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Five Perfect Herbs for Making Marinades

Today I have Five Perfect Herbs for Making Marinades.  One way to add flavor to your food is to marinade it.  The best marinades include one or a combination of flavor filled herbs that give food that you cook a burst of flavor. Just like spices, there is a great marinade for every type of meat, fish and vegetable dish that you serve. Using herbs is a great way to bring out the natural flavor of food, and using fresh herbs is the best way to enhance natural flavor. Growing your own herbs ensures that you know what is going into your food so that you will always have the healthiest option.

Use these tips to grow the best herbs to create marinades from scratch so that you can take your cooking from drab to delicious.

Five Perfect Herbs for Making Marinades

Rosemary

You can use Rosemary added to a vinegar based marinade on ribs, chicken and vegetables. This easy to grow herb is commonly grown as a container plant with other herbs added to the container for the best success.  If you are growing from seed or a cutting, start the plant off early so that it is able to be used in the same season. Alternately, a transplant can be added to well drained soil in full sun, with regular waterings provided.

Parsley

Parsley is a main ingredient in a lot of marinades.  It is so easy to grow so you can easily customize your marinades around your harvest. This herb likes to grow in moist soil for the first few weeks. Once seedlings begin to show a second set of leaves, let the soil dry between waterings.  But be sure to still provide it with plenty of water.

Mint

There are several different types of mint that make great additions to marinade. Spearmint and peppermint are two of the most popular and easy to grow herbs for marinating. Always grow mint in individual containers because they are aggressive growers. Otherwise it will spread and jump garden beds, between pathway stones and among all your other plants.

Lemongrass

Lemongrass is a less known herb that most home chefs just purchase as they go, but it is very easy to grow. It gives your meats and fish a bright, citrus flavor that you can’t get from any other herb. You will want to added it to a well tilled garden bed or container filled with very semi sandy soil. Snip lemongrass blades off as you need them and use as you normally would.

Oregano

Oregano gives marinades a very strong earthy flavor that combines well with other herbs, including parsley and rosemary, and spices.  For the best flavored oregano, keep it in full sun.  Be sure to water it liberally, but the sun will keep soil from becoming too waterlogged. Be sure to add the entire blades with leaves of oregano to your marinade, or crush the leaves as you add it to the vinegar.