Homemade Herb Salt Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you make nettle salt? ›

Here's what you need:

Kosher Salt will work too, but you may need to stir in a few drops of water so the herbs will stick to the salt. 1 TSP of ONION POWDER. 1 TSP of GARLIC POWDER. 1 TSP of DRIED LEAFY HERBS, crushed into powder: Parsley, basil, sage, thyme, marjoram, chervil, rosemary, etc.

Store in the fridge. The salt in this recipe acts as a preservative, so your herbs should last 6 months, or even longer. Use your homemade herb salt in any recipes that would benefit from an extra punch. Obviously, it is very salty, so I would start by using it 1:1 for the salt in your recipes.

Quickly blanching them in a pot of boiling water will deaden the sting. But leave them for too long and - like spinach - the leaves will wilt too far, and start to lose flavour, texture and goodness. Treat the cooked nettle leaves as you would treat cooked spinach leaves.

Only put leaves in the juicer, not the stems. Nettle juice is similar in flavor to spinach juice. The taste is delicate, not too strong. It also mixes well with carrot juice.

Paying for your salt? If you live near the coast, you can make it yourself. But making this tasty condiment depends on more than just boiling off seawater. Strain seawater through a fine sieve or muslin to get rid of any debris, then boil it until 90 per cent of the water evaporates, stirring occasionally.

If you have no other choices, you can extract salt from some plants. Boiling pieces of hickory, walnut, and pecan roots extracts nutrients like sodium from the plant. Also, burning dry coltsfoot leaves yields salt-rich ashes.

If you want to reduce your intake of processed ingredients, avoid table salt and opt for an unrefined salt with no additives, like pink Himalayan salt. If you want to increase your iodine intake, choose an iodized salt.

You can opt for using just one type or reach for a bit of this and a bit of that to create your own mixed herb blend. Blitz everything together until it's finely chopped and combined. Then dump the mixture into a zip-top freezer bag, date it, label it, and toss it into the freezer. This herb salt will last for months.

How do you tell if salt has gone bad? ›

Salt that has gone bad will usually have signs such as clumping or discoloration. It's important to note that, while expired table salt may no longer possess a good flavor, it is still safe for consumption.

And in fact, the answer to the question "Does salt go bad?" is generally no. If you're talking about regular salt (the kind without flavors, minerals, or iodine added), salt will stay good pretty much forever.

Sautéing – Sauté until they look fully cooked, usually about 5-8 minutes. Steaming – place nettles in a colander and steam for 5-10 minutes. The stinging substance in nettles (formic acid) is neutralized with heat and once it is dried.

IF USING DRIED NETTLES: Bring 1 ⅔ cups water to a boil in a small saucepan. Turn off the heat, add the dried nettles, and stir every 5 minutes as the nettles rehydrate. Set aside (you won't be straining the rehydrated nettles).