How to Preserve Oregano

Are you wondering how to preserve oregano? Perhaps you've been growing the herb to use in your kitchen. Or maybe you bought fresh oregano at the store to use in one of your recipes and now you have some left over. Preserving oregano makes it so that you can keep oregano on hand for days to months after you first use it.

With oregano that you've grown, the first thing you need to do is to cut it or pick it. Rinse it well to remove any dirt that's left on it. If you've bought fresh oregano and wish to preserve leftovers for later use, rinse it even a bit longer to get rid of the pesticides or other chemicals which may have been used during the growing process. Then let the oregano dry on a paper towel.

To preserve oregano to use for just a few days to a couple of weeks, place it in a glass or a bowl of water and cover the top with saran wrap. Make sure that you remove any leaves which appear dead.

To preserve oregano for longer, up to a year even, you'll want to freeze it. Freezing herbs is a great way to preserve their taste. It is also easy to do and convenient to use after it has been frozen.

Start the same way, by rinsing the oregano and letting it air dry. Then chop it into small pieces and place those into the pockets of an ice cube tray. Top off each pocket with a little bit of water. You want the majority of the ice cube to be the oregano; the water should simply be preserving it.

Next freeze the ice cube trays of oregano. Once they are frozen you can pop the cubes out and put them into a durable plastic bag. Make sure that you label the bags, using a permanent marker, with both the name of the herb as well as the date that you are freezing it. This will make it much easier to find later.