The strong-tasting savory is the perfect spice for many winter dishes. It goes best with legumes, such as beans. You can freeze the savory so that you always have it on hand.

In a nutshell

  • cut just before flowering
  • wash and dry before freezing
  • Freeze whole stems or just leaves
  • Place leaves in ice cube trays with water
  • use up after four months

To harvest

There are several types and varieties of savory, two of which are mainly cultivated in gardens and pots. Any type of savory can be frozen. The annual summer savory, also known as garden savory, dies back in autumn and has to be sown again every year. Therefore, you should harvest it regularly to build up a supply. Cut off the stems as soon as possible before flowering, because the herb has a particularly high concentration of essential oils at this time. You should also observe the following tips when harvesting:

  • Flavor varies throughout the day
  • highest content of essential oils in the late morning
  • therefore cut stems late in the morning
  • choose a sunny and warm day for this

Simply cut off the cabbage stems with scissors or a small knife. The perennial mountain savory, on the other hand, can still be harvested fresh until the first frost, but you can also freeze or dry it if necessary.

Notice: You can also freeze flowering savory. It can be used in the kitchen and also preserved. However, it tastes a bit milder, which is why you need larger amounts of it.

Action

The actual freezing of the savory is not complicated:

  1. Wash cabbage under running water
  2. then dry well with a kitchen towel
  3. freeze whole stalks or just the plucked leaves
  4. Pack in suitable, airtight containers
  5. Place in the freezer immediately after harvest and preparation
  6. do not leave it for a long time

It is best to tie whole stalks into bunches, which you later add to the dish when cooking. Before serving, the frozen bouquet of savory herbs is removed again. Alternatively, the fine leaves can also be stripped off and frozen together with a little water as practical herb cubes in an ice cube tray. Instead of water, you can use a tasteless vegetable oil, such as sunflower or rapeseed oil. However, once the cubes are set, you should transfer them to an airtight sealable container.

Tip: If you want to freeze freshly harvested vegetables (e.g. beans) and savory at the same time, you can put a bunch of savory in the freezer container at the same time.

Freeze Duration and Use

The frozen herb will retain its flavor as long as it stays in the freezer for no longer than three to four months. This means that you should use up your newly created supply within this time. After that, the herb loses both its valuable ingredients and its characteristic aroma due to the influence of cold-loving microorganisms. You can still use savory for up to 12 months after freezing, but by then it will have lost its strong flavor. Do not thaw frozen savory before using, add to the dish immediately.

frequently asked Questions

Which is better, freeze or dry savory?

Many herbs should not be dried, but should be frozen if possible. Popular kitchen herbs such as parsley, chives or basil lose their aroma when they dry and are therefore better off in the freezer. Others, however - including garden and mountain savory - should be dried if possible. The herb then retains its strong aroma for up to a year, provided it is stored in an airtight container. However, freezing is a good alternative.

Can I freeze garden savory with other herbs?

Of course, you can also freeze the delicious kitchen herb together with other herbs. In this way, you can portion out tasty spice mixtures that you can remove from the freezer if necessary. Sage goes particularly well with summer or mountain savory, but other Mediterranean herbs such as oregano, marjoram, rosemary, lavender or thyme also harmonize well.

Which dishes go well with savory?

The strong herb goes best with heavy winter dishes with meat, fish or legumes. It is particularly popular with beans, but lentils or peas can also be refined with it. Potatoes and cabbage are also tasty with a sprinkling of the herb, as its ingredients make hard-to-digest foods easier to digest. You can add it to soups, stews and stews. It is also suitable, very finely chopped, for seasoning raw vegetables and salads.

Category:

Vegetable garden