I love to cook with fresh herbs. Don’t you? Not only are they taste nice, they smell wonderful too! It is easy to use fresh herb plants too. Just cut a few sprigs from the nearest plant and add 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 them because it is a simpler and better way to keep your herbs fresh. In three steps you can store them for future dishes—cultivate them, harvest them and freeze them. It is not necessary to dice them before you freeze them. If they are not packed too tightly, you can crumble the frozen herbs in your hands before you open the freezer bag.
Some people chop their herbs and freeze them in ice cube trays. Once you chop the herb plants, put a tablespoon of herbs into the ice cube tray compartments and cover with water. Put these cubes into the freezer bags and later, when you are ready mix a few cubes into your soups, stews and other meals.
Here are some herb plants that really retain their flavor and taste when frozen:
- Basil: Remove the leaves from the stem just before the buds of your basil when you are ready to harvest them and dry them. Put the dried foliage into a jar so that you can use them later on. You can also skip the drying out part and put them straight away into the freezer. You can even put your herbs in a container and cover your herbs with oil, which will bring out the flavor. You can store your herbs this way for several months.
- Parsley: Don’t keep this great herb as just another pretty garnish. It 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 tastes. Parsley works hard to help other herbs taste better. Toss some crushed parsley into your pot along with your other ingredients and your it will strengthen the flavors of the other herbs. I put 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 are ready to use your herbs, just crunch the bag up in your hand and they are instantly diced.
- French Tarragon: Harvest sprigs of this fabulous plant throughout the summer, but stop in early fall so that you don’t hurt the plant. Of course it’s better to use the foliage fresh, but you can tuck some of these leaves into a freezer bag and they will get you through the winter months. Add your herbs to your chicken or fish dishes. It also goes well with cream sauces, vinegars and mustards.
Do not forget to write the name of the plant on the freezer bag so that when you bring it out of the freezer you will know what it is.
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.
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