I was curious if anyone freezes fresh herbs. My girlfriend chops her basil, puts it in a freezer baggie and throws it in the freezer. It tasted wonderful and fresh. Today I harvested some basil and parsley. I washed and rinsed it in my salad spinner and froze it in baggies. I did not chop it but left it as whole leaves. I was just wondering if other people did this as well, and what their results were.
I have done that but not dried threw a salid spinner. On that note... not to discourage you mine were all wilted and slimy once thawed out. It could have been that I had water on them when freezing. Good luck let us know how they turn out.
I keep fresh herbs in the fridge, but not the freezer. I've never had good luck with freezing herbs. I will have to try your girlfriend's method. Good Luck!
I have freezed fresh basil. The procedure I followed is: The leaves should be stripped from the stems and laid out on a baking sheet. Set in the freezer and then transfer to plastic bags or freezer containers after they are solid. You can also chop the leaves, place them in ice cube trays along with a bit of water and freeze them this way. Thaw them in a colander, allowing the water to drain away, or just drop them right into soups and sauces. Pesto freezes nicely as well.
I also have frozen basil and parsley and they seem to do well -- most of the flavor remains. What I do is simply put the leaves in the zip-lock and freeze... maybe the trick is to pat them dry and squeeze out all the air before you seal the zip-lock? Give it a try and see if it works. Good luck! P.S. Another way is to preserve them in olive oil... place the basil leaves in layers in a jar until they reach the top, pour in olive oil and seal. The jar should have an air-tight lid and placed in a cool, dark place (and don't use a transparent jar!). Can be kept up to 6 months or so. When needed, simply open the jar, take the leaves out and reseal. You can also use the now flavored oil for pasta and salad dressing... yum
I have done it with rosemary, but never with basil. I think you'd have to wrap them in paper towels, or something to keep the water out, and you should be fine.
You can do it fresh or even the dried ones. Still you would taste the herbs. There are a lot of techniques but what I encourage more is the growing of herbs indoors for those who loves to use them even when planting season is about to stop due to cold weather.
Cut the herbs into ¼ inch pieces and put them on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Really simple procedure. You can store them in a bag in the freezer until you utilize them. moderator's note: removed website link, see point 1.1 of usage rules
moderator's note: removed website link, see point 1.1 of usage rules Drying. In order to dry the herbs you have to group six to twelve stems and remove any foliage on the base of the stems. Put the bundle in a cool location. Don´t let sunlight reach it. It´s not necessary to make a package. If you want to dry plants separate you can place them on a screen or rack. Keep in mind to turn the plants so as to dry properly. You can use ovens, dehydrators or other appliances but the result will not be as good as the method mentioned before. Freezing. Cut the herbs into ¼ inch pieces and put them on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Really simple procedure. You can store them in a bag in the freezer until you utilize them. Preserving herbs trough a medium. Vinegar and salt are the most common mediums. You can cover herbs like mint, basil or tarragon with vinegar or make flavored salt to preserve herbs by alternating layers of fresh herbs between salt. When completely dry separate the brown herb from the flavored salt and store it in an airtight container.
It sounds like naturelvr's girlfriend has the best idea. Just cut up the basil leaves put them in a plastic bag and freeze them. What could be easier and it works.
Preserving Herbs On the same note as Megan who said to use olive oil and store it, I have an aunt who uses a food processor to mix olive oil and whatever herbs she's looking to store, she pours it in a ziploc bag and puts it in the freezer. When she wants to use it she breaks off pieces off the iced mixture. I've never tried it myself but her cooking always tastes great.
