Come on, ‘fess up – How many of you have a fancy little jar of herb salt sitting around unopened?

Make your own herb salt and you’ll never have to wait for an occasion special enough to dip into such a costly condiment.

Here’s how I make fast and easy herb salt with cheap, organic herbs that I grow myself

  • Sprinkle medium grind sea salt to cover the bottom of a flat glass or ceramic baking dish or similar non-metal container
  • Lay down a thin layer of fresh herbs
  • Cover with a thin layer of sea salt
  • Add another layer of fresh herbs
  • Repeat until you have enough
  • Let it sit until herbs are dry and brittle
  • Pour salt into a bowl, removing dried herbs (You can grind the salt and herbs together if you prefer super-fine salt, but I like the crunch of larger crystals)
  • Grind herbs in batches, in a spice grinder (not the one you use for coffee)
  • Mix ground herbs back into the salt

Sage leaves (photo above) are big and easy to pull off the stem.

Leaves of thyme, lavender, rosemary, oregano and other herbs with small leaves and woody stems are easy to strip off by hand once they’re dry.

It’s fun to experiment with blends, adding individually dried and ground ingredients one at a time until you like the looks and taste of the mix. Or you can dry and grind everything together and see what happens.

Sometimes I add ground pepper.

I always use the organic lemon peels I dry in the oven for a tangy touch.

Some of my favorite blends

  • Sage, lemon peel and pepper
  • Lemon peel and lavender (leaves and flowers)
  • Thyme and lemon peel
  • Rosemary
  • All of the above tossed together