One thing about living in California is that rosemary plants really thrive here. My rosemary plant is getting huge and it hardly requires any care.
Rosemary is used in a lot of cooking. I really love it in breads – like a rosemary and sun-dried tomato bread. It is also often used in nut or grain loaf recipes and is usually a key ingredient in stuffing.
They best way to use the fresh rosemary is to first cut a few sprigs from the plant. Unlike parsley or cilantro, the stem of rosemary is very woody so don’t use it. Instead, hold your sprig of rosemary in one hand near one end of the sprig and pull downward with 2 fingers of your other hand and strip the fresh leaves off and discard the stem.
Once the leaves are removed, take a large sharp knife, like a chef’s knife, and a cutting board and chop the leaves as small as you want for your recipe.
Remember: When using fresh herbs, you usually use twice as much of the fresh in a recipe that calls for dry herbs.
Place your hand that is not holding your chef’s knife on the top of the spine. Keeping the tip of the knife on the board, rock the knife back and forth over the rosemary. Gather the pile back together using the spine of your knife. Continue to chop until your desired texture is reached.
I’ve just planted my herb garden and rosemary is one of the stars. I love the scent of rosemary and the flavor it adds to a dish. It is so rewarding to grow your own herbs and then enjoy them in recipes. Rosemary will not live during our cold winters so I usually dig it up and put it in a pot and take it inside for the winter. A rosemary plant will live several years when wintered over this way.
Fresh Rosemary….We all know that fresh herbs are great to cook with and really ramp up the flavor in foods but how do you chop fresh herbs?
For the beginning cook, or someone who has never used fresh herbs before, these bundles of wonderful flavor can be a little daunting. What do you do with this??? How do you use it in cooking???
Remember: When using fresh herbs, you usually use twice as much of the fresh in a recipe that calls for dry herbs.
One thing about living in California is that rosemary plants really thrive here. My rosemary plant is getting huge and it hardly requires any care.
Once the leaves are removed, take a large sharp knife, like a chef’s knife, and a cutting board and chop the leaves as small as you want for your recipe.
They best way to use the fresh rosemary is to first cut a few sprigs from the plant. Unlike parsley or cilantro, the stem of rosemary is very woody so don’t use it. Instead, hold your sprig of rosemary in one hand near one end of the sprig and pull downward with 2 fingers of your other hand and strip the fresh leaves off and discard the stem.
Rosemary is used in a lot of cooking. I really love it in breads – like a rosemary and sun-dried tomato bread. It is also often used in nut or grain loaf recipes and is usually a key ingredient in stuffing.
Cooking Tips : How to Chop Rosemary
FAQ
How do you cut rosemary plant so it keeps growing?
How do you cut rosemary sprigs?
Snip off rosemary stems at the base using sharp garden shears or scissors. Get as close to the place where the stem comes off the main stock of the rosemary plant. Ensure your garden shears or scissors are very sharp so you can easily cut through the woody stalks of the rosemary sprigs.
Can rosemary leaves be picked, chopped up, and eaten?
Yes. Rosemary is ready to pick as soon as you have an established plant that is putting on new tips and branches. There are two parts of rosemary you can harvest, the tender new tips or the leaves. But all parts of the plant are edible. The leaves contain the most flavor and aromatic oils, and are great for cooking, teas, and many other uses.
How do you Dry rosemary sprigs?
Use paper towels or a salad spinner to dry the rosemary. Lay the sprigs of rosemary out on a doubled-up paper towel on a kitchen counter and pat them dry with another paper towel or two. Place the sprigs in a salad spinner and spin the handle to dry off the rosemary as an alternative to using paper towels.
How do you clean a Rosemary plant before cutting?
Always wash your rosemary and strip the leaves off of the stems before you cut rosemary to clean off any dirt or pesticides and separate the leaves from the tough woody stems, which are not usable. Use paper towels or a salad spinner to dry the rosemary.