How to freeze basil leaves

To freeze basil, blanch the leaves, flash freeze them separately, then combine and freeze them long-term in an airtight, freezer-safe container. If you don’t need to preserve individual leaves, you can also freeze basil without blanching and flash freezing it, or you can freeze basil in puréed form.

ANSWER: Yes, you can freeze fresh basil leaves, but they just need a little help. Basil is a particularly delicate herb because it hates the cold and darkens when cut. Keep in mind any fresh herbs that you freeze will not be entirely the same as fresh.

Make Your Garden’s Basil Last All Year

You can dry it or freeze it, but freezing retains the fresh taste better. Before you start, wash basil in cold water and dry; a salad spinner works well for this step. To freeze your basil, pull leaves from stems. You can also freeze leaves whole and keep them for up to a year.

Chop and Freeze

Use a food processor to coarsely chop washed basil leaves. Add a drizzle of olive oil and pulse to lightly coat the leaves with oil; this will keep the basil from turning black in the freezer.

Store the basil leaves like salad greens. Pick, wash, and dry the leaves, then store in the fridge wrapped in a dry paper towel and sealed in a plastic bag. Clean, dry, ready to roll. This baggie will be the basil’s home for the next several days.

Holy basil is best cooked (it can be bitter when raw), but purple basil is best raw as that pretty purple color turns black when cooked. It’s best to start by mixing these varieties with sweet basil until you know how the flavors will affect your favorite recipes.

Watering Established Basil Plants

The top should feel cool and dry, while the bottom should be cool and moderately damp. In the ground, this is a bit harder to determine but the plant needs deep watering at least once per week in full sun situations where the soil drains well.

Yellow and drooping leaves are the first physical signs of an overwatered basil plant, but the real problem is below the soil surface where roots can rot. Pluck off any yellow or brown leaves on the plant so these unproductive plant parts stop using up the plant’s energy.

In general, if your plants are wilting and the soil is wet, you are probably overwatering. Keep an eye on your herb garden and pay attention to the plants to look for any of these signs: Leaves become yellow and fall. Leaves become dark or black in color.

Water your Basil plant thoroughly to help revive it. Place it in bright, indirect light rather than in full sun and water your plant every time the surface of the soil feels dry to touch. Once the plant has perked up and new foliage is growing, you can place your plant back in direct sunlight and resume normal care.

Signs of Root Rot

As fungi grow in your plant’s roots, the leaves wilt and begin to change color, first becoming yellow and then turning brown. If you remove some soil and examine the roots of your plant, they will appear brownish and, if the disease is advanced, soft and mushy.

Keep the soil of your basil plants slightly moist at all times. Depending on how much sun your basil gets, you might need to water your basil plant every 1-2 days. But make sure that the pot has good drainage, because soggy soil can lead to rotting roots.

Too much competition can weaken basil plants, use a big pot with nitrogen-rich and well-drained soil to make sure they get all the nutrients needed. If your plant is still wilting, check if you over-water your plant and look for any visible indications for diseases like Basil Downy Mildew or Root rot.

Freezing temperatures kill basil. The first sign of cold damage is usually wilted leaves, or leaves that begin to curl and dry around the edges. Plants may survive a light freeze.

Basil may survive for two years before replanting in warm climates. An indoor basil plant with full sun and steady warm temperatures may last longer as well. Basil plants are sensitive to cold weather and frost.

When you clip basil stems back to a fresh set of leaves, you force those leaves to grow, doubling the basil produced on that stem. And as those stems grow, you can pinch them back and double their production – it’s exponential!

Morning is the best time of day, but don’t hesitate to pick basil whenever you need it. For best results: Harvesting Small Amounts: Pick a few leaves off each plant, rather than cutting off a whole stem. While you’re picking, periodically pinch off the branch tips, to encourage the plant to fill out.