Use Leftover Herbs in Plain Syrup, Pancakes, Pancakes and More
You may not be growing fresh herbs yet, but if you walk into the grocery store to buy some, use a few and still have some left over, don’t just throw them back into the refrigerator. Bon Appetit has tons of uses for them, including simple herbal syrups for cocktails or baked goods, salad dressings, infused oils, and more.
Whether you grow it yourself or just bought too many from the store, you can dry them for later or use them before they darken and tarnish. I prefer the “use them while they are fresh” approach, and when I simply cannot add fresh herbs to cooked dishes, I turn to them for help. A few suggestions from the article below:
Make a simple syrup. Add a large handful of fresh herbs to the basic mixture of equal parts sugar and water, bring to a boil, stir and remove from heat. Once completely cooled, strain the herbs (discard) and use the plain syrup to sweeten cold coffees and teas, smoothies, and whatever your heart desires. Mint pairs well with simple syrup, and we especially love the rosemary syrup in our lattes for an unexpected savory sweetness.
Add them to pancakes and pancakes. Fried foods need something fresh and green to lift them out of their gut bomb. A shower of chopped fresh herbs over fried croquettes works wonders (as does a pinch of sea salt and squeezed citrus juice). Also great? Add chopped herbs directly to the batter.
Make a complex butter. The finely chopped herbs can be easily mixed with room temperature butter, which can then be spread on bread, added to a fatty steak when it cools, used to make fried clams, or used for cooking. Bonus: freezes!
Sophisticated butter is my favorite and I do use it a lot. The sentences don’t end there either – there are 12 in total, and we’ve just highlighted three that we find particularly unusual, but sound delightful. For the rest, click the link below.
What to do with excess fresh herbs | Bon appetit