Posts Tagged ‘freezing’
Freeze Your Herbs for Cooking
I like to cook with fresh herbs. Don’t you? Not only do they taste nice, they smell wonderful too! It’s easy to use fresh herb plants too. Just clip a few sprigs from the nearest herb and mix in with your other ingredients.
But what do you do when it’s winter and fresh herbs are few and far between?
Try freezing as a fresh alternative to drying your herbs because it is a simpler and better way to keep your herbs fresh. In three steps you can set them aside for future recipes—raise them, harvest them and freeze them. It’s not important to chop them before you freeze them. Even after they are frozen, you will not have to chop them to cook with them.
If you do want your herbs measured before you freeze your herbs, you can dice them up and freeze your herbs in ice trays. Simply fill each compartment of the ice cube tray almost to the top with chopped basil or whatever other plant you want to freeze and add water. Put these cubes into the freezer bags and later, when you’re ready mix a few cubes into your soups, stews and other meals.
Here are some herbs that really keep their flavor and taste when frozen:
- Basil: Remove the leaves from the stem just before the flowers of your basil when you’re ready to harvest them and dry them. Put the dried leaves into a freezer bag so that you can use them in the future. You can also avoid the drying out part and put your herbs straight away into the freezer. Another way to keep your basil is to layer your herbs in the bottom of a plastic container and cover your herbs with extra virgin olive oil, which will both keep and bring out the flavor. Your basil will last for several months like this.
- Parsley: It is not just a pretty garnish; you can use parsley in any Italian dish. Parsley will work well in almost any Italian meal. Nobody appreciates parsley for it’s positive features. It cannot help it if the other Italian herb plants (like oregano, basil and garlic) have stronger, more memorable flavors. Parsley works hard to help other herbs taste better. Mix it into any dish (usually near the end of the cooking process) and it will make the rest of the herb plants that much nicer. I put whole leaves in a freezer bag and lay it flat until it’s frozen, usually by putting something on top of my bags for a few days in the freezer. When you take out the bag to use the herb, just scrunch up the bag in your hand. No need for a knife.
- French Tarragon: If you plan to over-winter your French tarragon plant, be sure not to trim it back too much. Of course it’s better to use the leaves fresh, but you can tuck some of these leaves into a freezer bag and they will get you through the winter months. Spice up your chicken or fish dishes with this herb. French Tarragon is good for making vinegars, cream sauces and mustards.
Once you put the herb plants in the freezer bag, write the name of the plant on the outside of the bag and the date so that you will be able to tell similar herb plants apart.
Good luck with your herb gardening. Be sure to let me know how your herb garden grows.
Here is more information on Italian Herb Garden. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Herb Gardens.
