What is the best way to preserve...
 

Hi All,

What is the best way of preserving peppermint and summer savory?

Angelique

Angelique,

I have started picking peppermint and freezing it on trays, then into ziploc bags. I've heard of chopping it up and freezing in ice cube trays with a bit of water...too much work for me. :)

What about cilantro? I'm always buying a bunch for Mexican food but never use all of it and it turns to mush. I've fine minced some and froze it, but I've been leary of using it. :-)

I make sofrito which consists of onions, peppers, cilantro, and garlic. I run it through the food processor with a little olive oil and vinegar and then I freeze it. I have also done the same thing with just garlic. I bet you could do the same thing with herbs, especially if you are going to use them in cooked dishes.

Tyff

Tyfannie....I have been looking for a good recipe for Sofrito...Would you care to post it ?

Jeanne

Jeanne,
I don't really follow a recipe, but here are some basic recipes that you can play with. I generally use what ever sweet peppers I have growing. I make a lot in the fall and if I run out, I'll use green bell peppers from the store, or whatever is on sale. Most of the recipes don't add vinegar, but in Puerto Rico the sofrito/recaito you buy in the store has vinegar in it. I think it helps preserve it, since I don't add salt to mine, it add a nice flavor too. I don't use a lot, maybe a couple of TBS is all. I also added
a recipe for Adobo, which is the basic seasoning salt used in Puerto Rican cooking. It is similar in Cuba and The Dominican Republic too. I don't put tomatoes in my sofrito when I make it, because I'll add them when I'm cooking, or use tomato sauce. It stays better longer that
way. . I always substitute sweet peppers for the aji dulce and cilantro for the culantro. Sometimes I'll add some fresh or dried oregano to the replace the culantro.

This link has a lot of sofrito recipes:
[url]http://www.caribbeanseeds.com/sofrito.htm[/url]

"Sofrito is the base for most Puerto Rican dishes. This can be added to beans, rice, soups, stews, you name it."
INGREDIENTS:
2 green bell peppers, seeded
and chopped
1 red bell peppers, seeded and
chopped
10 ajies dulces peppers, tops
removed
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
4 onions, cut into large chunks
3 medium heads garlic, peeled
25 cilantro leaves with stems
25 leaves recao, or culantro
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon black pepper
DIRECTIONS:
1. In a food processor, combine green peppers, red peppers ajies dulces, tomatoes, onions, and garlic. Add cilantro, recao, salt, and pepper. Process to the consistency of semi-chunky salsa (not watery). Place in a ziplock freezer bag, and use as needed, or freeze in portions.

Recao is a popular Caribbean herb with many aliases. Among them, Culantro, long coriander, ngo-gai, and Mexican coriander. It may possibly be found in Latin grocery stores, or substitute with cilantro.

Aji Dulce is a common ingredient in Puerto Rican recipes. It is a small, sweet red pepper. If you can't find it, use red bell pepper.

Adobo

1 measure garlic powder, onion powder and dried oregano
½ measure salt, and black pepper.

Stir ingredients together and save in a plastic container with lid. This is great for just about anything. Sprinkle on all meats, and fish, even omelets and eggs.

Thanks for all the great info...I was on that site and noted all the variations , so assumed it was a pliable recipe. I am growing Aji Cachucha ( Aji Dulce) for the first time and hope to try some new recipes this summer...Glad to hear you substitute Oregano for culantro too!

Jeanne

I'm going to try growing Aji Dulce too. I am thinking I'll have to overwinter it to get a good crop not this summer, but next. My MIL has some that she's been growing for years and it is as big as a tree! I tried growing culantro this last year, but it never got big enough to do anything with. I'm going to bring some back with me from our trip--I'll freeze it, and I'll bring some seeds for the aji dulce.

Posting the recipes was a good distraction for me last night.
I was a little wound up after I finished cleaning up the mess my dd made. (She got into a huge tub of margarine and flung, and smeared it all over the place.) My Dh wasn't home last night, so Tomatoville to the rescue.

Tyffanie