Freezing Herbs
Quick Tips for Freezing Herbs
Although a lot of gardeners like to dry their herbs in order to preserve them, freezing herbs is another way that herbs can be preserved so that they can be enjoyed year round. Freezing herbs works especially well when it comes to herbs that contain high water content such as tarragon, basil, chives, lemon balm, and mint. In fact, frozen herbs actually taste more like fresh herbs when they are eventually used since the flavor gets more concentrated when the drying process is used.
There are a couple of different ways to go about freezing herbs. To begin with, you should make sure that you harvest only the herbs that have the healthiest leaves. Make sure that you wash them if you need to and then pat them dry with paper towels or thick napkins to soak up the excess water.
Next, place the leaves on a cookie sheet or on a small tray. It’s important to freeze them individually so that they don’t freeze together all in one clump. Cover the tray and then place the tray in the freezer. Once they are frozen you can take them out and put them in airtight containers and then place them back in the freezer. By freezing them first, you can be assured that they won’t freeze together.
As an alternative, instead of spreading the leaves on a tray you can also put a spoonful of chopped herbs or several full leaves in ice cube trays. Making sure that the leaves are at least partially covered, fill the tray about halfway full. Next, put the ice cube tray into the freezer.
After the water has frozen, fill the tray the rest of the way full. This way, the leaves will be completely frozen and won’t be floating around. Put the ice cube tray back into the freezer and let the new water freeze around the leaves as well.
When you are ready to use the herbs, you can simply take out an ice cube and put it in the dish that you are cooking. For instance, if you are making soup and want to add basil, then you simply need to place an ice cube in the broth. The water will melt around the herbs and the herbs will be free to flavor the soup. If you don’t want to do this, you can also place the ice cube tray in your refrigerator or on your counter to let the water melt so that you can extract the herbs.
If you don’t want to use ice cube trays or containers, you can also utilize re-sealable Ziploc bags, too. Just remember that if you don’t freeze the leaves individually first then they will freeze together, forming a brick shape that will be hard to separate later on.
Some herbs naturally freeze better if they are chopped up first. You might want to consider doing this with chives and lemongrass, for instance. Once chopped, they work especially well using the ice cube method.
Herbs can also be frozen by mixing 2 cups of your favorite herb with 1/3 cup of oil in a blender. The paste that this makes can then be frozen either in ice cube trays or in small containers. Herbs that do well when frozen in paste form are cilantro, tarragon, rosemary, sage, basil, parsley, and dill.
Many people prefer freezing herbs over drying herbs due to the fact that it is less messy and easier to do. Instead of having a bunch of drying leaves stacked around your kitchen, you can simply place the herbs in small containers and stick them in the freezer. Frozen herbs should last for months when stored this way, unless dried herbs which don’t have as shelf life that is quite that long.