Dried immortelle bunch

Rub a leaf between your fingers and you will see why sage needs a light hand. Ana Jurić grows it near Benkovac and shade-dries it the day she picks it.

A whole sprig gives up its resin slowly, so the potatoes under it never turn bitter. The Radin family near Buzet dries young sprigs whole.

Winter savory is oregano's sharper cousin and holds up through a long simmer, so it goes in at the start. The Radin family near Buzet cuts it just before it flowers and dries it in an airy loft.

Wild oregano is sharper and drier than the garden kind, so it goes in at the end and the smell survives. Luka Šarić gathers it on the dry meadows above Lovinac and dries it in a thin layer, unground.

Lemon balm picked before it flowers smells of lemon, not of hay. Irena Horvat near Klanjec dries the leaf whole and never crushes it.