A strong-flavored and aromatic herb that grows as an evergreen shrub with the latin name Rosmarinus Officinalis . The needles, fresh or dried, are most often used to flavor meats and root vegetables. The woody stem of the rosemary plant can be used as a skewer for grilling meats or seafood.
is a woody, perennial herb with fragrant evergreen needle-like leaves
Selecting and Buying
Dried rosemary leaves can be found in your supermarket's spice aisle. These have a stronger, more concentrated flavor than fresh and they lose their pungency rather quickly. Dried rosemary is also sold ground, chopped or crushed.
If you live in a colder climate, you can grow rosemary in a large, porous container and bring it indoors for the winter, placing it in near a sunny window. Right before bringing it in, spray with a bug spray. It won't hurt the plant. Then clean throughly with a soapy water bath and rinse well. You do not want to bring spiders or other numerous bugs into your home. This shrub is best grown in a large container because it needs lots of room, and the roots are prone to root rot.
Preparation and Use
• To use fresh rosemary, strip the leaves and discard the stems.
• To chop, gather the leaves in a tight bunch and cut across with a sharp knife.
• Add fresh rosemary to frittatas and omelets.
• Use crushed dried rosemary to season lamb roasts, meat stews and roasted vegetables. Or use whole sprigs; removing them when you serve the dish.
• Stir finely chopped rosemary needles into tomato sauces and soups.
• Season ground beef with finely chopped rosemary and bake into a meatloaf.
• Purée fresh rosemary needles with olive oil to make a dipping sauce for crusty bread.
Conserving and Storing
The fresher your rosemary is when you buy it, the longer you'll be able to store it and keep it fresh. Fresh rosemary has soft, supple, greenish-blue leaves that aren't dry and don't fall easily off the branch.
Wrap sprigs in a damp paper towel; place the herb in an open plastic bag. Store the bag in your fridge's produce drawer. Replace the paper towel with a clean freshly damp towel every few days.
Dry the rosemary with a paper towel and trim off just the tip of the rosemary's cut stem (like a flower stem). Fill the drinking glass with 1 inch of clean, fresh water and rest the rosemary's stem in the water. Slide an open plastic bag over the top of the rosemary, tenting all the branches, and store the rosemary in the fridge. Change the water in the glass every few days, drying the leaves with a paper towel with each change.