How to Use Those Leftover Herbs and Spices

Did You Use Herbs for a Recipe, But Couldn't Use Them Up?

© Lauren Wise

Jun 8, 2009

Usually herbs are bought in bunches, and a lot of people buy them for just one or two recipes. Instead of throwing them away or tossing them in your refrigerator just to go bad, come up with creative ways to use them that day, such as in a beverage, or weeks from now, in a butter or salsa.

Add Herbs to Beverages

• Tear up a 1/4 cup of the herbs into smaller pieces. Drop a couple into an empty ice cube tray, than carefully fill with water. Freeze the ice cubes to create herb cubes to add to alcoholic beverages (like mint with mojitos), water, iced tea, lemonade, hot tea, and hot chocolate, to name a few. Herbs that will compliment tea and water includes fresh mint, chocolate mint, lemon grass, rosemary, and basil.
• Dry out the herbs by securing them upside down in a dark dry place, like the inside of a cabinet. Then, place them in airtight jars to be steeped in tea in the future. You can also dry out herbs to use for future cooking, such as throwing in a handful of mint leaves to brownie mix, or adding gingerroot to sugar cookies. When making coffee, place some herbs in with the coffee grounds (varieties of mint tastes good with this) and brew the coffee.
• Use herbs for alcoholic beverages and garnishes in drinks. Examples include mint with a mojito, rosemary with gin and tonic, lemongrass in lemonade with vodka, basil in whiskey club sodas, or oregano or marjoram in bloody marys, to name a few.

Sprinkle Herbs on Snacks and Dessert

• Sprinkle chopped up or whole herbs on mixed lettuce salads, fruit salads, and mashed potatoes. Most herbs can add a creative twist of flavor to even the most simple dishes. Toss a small handful of basil, cilantro, chives, lemongrass, sorrel, ginger root, mint, parsley, or thyme to lettuce or spinach salads. Fruit flavors work well with basil, dill, mint, chocolate mint, and lemongrass. Whip up m ashed potatoes with chives, parsley, thyme, dill, horseradish, or rosemary.
• Top yogurt with diced up dill, basil, horseradish, and mint, and mix it in thoroughly, and you can do the same thing with ice cream. Experiment with different herbs and flavors, and you may find that you enjoy surprising flavors that contrast between the dairy and the herbs.

Create Herb Butter, Salsa and Cheese

Pretty much every type of herb can be used up in this process, including basil, chives, cilantro, bay leafs, chervil, dill, galangal, mint, horseradish, lemon grass, oregano, marjoram, parsley, rosemary, sage, tarragon, savory, thyme and sorrel.

• With your extra herbs left, chop up whatever is left and whip it with soft butter in a bowl. Lay out a piece of wax paper, and use your hands to shape and form a log of the herb cheese. Roll the log in the wax paper and twist off the ends. Place it in the fridge to harden for a full day. You can use this on ANYTHING, whether it is to melt in a pan to start cooking, or buttering toast and biscuits, to coating meats before they are grilled.
• Use this method to make herb butter, and create herb cheese. Invest in some good goat cheese, cream cheese, or boursin cheese. Whip it together than roll in the wax paper and harden. You can use this on crackers, crusty baguettes, sandwiches and potatoes.
• Toss chopped herbs into salsas, chutneys or marinades that you have in your refrigerator or pantry already. Look at the ingredients on the bottle, and if they include herbs you have, just add more fresh herbs to the bottle. Experiment by adding certain herbs to salsas and chutney that you can't find in the stores, and maybe you will create a flavor that's completely new. Gingerroot, cilantro, and different peppers are especially good for this use in Asian marinades.

Once you begin to use up your extra herbs, it will become natural to you to incorporate them in different dishes and flavors, and you will use the herbs you purchased to their fullest potential.

Fresh Herbs

Print Article

View All Articles

How to subscribe to feeds