Making your own herbal salts at home couldn't be easier, especially when you have a thriving herb garden. The best part? You can change your herb combinations with the seasons and experiment with different flavours whenever your garden gives you an abundance of something.
Herbal salts are a simple way to preserve dried herbs and create versatile seasonings to use throughout the year.
In this video you'll see three variations: an ingredient salt "Celery", a finishing salt "Basil", and a lovely blend that can be used either way, "The Garden Blend".
Harvest And Dry Your Herbs
Harvest your herbs when they are at their best, leaving any browning or damaged material behind.
Wash and dry thoroughly before placing them either in a dehydrator on its lowest setting (usually around 35°C) or in an oven with just the light and fan on, keeping the door slightly ajar. Alternatively, you can air dry them between two clean tea towels.
The herbs need to be completely dry and crisp before making your salts, as any remaining moisture can affect the finished product and storage.
What You'll Need
To make your herbal salt seasonings, you will need the following:
- Dried Herbs
- Rock Salt
- Blender
- Airtight Jars
Once your herbs are completely dry, add equal parts of your herbs and rock salt to a spice grinder or high speed blender and pulse until the herbs are finely chopped and evenly distributed throughout the salt. At this stage you can choose how fine or coarse you would like your salt to be.
The Garden Blend
The herbal salt blend created in this video uses:
- Basil
- Thyme
- Oregano
- Garlic Chives
- Parsley Seeds
- Sea Salt & Pink Himalayan Salt
Tip: Let your parsley go to seed at least once to collect the seeds. They have a stronger, more concentrated flavour than the leaf once dried.
Storage
Transfer your finished salt blend to a clean, completely dry airtight jar. It's best to label your batches with the date and list of ingredients.
While salt is incredibly shelf-stable, your herbs will lose their potency as time goes on. So for maximum flavour, use your handcrafted blends within 12 months.
Time To Get Creative
This simple technique can be adapted to almost any combination of herbs and vegetables, allowing you to create salts suited to everyday cooking or beautiful jars to share as gifts.
Experiment with what is growing in your garden and let the seasons guide your combinations.
Article, Photographs & Video by Christie Fuller
