At the beginning of summer, fresh fragrant greens appear on our summer cottages - this is parsley. and dill, and basil, and cilantro, and other herbs. We are happy to use this herb, adding it to salads, preparing hot dishes, and just fresh. Everyone in our family loves fresh herbs, and we eat a whole plate of them for every meal, along with first or second courses.

But the greens are growing faster and faster every day. Before you have time to look back, she can already “go into the arrow” or “into the umbrella”. And without waiting for this moment, the greens need to be preserved, prepared for the winter. After all, this is just the time when she gained the most vitamins and other useful substances. It is important to preserve this wealth so that in winter we have everything “our own”, and not store-bought.

There are several ways to harvest dill and parsley for the winter, we harvest them most often.

Methods for harvesting dill and parsley

• Freezing - is considered the best way to harvest greens. It helps to preserve up to 90% of useful substances and vitamins.
• Salting - allows you to save up to 70% of vitamins and nutrients
• Drying - with this method, only 50% of useful substances and vitamins are preserved
• Pickling - probably no vitamins are preserved, but it is delicious to use as an addition to a dish or as a snack

Freezing dill and parsley

Before you freeze the greens, you should sort it out, remove excess grass, cut off coarse stems and rinse thoroughly. Then it must be dried so that no drops of water remain on it. It doesn't take long to dry, just to let it dry. Greens, especially dill, quickly lose moisture, and with it the aroma and color. Therefore, it is desirable to process it on the same day as it was collected.

Cold, namely the freezing of greens, helps to ensure that it is dehydrated as quickly as possible. This is what allows you to save the maximum amount of vitamins, and color, and of course, which is important - the smell!

You can freeze it in different ways.

1. Cut parsley or dill, put in freezer bags or plastic containers and put in the freezer, in portions at a time. Why in portions? Because if you took greens out of the freezer and thawed it, then it will no longer be possible to freeze it again. It thaws very quickly, and during this process water is released, and since the greens are very tender, it quickly “spreads”. Therefore, we freeze at one time. Received and used immediately.

2. A very good way is when dried greens are not cut, but completely wrapped in cling film. Also in a bag, greens should be for one use.

3. You can freeze greens in containers for freezing ice. Very convenient, small capacity just for one use. There are two ways how to do it.

• chop the greens, you can use only dill, or only parsley. And you can mix them together, or add other favorite herbs. Pour tightly into an ice cube tray and fill with water. The ratio is two parts greenery and one part water. I heard that either butter or vegetable oil is used for this purpose in the same proportion. It turns out dill oil, or "green oil". But I haven't tried it, so I can't say anything about it.

• The second way is also my favorite. Greens need to be chopped in a blender. Then place the contents in molds for ice. There is no need to add water or oil. Everything will freeze anyway. In this version, I like to mix different herbs. One such cube will enrich any first or second course with its aroma and taste. And even in the coldest winter, it will give us a feeling of sun and warmth.
• in both the first and second cases, we freeze the contents of the molds, then shake everything out into a bag and send it to the freezer. We use one cube for one cooking.
• with such cubes you can wipe the face and décolleté. So there is another reason to consider this method of harvesting. Vitamins and cold for the face are a great cosmetic product!

Greens frozen in this way can be stored in the freezer without losing vitamins, taste, color and smell from 6 to 8 months. That is, just if it was frozen in September, it will last until May.

So, frozen dill is used for cooking first and second courses, for hot appetizers and salads. For fresh salads, it is better not to use it. When frozen, its structure is destroyed, and the view will turn out to be not entirely aesthetic. In addition, it can be slightly bitter, which will not be felt when hot.

Also, frozen greens are good to add to pastries, or use as a filling (for example). And other harvesting methods for this option are completely unsuitable.

Salted dill and parsley

Not all housewives love this method, since when it is used, the greens lose their color, because the salt takes the juice from the plant. But still, many people use it, just as they once used it, when there were no refrigerators at all.

This is a very simple way to harvest greens.

• to begin with, it should be sorted out, coarse petioles removed, washed and dried in the same way as in the first option.
• then cut it and put it in clean, preferably sterilized jars. Banks should also be thoroughly dried. Spread in layers of 1 cm. The first and last layer is salt.
• a layer of greens, a layer of table salt ... and so on. Do not use iodized salt, the color of both parsley and dill will be lost.
• having thus filled the jar to the very top, help yourself with a spoon. Then shake it, wait a little while the mixture settles and releases the juice. Then fill again to the top. Close with plastic lid.

• store, salted in this way greens, should be in the refrigerator.
• you can also grind it with salt in a blender, and store it in a closed jar in the refrigerator. But I like the first way better. I love when the greens are visible in the dish.
• use the contents of the jar as needed, always with a dry spoon. Then close the lid and continue to store in the refrigerator.

During use, do not forget that the greens are salty. Therefore, first put the greens, and then salt the dish completely!

Salted greens can be used to prepare hot dishes and cold salads.

Drying herbs and storing them

Many people use only this method of harvesting greenery for the winter. Maybe out of ignorance that in this case only 50% of the vitamins are preserved. Or maybe just the old fashioned way. Or maybe because with this method of harvesting, dried herbs have the most intense taste and aroma. Be that as it may, the greens have been dried, dried and will be dried.

There are also several ways to dry herbs, and they are all very simple. For all options, the greens are again cleaned, washed and dried on a towel. With this method, you can also dry rough stems, you just need to cut them as small as possible.

I usually dry the tender soft twigs separately, and the stems separately. Subsequently, I grind the stems in a coffee grinder, and add to various dishes. They produce a very good rich aroma. And I add the chopped tender parts of the plant to the dish for beauty.

• chop greens. We cover the baking sheet with baking paper, put the greens on it and put it in the shade. It is desirable that the place is well ventilated. It is not recommended to put it in the sun. Under the influence of ultraviolet light, it quickly loses color and smell. It should also be protected from dust and insects. It will dry for 2-3 days. During this time, it must be periodically stirred and turned over. On the first day, this should be done very often.
• you can dry the greens in bunches by tying the stems with a thread. Also keeping it from sun and dust.

• dried herbs in the oven at low temperatures. The first 2-3 hours dry it with the door open, and at a temperature of no more than 40 degrees. Then the temperature is slightly increased, and dried until tender, stirring occasionally.
• But it is better not to use this method at all, since during processing all volatile essential oils evaporate, due to which each type of greenery has its own unique smell. In addition, the greens turn yellow, it becomes ugly. And does not give the dish any color, no smell, no vitamins. Why is she needed then?
• you can dry it in special dryers, which are adapted for drying fruits, vegetables and, of course, various herbs. They have very low temperatures and constant air movement. This is the best way to dry.
• store dried herbs in paper bags, without air access. Or in glass jars with the lid closed.

Dried herbs are used for cooking first and second courses and for cold salads.

pickled greens

Recently, more and more often I hear that greens are pickled. Last year I decided to pickle dill myself. And I can say that I liked it. By opening a jar, you can add delicious odorous grass to meat, fish in the form of a snack. Such dill is also good for boiled potatoes, for vinaigrette and for any side dish. I decided I would do it every year. Moreover, what to do - everything is very simple!

• we sort out the dill, remove the rough stems, and rinse thoroughly.
• wash the jar and sterilize it.
• put horseradish leaves, currants, cherries, a few cloves of garlic in a jar.

• fill jar with dill
• make a brine: put 1 tablespoon of salt, 4-5 peas of allspice, and a couple of leaves of parsley on half a liter of water. Bring to a boil.
• pour the prepared dill with brine. Add 0.25 tsp of vinegar essence, or 1 tbsp. a spoonful of 6% vinegar.
• sterilize half a liter jar for 15 minutes, then close the lid. I usually screw jars with iron lids, but someone twists them with reusable lids or closes them with plastic ones. There are no recommendations here, whoever is used to it does it.
• let cool. We store in a dark, cold place if covered with plastic lids or a cool place if covered with iron ones.

When preparing dishes with greens harvested for the winter, a few basic rules should be considered.

• if you are preparing first or second courses, then greens should be added at the very end of cooking, 5 minutes before readiness.
• You don't need to add a lot of greens. If overdone, the dish may acquire a bitter aftertaste.
• add greens of varying degrees of preparation according to the recommendations.

And finally, a couple of tips. If the dill is already overgrown and has seeds on it, don't throw them away. Harvest, dry, and then use as a seasoning for dishes. Many chefs in Italy successfully use them in this way.

Try to make any preparations only with a good mood and with love. And may all your dishes be filled with the same!

Bon appetit!