A little kitchen lore: rubbed herbs

We admit it: unfortunately, we are also among those who don't have a balcony with fresh herbs at home, let alone access to a kitchen garden. And the freshly packaged herbs from the supermarket always have to be used up as quickly as possible, otherwise they wilt quickly. Luckily, you can find basil, rosemary and thyme in our online store, as well as a few ready-mixed spicy-fresh herb blends to spice up your favorite dishes.

Dried or chopped? - Shredded!

Dried herbs are often labeled "rubbed". Have you always wondered what that actually means? Don't worry, the KoRo kitchen crew will explain!

Rubbing is a process in which the dried leaves of the herbs are rubbed or stripped off the stems by hand or by machine. They are then coarsely chopped. In contrast to grinding, this leaves larger pieces of leaves, which means that the aroma of the herbs is retained for longer. However, the aroma needs a moment to fully develop in your food. It's therefore best to add the basil to the tomato sauce at the beginning so that the whole thing can simmer a little and season the marinade for your crispy baked potatoes with herbes de Provence so that not only the scent of rosemary and oregano spreads throughout your kitchen, but also the potato wedges end up tasting like the Côte d'Azur.

Fun fact: The term "Rebeln" originally comes from viticulture. In this case, the grapes are stripped of their stems, as they contain a lot of tannins that would otherwise end up in the wine.

Rebeln DIY

If you are one of the lucky ones with your own balcony herbs, you can of course easily make your own grapevines at home. Simply cut off the fresh stalks, tie them together at the stems and hang them in a well-ventilated place to dry for a while. Once the herbs are completely dry, you can carefully rub the leaves off the stems with your fingers and cut them into small pieces as desired. Tada! Now just fill them into clean screw-top jars and refine your next pasta or sandwich with your own rubbed herbs.