If oregano is given a sunny and not too humid location in the herb garden, it tends to spread vigorously and form fragrant herb carpets. To prevent it from overgrowing the entire bed, it is recommended to cut the herb regularly. You can preserve this cutting and make it last longer so that you can enjoy oregano from your own garden all year round.
How to preserve oregano?
Preserving oregano can be achieved by freezing, drying, placing it in oil or vinegar and flavoring it with s alt. These methods preserve the aromas and allow you to use oregano from your own garden all year round.
Preserving fresh oregano
There are various ways to preserve fresh oregano. Below we would like to briefly introduce you to the most common methods:
Freezing Oregano
To freeze, the small leaves and flowers are carefully plucked from the branches. Brown and damaged leaves are not suitable for freezing. Put the herbs in portions into ice cube trays or small freezer bags and let the oregano freeze thoroughly.
Drying Oregano
For this preservation method, use the longest-stemmed oregano sprigs that you can gather into loose bundles and hang upside down in a dark, airy and dry place. When the oregano is completely dry after about a week, you can carefully remove the small leaves and flowers from the branches and store them in tinted, well-sealed containers.
Pickling Oregano
If you place the dried oregano branches in high-quality cooking oil, you will get a tasty seasoning for salads and many dishes. Only well-dried branches should be inserted and placed in a tightly sealable glass bottle. Pour the oil over the herbs so that they are completely covered and let the herbal oil steep for a few weeks in a bright but not full sunny place.
Alternatively, you can pickle the dried branches in vinegar. In order for the essential oils of the oregano to dissolve in the vinegar, the vessels must sit in a cool place for a long time.
Oregano flavored s alt
Clean the fresh oregano and carefully pluck the small leaves from the branches. Larger leaves should also be shredded. Fill the herb into pretty, tight-fitting jars and fill them with coarse sea s alt. The volume of the s alt should approximately correspond to the volume of the oregano leaves.
The s alt removes both the moisture and some of the essential oils from the oregano leaves. Therefore, you should store this mixture in a cool place, for example in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator.
Tips & Tricks
Oregano preserved in oil or s alt is a nice souvenir for loved ones. Decorate the vessels with homemade herb pendants and a beautiful bow.