I’ve tended gardens—together with my father’s meticulously groomed patch in New Jersey and the hydroponic system on my Brooklyn patio—my complete grownup life. As a rule, I solely develop edible issues. The simplest, most dependable crops are herbs. Sadly, they develop quicker than I can use them: There could also be a jungle of parsley one week, and the subsequent, I am gazing wilted sprigs. The freshness of herbs is fleeting, and even with the finest storage tips, it is onerous to make the most of the season’s bounty earlier than it is too late. 

Turning recent herbs into pesto and chimichurri after which freezing them is one approach to take advantage of them. However this is another choice: Herb salt, which preserves your herbs and creates a flavorful, versatile seasoning you may maintain in your fridge. Pulverizing herbs with salt creates situations which might be hostile to the molds and microbes that hasten spoilage, in flip extending the herbs’ usable life. This course of additionally infuses the salt with fragrant oils, making a aromatic, long-lasting seasoning that immediately boosts the flavour of no matter you set it on.

Hold a jar useful, and you will have a flexible rub for steaks, chops, and hen; a ending salt for roast potatoes and greens; and an herbaceous seasoning for eggs, popcorn, and even breads and sweet-savory pastries. All you want are two elements, a meals processor, and slightly drying time.

Which Salt Ought to You Use?

Not all salts are created equal. Salts differ in density and crystal form, which modifications each their taste and the way they behave. A teaspoon of desk salt holds extra sodium chloride—and subsequently tastes far saltier—than the identical quantity of kosher or coarse sea salt. The structural variations amongst salts have an effect on how shortly they dissolve and whether or not they season in a effective, uniform dusting or a crunchy, irregular chunk. Even two manufacturers of kosher salt—Morton and Diamond Crystal kosher salts, for instance—differ in density. For constant outcomes, it is best to make use of a scale and work by weight, not quantity.

For herb salt, you desire a coarser crystal that will not dissolve too shortly, so the salt slowly attracts out moisture to protect the herbs and dries into distinct, crumbly crystals—somewhat than dissolving on contact and leaving you with a pile of salty inexperienced mush.

• Coarse Sea Salt: That is the candy spot. Coarse sea salt’s bigger crystals do not dissolve instantly. As a substitute, they steadily draw moisture out of the herbs, decreasing the water exercise—the quantity of water accessible for microbes to develop—which helps protect the herbs.
• Coarse Grain Salt: Any mineral salt, together with pink Himalayan salt, can work nicely, because the salt dissolves slowly, permitting the combination to dry into crumbly, distinct crystals as an alternative of collapsing right into a inexperienced paste. A paste gained’t maintain almost as lengthy, and it defeats the entire goal: You need herb salt, not herb unfold. In case your salt is very giant, just like the pebble-sized chunks you see in salt grinders, give them just a few pulses within the meals processor so they’re nearer in measurement to plain coarse sea salt.
• Kosher Salt: At Critical Eats, Diamond Crystal is our default for on a regular basis cooking, nevertheless it’s not the perfect salt to make use of right here, as its small, jagged crystals dissolve too shortly as soon as moist. Morton’s kosher salt is a barely higher possibility for herb salt, as its extra coarse grind holds up longer and maintains some crystalline crunch even after processing.
• Flaky Ending Salt, reminiscent of Maldon: These salts are beautiful on completed dishes, however they’re costly and never value utilizing right here, as the fragile pyramids break down immediately within the processor.
• Desk Salt: Keep away from utilizing desk salt; its tiny, uniform crystals dissolve nearly immediately, and its density ends in a really salty inexperienced paste. Many manufacturers are fortified with iodine and blended with anti-caking brokers, each of which might depart a faint metallic or bitter aftertaste.

Which Herbs Work Greatest?

• Sturdy Herbs: Rosemary, thyme, sage, oregano, and marjoram are good choices. Due to their potent oils, their taste and aroma linger for months. One frequent mixture residence cooks use is equal components rosemary, thyme, and sage; in grocery shops, the three are sometimes offered collectively as “poultry mix,” because the trio is commonly used to organize roast hen or turkey. 
• Tender Herbs: Basil, dill, parsley, tarragon, cilantro, chervil, chives. After washing, spin or pat them completely dry, then allow them to air-dry till no floor moisture stays. Their taste will final for a number of months, however their colour will finally fade from brilliant inexperienced to muted olive. Be aware, although, that tender herbs have the next water content material and have a tendency to have a extra delicate taste and fewer long-lasting fragrant oils of their leaves, which suggests they will produce herb salts which might be extra susceptible to changing into pasty and won’t final as lengthy or ship as a lot aroma and taste. Nonetheless, they do work, particularly the extra aromatic ones like dill and tarragon.
• Combine and Match: Pair herbs you already like to make use of collectively. Dill and tarragon for fish. Basil and oregano for pasta. Thyme and parsley for French cooking. The chances are countless.

Tip: I would personally keep away from sage or rosemary on their very own. Their important oils are highly effective, and when used solo, their taste can come throughout as unpleasantly medicinal. They shine finest in an herb salt when blended with different herbs.

Tips on how to Use Herb Salt

Use it as a ending salt on roasted veggies, grilled meats, or fish, as a rub earlier than cooking, or rather than common salt in soups or stews. Stir it into eggs or scatter it over avocado toast. Mud it onto popcorn. Certainly one of my favourite recommendations is to stir it into olive oil to make a fast herb oil for drizzling or dipping.

Consider herb salt as taste mud: A two-ingredient improve that makes nearly all the pieces style higher.

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