How to freeze fresh herbs

Many herbs can be simply frozen on the stem and stored in an airtight container. Left on the stem, hardier herbs like rosemary, dill, thyme, bay or sage can be spread in a single layer on a baking sheet or plate and placed in the freezer.

If you have a large quantity of herbs, you can throw them in the food processor and pulse to finely chop. If using the food processor, add 2 tablespoons of a neutral-tasting vegetable oil or olive oil—the oil will help preserve the flavor of the herbs as they freeze, and frozen oil melts faster than plain water, too.

Just wash the parsley leaves, and either spin them in a salad spinner and/or dry with paper towel. Next, chop the parsley to your liking. Once you’ve chopped all the parsley (I leave off the thick part of the stems), put it in a container or freezer bag, and freeze.

Using a ice cube tray, herbs that will be used for cooking can be frozen in olive oil or butter in convenient one ounce cubes to trap the flavor in fresh herbs for use all year long in soups, salads, stir-frys, pastas or marinades.

Chop and Freeze

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. Scoop the resulting mixture into ice cube trays and freeze. Transfer the finished cubes to freezer bags and use as needed.

But, the experts recommended, you can preserve basil in olive oil and salt, IF you freeze it and keep it frozen. So, whether you are going to freeze a whole jar, or ice cube trays, the method is the same for freezing basil in olive oil and salt: Wash fresh basil leaves, removing traces of dirt. Dry the leaves.

ADD OIL + FREEZE: Cover the herbs in olive oil (or other oil of choice) and fill almost up to the top of the molds. Use a fork or your fingers to press the herbs down and make sure they are covered in the oil to prevent freezer burn. Then put in the freezer and freeze for several hours or until solid.

Simply harvest the fresh basil, wash the leaves, allow them to dry, and then slice the tender leaves into thin ribbons before adding them to an ice cube tray with enough olive oil to cover. Freeze the tiny cubes of oil solid before turning them out and transferring them to a freezer bag for long term storage.

Freeze Parsley in a Bag

Simply double-bag the parsley, pushing out as much air from the bags as possible, and pop it in the freezer. You can just pop entire stems into the bags; there’s no need to take the leaves off yet. When you’re ready to use the parsley, snap off the leaves when you want to use them.

Mint, chives, tarragon, fennel, parsley, basil and dill all retain their flavor better when frozen than when dried. Except for basil and dill, these herbs should be blanched before freezing to preserve their fresh color and taste.

Dehydrate Your Parsley

If you’re limited by space in your freezer, parsley also holds a lot of its flavor and shape when it’s dried. I prefer using a food dehydrator since the process is quiet and efficient; it dries the leaves so evenly.

How to Freeze Herbs. To start, make sure your herbs are clean. Give herbs a good wash under cool water, then pat them dry. Spread clean, dry herbs (leaves and stems) in a single layer on a cooking tray, and put the pan in the freezer for about 1 hour, or until frozen.

It is not necessary to thaw frozen herbs before using them; in fact, they should not be thawed for any length of time. Even a few seconds of thawing will render them soggy, limp and stuck to your hands or the cutting board.

Frozen herbs are the perfect alternative if you’re fresh out of – pun intended – fresh herbs. They offer the same nutrients and almost an identical taste. While they might not look great as garnishes, frozen herbs are just as delicious in foods. They also allow you to extend your harvest for many months.

With frozen herbs you can use them if the herb is stirred in and cooked for a few minutes. But again these herbs are not great replacements for garnishes as the frozen herbs will tend to be fairly limp when thawed, and in many cases finely chopped. You can prolong the life of fresh herbs by storing them properly.

To dry herbs pick health fresh leaves after morning dew has evaporated. Freezing herbs is an alternative to drying, but again the flavour and nutrition is less and they do go limp when thawed out so not great as garnishes. Many herbs do work well frozen – chives, parsley, basil, mint…

Place herb leaves or seeds on a cookie sheet one inch deep or less. Put herbs in an open oven on low heat – less than 180 degrees F – for 2-4 hours. To see if the herbs are dry, check if leaves crumble easily.

If you have a home freeze dryer, it’s no problem! You can freeze dry all herbs, and you can even freeze dry different herbs in one batch or with other foods. Freeze dried herbs retain all of their flavor and will keep for years, just like they were fresh, if packaged properly.