Herbal Finishing Salts and White Sage

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup tightly packed rosemary leaves (de-stemmed)
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• ¼ cup of tightly packed whole sage leaves>
• 15 juniper berries (- Mashed with a mortar and pestle or the back of a knife, prior to blending.)
• 1 cup coarse salt (- I used a mixture of pink Himalayan salt, black volcanic sea salt, and smoked sea salt)
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• ¼ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 15 grams white sage leaves, whole -15g = 1 handful.
• 1 cup coarse pink Himalayan salt
• 2 tablespoons lemon zest

Method

1. If you are using dried herbs, you will skip the drying step, and use less of the herbs than a recipe calls for, as dried herbs are more concentrated than fresh.
2. Blend fresh herbs with coarse salt in a food processor or spice blender until fine.
3. If you haven’t such an apparatus, mince your fresh herbs with an old-fashioned knife, and then blend with the salt.
4. For instance, if you are making a rosemary/thyme salt, add one cup of de-stemmed rosemary and thyme leaves to one cup of coarse sea salt.
5. If your blend is heavy on herbs, and light on the salt, it might take a little longer to dry.
6. Spread the herb/salt mixture onto a serving tray or baking sheet and place in an area with good airflow.
7. I like to place them on a table or counter under a ceiling fan.
8. Depending on the ambient humidity, they may take two to four days to dry.
9. If you need your salt blend right away, place it on a cookie sheet in the oven on the lowest setting with the oven door slightly ajar.
10. Stir frequently and crumble up any clumps.
11. Let cool and jar.
12. How to Grow and Use White Sage
13. Lightly cover the seed.
14. If you wish to try fire treatment, make a small pile of dry kindling over the planted seeds, letting the ash fall onto the soil or planting medium.
15. Take softwood cuttings in the spring from vegetative shoots, 3 to 4” long, and remove the lower leaves.
16. Add extra drainage material to the soil mix, such as coarse sand, perlite or pine bark fines, and take care to not overwater.