How to Store Lemon Balm

Timing is essential when harvesting lemon balm: you must do it in the morning before the sun heats up and disperses its flavor and scent. After storage, you can put the dried leaves to many uses, including a pot-pourri or a pot of tea (where fresh leaves will also serve). Some have used lemon balm as a medicinal herb or an ingredient in perfume. Part of the mint family, lemon balm has oval leaves with scalloped edges; the leaves grow alternately on hair square stems. The plant produces blue to white flowers starting in late spring to August.

Scissors
String or rubber bands
Nails
Rafters
Airtight glass jars
Water
Paper towels
Zippered freezer bags
Knife

Instructions

Drying
- 1
  Cut back the stems of lemon balm in spring, right before the flowers bloom. This is when flavor is at its peak. Avoid cutting stems with blooming flowers as the flavor is not as strong. Cutting the plant back makes it bushier and produces more stems. This way, two to three harvests a season is possible in northern climates.
- 2
  Handle harvested stems with care, as bruising will reduce flavor.
- 3
  Bunch several stems together and tie with string or rubber bands.
- 4
  Hang from rafters in a shed or barn out of sunlight. Leaves will dry in a few days as long as the atmosphere stays dry.
- 5
  Store dried leaves by stripping them from the stem and placing them in an airtight container. Glass jars with a tight fitting lid work well. Use clean glass jelly jar or mason jar. Dried herb will last one year when kept in a dark area out of sunlight and heat.
Freezing
- 6
  Harvest lemon balm in the same manner as when you plan to dry them.
- 7
  Wash leaves with water and pat dry with paper towels.
- 8
  Remove leaves from stems and chop or leave them whole.
- 9
  Place in a zipper freezer bag, close and put in the freezer. Frozen herb will last about nine months.

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Instructions

Drying

Freezing