If you have herbs in your garden, you know that many are peaking. Although I've been harvesting like mad, quantities are exceeding consumption at the Lain casa, so it's time to start preserving the overflow for later use. There are several ways to preserve culinary herbs; the easiest method is to dry them. Not only is air drying the easiest, quickest and least expensive way to dry fresh herbs, but slow drying doesn't deplete the herbs of their essential oils and flavors. This process works best … [Read more...] about Preserving Herbs the Safe, Easy Way
Ken Lain
Knowing When to Harvest Fruit
Most tree fruits start to signal their best taste with a sweet scent in the air. But it’s very hard to gauge the exact moment of peak ripeness. Times will vary year by year and different varieties will come in at different times. Here are a few signs to watch for by fruit variety. Apples - You’ve probably heard that ripening apples give off ethylene gas. Ethylene is a hormone and one of its effects is to cause the separation of the stem from the tree, causing the apples to fall. … [Read more...] about Knowing When to Harvest Fruit