How do I constitute cracked Rosemary?

I have a Spice Islands bottle of cracked Rosemary so it looks like little twigs about the size of rice grains but thinner. Problems is, it doesn't disolve and retains its woodiness so one cannot just sprinkle it in a dish because it comes out like straw.





I prepared lamb for Thanksgiving and steeped the sauce in rosemary but had to strain it out with a sieve. I'm thinking there must be a better way to flavor food with this rosemary. What am I missing? No directions on the side of the jar.

How do I constitute cracked Rosemary?
That's the normal usage, if you don't want the woody bits, you strain them out. You can try to break them up by hand, crushing them between your palms, before adding. If you have a mortar and pestle, that might be more effective. Some people have a coffee grinder that they dedicate to grinding spices (wouldn't want the coffee beans to taste like spices, so it's best to keep it for only spice grinding use), you might try grinding it up with that, if you have a spare grinder.





Rosemary does come in a ground form, but I haven't seen it available in many places. If your local grocer has a Mexican spice display, you might find a small cellophane envelope of it there. Or check really large groceries, in the spice aisle. Alternatively, you can order it online, here's a link: http://www.spicebarn.com/ground_rosemary... - but I think I'd try to find it locally before doing that.
Reply:When used sparingly, the flavour of rosemary goes well in subtle and delicate dishes such as ice creams, sorbets, fools and fruit salads. The robust and highly aromatic flavour of rosemary can also be used as part of a bouquet garni in soups, stews and casseroles.





Whole sprigs can be added to flavour roasted vegetables. Meat, poultry and game can be spiked with rosemary and it can be chopped and used in stuffings and sauces for fish, lamb or chicken. Some Italian breads are flavoured with rosemary leaves.





Remove leaves or sprigs after cooking; it's also a good idea to crush dried rosemary before adding it to your dish because the sharp leaves can be difficult to remove after cooking.
Reply:Normally you crush them with a mortor and pestle, but I am sure you don't have one, so simply either put it into a coffee grinder if you have one and grind, or a mini processor of some kind. If you don't have any of the afore mentioned, simply put into a small bowl and use something rounded like a salt or pepper shaker that is clean to crush them with, or slip it into a baggie and pound with a meat mallet.


They don't dissolve, they're supposed to be crushed.