Or, how I turned this...
into this....
I've got several basil plants this year and they've been growing like crazy... producing far more than I can use or even give away at the moment. So, I decided to take some of it and freeze it for use later on. There are several ways to do this. Do a search on Google for "freezing herbs" and you'll find countless pages on the subject. This is the way *I* freeze herbs for later use... I don't pretend to say it's the only way... but the way that I've found works best for me.
I took several bunches of basil and discarded the stems, leaving only the tender leaves. I washed the bunch and spun them dry using a salad spinner. I placed the bunches of basil leaves in my food processor with only a tiny bit of water and processed it until the basil was chopped quite finely. Once that's done, I fill ice cube trays with the basil and water mixture and freeze until solid. Finally, I pop the cubes from the tray and place them in labeled zip-lock freezer bags. I go by the rule of thumb that the basil cubes will be at their peak for about 6 months when frozen. Of course they will keep longer than that... but it won't have as fresh a flavor as the first 6 months of storage.
These small cubes I made are about a teaspoon each when thawed, if I use the larger trays, it's about a tablespoon. Fill one of the compartments on your tray and measure the amount so that you'll know about how much herb you have in each cube.
35 comments:
I've got quite a bit of fresh basil growing in my front yard herb garden and it has been flowering so about time to pick then all before they go to seed. I like your preservation method too!
I plan on making a huge batch of pesto soon.
Regards,
CCR =:~)
Great way to keep herbs and have it on hand quickly. I do the same with coriander :)
that is a great idea as I too have too much basil, well too much to eat at one time!
How do you guys have too much basil??? I am so jealous. Nothing is growing here now! Great idea Jo!
Great idea! I read bout this frequently, but I've never seen the actual results. The green stays so vibrant! I am going to have to give this a go.
Oh this is such a great idea. Now I don't have to worry about my basil going to waste.
Excellent idea to save it and to a better handling.
As you said applicable to any type of herbs…I’ll try your method soon :D
Thanks for the info Jo!
Cheers!
Gera
My mom does hers with oil. What do you think the difference is?
Loved this post! I am new to growing/freezing basil and found another gal who uses oil. She also gives tips on trimming your basil to get the most out of it:
http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/2006/06/how-to-freeze-fresh-basil-weekend-herb.html
Awesome. I have a basil plant growing right now, with any luck I'll get enough that I can do this. :)
I wish I had your problem of overgrowing basil :)
Great idea Jo - I love fresh basil. I absolutely love the smell.
Great post Jo. I do this with lots of herbs, and they do keep longer than 6 months in some cases. Frozen basil makes great pesto!
fantastic idea! I like that you preserved the herb in a way other than making pesto.
Hi Jo, thanks for the tip. I never thought of doing it this way. I froze mine as it is and it turned out dry as a stump. I'll try your method the next time round.
We do this with pesto. And since basil almost never goes into anything without garlic at our house, it's just perfect!
What I like about doing the basil like this (with just a bit of water), though, is that it's a bit less messy. The oil makes pesto cubes a bit more difficult to handle.
great idea! thanks for the tip
What a GREAT idea! I've thought of doing this, but haven't actually ever done it...I will this year though!!
A great way to enjoy the fresh flavour of herbs all year round!
A great idea - I too have loads of basil! Thanks for sharing.
Never thought to freeze basil this way. I was just going to make pesto and freeze it but this is great when your short on time but heavey on basil. Great tip!
I hope to have enough basil to freeze some this year! I love it!
Fabulous idea. Thanks a lot for the description. Very usefull here in Greece.
By the way I changed my site address to https://chowandchatter.blogspot.com
To match the name ! Love Rebecca
thank you, jo! perfectly timed post-i just wish that my freezer was a little bigger.
hi Jo...
i grow basil n get extra sometimes...never thought of preserving cuz i get fresh basil all year through here....but i think it can be done for gifting basil to someone...
Does this work with other herbs like rosemary that are a bit more hardy than leafy basil?
Thank you for the comments everyone :) You can do this with outher herbs as well. I have used this method rosemary, parsley, thyme... lots of em :)
WOW! I found your site and I truly enjoy it! You have wonderful posts.
Thank you so much for sharing!!
Wow...that's an awesome way to store basil...thank u with the tips...
Moranda... thank you! So much! :)
Kitchen Flavours.... thanks! :)
Very neat trick! I like it and will try it because I love my fresh herbs and basil is definitely one of my favs! Thanks for sharing this tip!
Kim... thanks! :)
I just tried this this morning, deciding not to use the oil method. My notes: Don't spin dry, just add less water. Put the ice-cube tray in a bag (I use recycled cereal liner bags) in case the tray gets left in the freezer too long. Do a huge amount of basil at one time, because you'll waste a lot of little bits in the clean-up--they stick to your equipment. Immediately feed your denuded basil plants--I use a 30-10-10 fertilizer (one for "acid-loving plants") -- I don't know why basil would like this, but it does.
Elizabeth... great tips! thank you for sharing!
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