Save your aging herbs: How to use them when they’re past their prime
We all know that once Halloween hits, the run through the holidays happens pretty fast. But it always sneaks up on me nonetheless.
This time of year is a good time to go through your herbs and spices and remove and replace the ones that are a little on the old side.
We replace these for cooking and teas, as these aging herbs can lose their flavor and potency with age. With time, exposure to oxygen and sunlight, the potency of the constituents we love them for, will begin to fade.
Here’s a very general rule of thumb you can follow for the different herbs in your cabinet.
How do you know an herb is past its prime?
Some herbs last longer than others. A lot depends on how they were tended to during their travels from harvest to your kitchen. Were they sitting on a dock in the heat of summer for days or weeks? Remember heat is not an herbs friend.
It depends on how they’re cut. Are they powdered, cut and sifted in large chunks or small? The more surface area there is the faster they can fade and lose their potency.
And finally, how are they stored in your kitchen? Are they stored near the stove where it’s hot? Are they left on the counter where they are exposed to sunlight?
If we don’t grow our herbs in our own backyards, we truly don’t have any idea how long those herbs traveled from harvest to store. They had travel time from where ever they were grown, to the various middlemen for cutting, packaging and shipping before they get to you. That could be anywhere from weeks to months.
Make sure to add that time into the life of your herbs.
Aging but not dead
This aging doesn’t mean your herbs are dead. There can be a lot of life left in them.
As herbs age, they begin to loose their color, flavor and scent. Meaning, these are great ways to test the potency of your herbs.
If they don’t have the vibrant color they once had, the pungent taste or there is no longer a potent scent, they are probably past their prime.
That’s not to say you can’t use them. You can. But you’ll need to use much more than you once would have when they were new.
But you don’t have to just throw them out if they’re past their prime. There’s other ways to use them.
While, they may not make a very potent as cup of tea, that’s not to say you can’t benefit from them in other ways.
Here’s a list of 5 ways you can use those aging herbs.
1. Make yourself a body scrub.
If you’re working with a powder, add enough oil to make it a workable scrub. Working with cut and sifted herbs? Add the herb and oil to a blender to make a slurry.
Want a bit more scrubbing power? Add something like sugar to the mix. A brown sugar is a bit softer, and not quite as abrasive as white sugar.
2. Feed your aging herbs to your chickens (if you have them).
Chickens love most herbs (but not all). I put them in their nesting boxes too. If there’s any volatile oils in them and they still have a scent, they can detract critters away from the girls’ nesting boxes.
Bugs hate the wonderful smell of herbs that we all love. And things like chamomile or lemon balm can calm the little feathered ladies too.
3. You can add them to melt and pour soaps.
Make sure they’re in a powdered or almost powdered form and they can make a great exfoliating soap. You can get melt and pour soaps from a lot of different places, just make sure the soap itself is as natural as you can get.
You can use that herbal exfoliation all over your body. Use some peppermint, lavender or rose for this, or using any of the culinary herbs would be great too.
4. Add powdered herbs to candles.
Something like cinnamon, bay leaves, star anise, or cardamom would be good for this one. Most of the warming winter spices would be fabulous here. Remember to make sure they’re powdered so they don’t start a fire (other than the wick).
5. How about a stove top potpourri.
Add herbs and spices to a couple cups of water in a small saucepan and put it on the stove. Turn the heat as low as you can and watch it carefully so that it doesn’t go dry.
Many different herbs can make a home smell divine. I actually have a mix of pickling herbs that I mixed up several years back. This is what I’ll use that pickling mix for. They made the house smell wonderful while I was making pickles. They’ll smell just as wonderful in a pot of water.
6. Bonus – Compost your aging herbs
If all else fails, you can always compost them or add them to your other potted plants.
So there you have it, a place for all your aging herbs.
When you’re ready to clean out your herbs and spices you’ll have new projects waiting for you. Some of these could even turn into homemade gifts if you wanted them to.
Have you made herbal gifts before with old herbs? Share your creations in the comments below. Or send me an email. I LOVE pictures too!!
