The favorite seasoning of Russian housewives, which can be put literally in all dishes, is fragrant and vitamin dill.

In the summer, summer residents have no problems with dill - it is enough to go out into the garden to pick a bunch of tender greens. But with the onset of cold weather, you either have to be content with seasoning from the supermarket, or use summer dill preparations.

Drying dill

The most popular type of winter spice is the common dried dill. Despite the apparent simplicity of the drying process, there are many nuances in it, without knowing which, it is difficult to preserve the appearance and aroma of the seasoning.

• Be sure to sort out the dill collected from the garden, removing the dried branches, wash and dry with a towel.
• To store in a jar, cut fresh dill into small pieces.
• Prepare white Whatman paper or sheets of plain printer paper and sprinkle dill on them in a thin layer. Do not use newspaper as a substrate, as harmful substances in the paint may partially pass into the seasoning.
• Dry the greens in the shade, preferably in a light draft, periodically stirring the chopped mass. Do not allow it to stay in direct sunlight, as ultraviolet decomposes and promotes the evaporation of beneficial volatile substances.
• Pour completely dried dill into a jar and close tightly.

You can also dry dill in sprigs, for which tie them in small bundles and hang them on a cord in a cool, ventilated room.

However, you can do otherwise. Spread the sprigs evenly on an A4 sheet, then roll it up and put it in the refrigerator. After a few days, the dill will completely lose moisture, but retain a beautiful green color.

Freezing dill

If during drying more than half of the useful substances contained in dill are lost, then in the frozen product the share of losses is no more than 20%. You need to prepare the branches for freezing in the same way as for drying - sort, wash and dry. It is advisable to prepare many small bags to divide fresh dill into portions for freezing. After chopping, arrange the greens in bags and put them all in the freezer.

Some housewives prefer a different way of freezing. They put black pepper and a little lemon juice into the chopped greens, after which they stuff the ice molds tightly with the mixture and place them in the freezer. You can store dill frozen in this way directly in molds or put it in a large container. When cooking soup, it is enough to get one or two cubes and throw it into the pan - the dill will be as fragrant as just picked from the garden.

Dill salting

Finely chopped dill mixed with salt is more flavorful than dried dill and won't clutter up the freezer. It is stored in the usual compartment of the refrigerator. The only inconvenience is that when adding to dishes, you need to remember about the salt in the dill mass. To prepare dill with salt:

• sort and wash the branches, tear them off the hard stems;
• cut the dill;
• mix greens with table salt, taking one volume of salt for two volumes of dill;
• transfer to small containers, close the lids and refrigerate.

Dill prepared in this way can be stored until spring without spoiling or becoming moldy.

Dill in oil

Another way to prepare fresh dill is to pour greens with sunflower oil. It is necessary to prepare and cut the dill, as described above, then put it in glass jars and pour oil over it. The greens do not need to be compacted too much, otherwise it will release the juice, just shake the jar slightly. The oil should completely cover the greens and leave no air bubbles. Close the jars with lids and place in the refrigerator or cellar.

pickled dill

You can use pickling for harvesting green dill. Ready-made seasoning is served as a separate dish or used as a dressing. Dill for pickling does not need to be chopped, just cut off the branches from the stems, rinse, dry and put in half-liter jars. At the bottom of each jar, you need to pour a tablespoon of salt and pour the same amount of table vinegar, you can add a clove of garlic.


Pour boiling water over the jars and sterilize in a large saucepan for 10 minutes, then roll up the lids. Store pickled dill, like other blanks, in a dark, cool place.