How to Pick Fresh Herbs

Anne Cori, of Kitchen Conservatory, shares a few tips for using and picking fresh herbs from your garden. Always cut the full springs from the plant, rather than picking the herbs off the stems. This allows the herbs to grow bigger and bushier. Picking the herbs from the stems just leaves naked stems and no regrowth. Once herbs start to flower, it is important to cut them off or “dead head” them. Once an herb starts to flower, it can change the flavor of the herb. Basil blackens the more you cut it or by heating it, so do not cut it and use it until just before serving a dish. An easy way to cut it is to stack several of the leaves, roll them up, and cut them into a chiffonade. Harvesting herbs is the nicest thing you can do for them to keep them healthy and providing regrowth. Do not let herbs get long and leggy. For a large selection of kitchen tools and essentials, visit us at www.kitchenconservatory.com. If you are in the St. Louis area, please visit our retail store and take one of our cooking classes.