze, hold its shap, hold its texture, and hold its flavour quite well. The times I have used fresh thyme, to be really honest, dried thyme would do the job as easily as the fresh, and there isn't anyone to know the difference.

I don't know if sage will freeze, or any of the other broad leaf herbs. I have tried freezing tarragon but I didn't like it as much as fresh.

So, limiting yourself to using only the fresh that really needs to be fresh, and using dried or frozzen would be my sugestion.

Oh, and yes, another would be to use potted and growing herbs. You could prep you day by first harvesting what you will use in that day. Of course, this would not work if you are serving a large number of people in a day. But if you were using, say, 5 or 10 bay leafs a day, a fair sized laural bush (which is nicely decorative) can easily provid this. Same with fresh basil or sage. I have seen this done in a few "country sid" cafes. Its a gimmic really; "as picked fresh from our garden" type places.


As to an improvement on the actuall storrage? Well, they need about as much attention as wine in their keeping. So, their own "walkin" with humidity controle and fan for air circulation and thermostate to maintain a good temp..... But then you'd be looking at a 300 or 400 little fridge just for herbs and do you really want to bother?

[kuan]

Thyme and rosemary I always keep in a lexan in between damp towels. Stuff like basil/cilantro/parsley all get the bottoms lopped off and they go in a sour cream container filled with water.

Stuff that's not used before the next order gets put in a hotel pan on top of the ovens.

<sigh> I just wrote everything in present tense even though I don't do it anymore. I feel something pulling, and it's not the kid.

[deltadoc]

Fresh vs. dried herbs has been a question I'd struggled with for years.

It used to be you could only get dried herbs and then, for a home cook, in too large a quantity to remain useful till the container was empty.

I've pretty much addressed this dilemma in two ways:

1. I bought a Klimagro in-door greenhouse (has it's own lights and timer, temperature sensor and control, moisture sensor probe and meter, sliding glass doors and "roof", and a built in fan for air circulation) that fits right in my garden window of my kitchen. Right now, I have basil, thyme, rosemary, parsley, oregano, French Tarragon, and a few other herbs growing in it. If a plant gets too tall, like basil is apt to do, I trim the tops and put them in a glass containing water and a touch of sugar on the countertop.

2. I grow fresh herbs in the garden every year, and use a 1000 watt dehydrator to dry the herbs quickly, and then store them using a Foodsaver which removes the air, heat seals the thick plastic bag containing the dried herbs, and put them in the freezer.

Since Basil is so prolific, turns black in the refrigerator, I found that making pesto is a good way to freeze the excess basil, retain the bright green color, and we love to eat pesto anyways. I've heard you could freeze the herbs in an ice cube tray, but I've never tried doing it for lack of incentive.

doc