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My (garden) pot is overflowing with oregano. How can I preserve it to use later?

Is it possible to preserve rosemary not in fat - butter or oil? If I have to use oil, what kind has the least inherent flavor but will take on the rosemary flavor strongly?

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  • Glad to see you made it our way. :D
    – Catija
    Jan 6, 2018 at 5:20
  • Thanks. To preserve thyme, harvest it; put it in a shallow container in your hot water cupboard 3 days latter the dried leaves will crumble off the steams and smell amazing 😍
    – SAM A
    Jan 6, 2018 at 5:39
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    or you can mix rosemary with vinegar, but recipes I've seen for that specify dried rosemary leaves
    – thrig
    Jan 6, 2018 at 16:25
  • I don't recommend preserving in oil. The extra steps you have to go through to make it safe for long-term storage are a lot of work.
    – FuzzyChef
    Jan 6, 2018 at 23:31

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I've successfully dried both rosemary and oregano in a dehydrater, and I see no reason why you couldn't do the same in a warm dry place. Drying is a prerequisite for making herb oils anyway.

The flavour of rosemary in particular changes on drying, so it's not as good for some recipes as fresh

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  • You can also dry them in the microwave: youtube.com/watch?v=OI0EPD_kw-s
    – FuzzyChef
    Jan 6, 2018 at 23:30
  • You can also dry them on the piece of paper. Put piece of paper on the flat surface (better in warm place) and put crushed oregano on it. It will dry in 1-2 days, nothing difficult, no need in special devices.
    – kelin
    Jan 9, 2018 at 11:27
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I freeze chopped fresh rosemary in ice cube trays in oil, usually a light oil like olive oil. Basically you chop up your herbs, put them in the tray, and then pour whatever your preferred cooking oil is over them then freeze them. I've heard that some people use butter as well but it should be unsalted so it freezes properly. It really depends what dishes you are planning on cooking and whether they call for oil or butter, and what kind of oil. I've never tried this with oregano, but I'm sure it would work for that too. I would just avoid doing it with stuff like basil, parsley, etc which you wouldn't be cooking anyway.

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  • Thanks, I have dried parsley in the past- bake lowest temp setting on your oven for an hour or until crumbly. The cupboard your hot water tank is in (if you have one) can be used to dry thyme but it takes 3 days. Chris in another answer hypothesized that the same technique could be used for Oregano
    – SAM A
    Jan 9, 2018 at 2:55

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