How to keep dill fresh for the winter at home for a long time

How to keep dill fresh for the winter, many gardeners think after the end of the garden season. Such a product is used not only in cooking as a seasoning, but is often used as the main ingredient for medicinal and cosmetic purposes. Today, there are several simple and effective ways to preserve the value and flavor of greens.

Keep fresh

The optimum temperature for storing greens is +6 °С. Under such conditions, dill without the use of additional measures is stored for 1 month. By the end of this period, the grass will begin to gradually turn yellow and wither.

Freshly cut dill to extend the duration of its use is placed after cutting or purchase in a store in a regular plastic bag and put inside 0.5 heads of onions, tied and removed for storage. With this method, the greens can be preserved unchanged for 5 days. After that, the bag is aired and the bulb is replaced, which will keep the plant for the same amount of time.

The most popular way to preserve dill is to place bunches of the plant in a regular jar of water.

To do this, it is enough to place the cutting points of the stems in water and monitor the sufficiency of the liquid. Water will decrease, so periodically you will need to replenish the water in the tank. In this way, the greens are stored for a couple of weeks or even more.

Experienced housewives chop the dill and place the mixture in ordinary jars, closing with ordinary plastic lids. Containers when stored in the refrigerator allow you to get fresh herbs for 2 months. It is important to prevent moisture from getting into the jar.

Preparing green dill for winter storage

For longer storage, you need to properly prepare the greens, regardless of which method is chosen in the future.

To do this, carry out the following actions:

beams are washed under running water;
sort out bundles to remove defective stems, simultaneously removing debris and foreign inclusions;
the stems are laid out on a towel on a flat surface and wait for the moisture to evaporate completely.

It is important to remove shoots with signs of decay and mold to preserve the harvest in the future.

Freeze

The method of freezing dill is considered one of the simplest, while the quality of such greens allows it to be used as an alternative to ordinary fresh herbs in first and second courses.

The taste and aroma of frozen greens for 6 months will definitely be preserved.

There are several ways to freeze:

as a whole - the stems are collected in small bunches, each of which is wrapped with cling film and placed in the refrigerator;
chopped mixture - dill is chopped and transferred to polyethylene bags or small plastic containers, after which it is sent for storage in the refrigerator;
in envelopes - for packaging finely chopped greens, foil is used, with which envelopes are imitated.

For further use in cooking, it is convenient to freeze greens in ice cubes. To do this, take special molds, fill them in 2/3 and fill the rest of the volume with chopped mixture. You can store the cubes after freezing in molds or it is better to put them in a bag.

S alting

This method allows you to use dill for a long time, the quality of which is not inferior to fresh grass. For s alting, take a transparent jar of the desired volume and a regular plastic lid. Chopped dill and s alt are alternated in layers, the thickness of each is from 1 to 2 cm. After completion of work, the filled jar is removed for storage in the refrigerator.

Drying

The drying method allows you to get a fragrant seasoning, which can later be used as an ingredient in first and second courses, side dishes and sauces. At the same time, the dry product remains a source of nutrients and gives the finished dishes a rich aroma and taste. The advantage of this method is the possibility of processing a large amount of green mass, since after drying, the seasoning does not require much storage space.

The natural way

Dill can be prepared for storage at home drying without the use of special tools. You can dry the plant whole branches or finely chopped. In the first case, the stems are cut to the ground and after the processing procedure they are tied up and hung up until completely dry, after which they are removed and placed in a basket or special containers.

In most cases, the greens are finely cut and spread on a flat surface in a thin even layer.

Periodically it is required to turn the layer over to achieve uniform drying.

In the oven

The advantage of drying in the oven is the speed of the process, but the nutritional value and value of dill is reduced. Drying is carried out in an oven when heated to a temperature of not more than + 60 ° C. Drying greens in the microwave is not recommended, as this leads to the destruction of the useful qualities of the plant.

How to store dried dill?

Dried dill can be stored in an ordinary glass jar, as the container is airtight and does not allow moisture to penetrate inside, which is an important condition for the possibility of long-term storage of seasoning. At the same time, it is possible to control how much greenery is in stock. Some store the dry mix in small linen bags, but this way the flavor of the seasoning can spread to the surrounding food.