The Texture of Dried Rosemary

[bluelacedredhead]

My DIL asked today if I knew of an alternate way to dry and prepare rosemary other than the common form of prickly little leaves??
Seems she is quite fond of the taste, but bothered by the texture..

Any suggestions?

[werecat]

My DIL asked today if I knew of an alternate way to dry and prepare rosemary other than the common form of prickly little leaves??
Seems she is quite fond of the taste, but bothered by the texture..

Any suggestions?
Depending on how she is using them she could get some heat sealable teabags and put them in that way. We do that with soups and stews we make sometimes cause my nieces and nephews are that way. Or maybe just stitch up some muslin / cheese cloth drawstring bags that can be either washed and reused or pitched.

[Lavandula Girl]

I make bouquet garni in coffee filters, tied with white kitchen twine, when I want the flavor of an herb, but not the texture. You can make great use of the rosemary this way, by putting the amount you want in the center of the coffee filter, and tying it with the twine nice and tight. This is basically the teabag Werecat was talking about, but with stuff you may already have. (Of course, you may have the empty teabags - I don't.) Just fish the garni out when you're done flavoring the dish. Also, you could run the rosemary through a grinder, too. It'll pulverise the dried leaves, so you may not even notice them beyond their flavor. There are ones made just for this, but I have really good results with a coffee grinder. I have one for coffee beans, and a different one for grinding herbs. Krups make a good one, not very pricey.

[bluelacedredhead]

She mentioned trying to put some through her mini chopper to see how that would work. I also suggested an electric coffee grinder. But they don't drink coffee, so they don't have one of those, nor do they have coffee filters.. I've got a new package of 200 filters that I bought for some silly reason? I don't use them either; I use a permanent filter in my machine..I'll give her those if the chopper idea doesn't work. And then see about an electric grinder for Christmas if I haven't overspent already.

[GeorgeSims]

Why not try one of those little metal "tea balls" used for making herbal infusions?

[TastyofHasty]

I just break up the dried rosemary with my fingers before throwing it in the pot. Hold in palm of hand. Squash and break up with other hand. :cool:

[johno]

I cut them up with scissors...

[Sookie]

Mortar and pestle. Instead of pounding, grind with a circular motion. I do it all the time. It's tricky at first, but you get the hang of it. Also, having a nice stone mortar and pestle in the kitchen makes you look cool: like a REAL cook.

[werecat]

Mortar and pestle. Instead of pounding, grind with a circular motion. I do it all the time. It's tricky at first, but you get the hang of it. Also, having a nice stone mortar and pestle in the kitchen makes you look cool: like a REAL cook.
and if you get one from american science and surplus online it's cheap too.

[Lavandula Girl]

They're also easily found in Mexican stores, even the little bodegas, where they're pretty inexpensive. And check 2nd hand stores, because this is one of those gourmet kitchen-y things people get as gifts, and then have absolutely no use for. I like mine, but when I'm in a hurry, man that grinder really does the trick!