One of the things I miss most about summer, especially where I live, is the availability of fresh produce and herbs. This winter I decided to do something about that and started a little herb garden inside my house rather than having to rely solely on the dried variations in my spice rack. The problem is, I'm not using them fast enough and I hate to see them go to waste or wither away and die. I started to look for some alternate ways of preserving them, and have found a few good methods. The easiest way is to pick the fresh herbs off the plant (or use the ones you have bought at the grocery store), lay them out on a cookie sheet and place it in the freezer for about an hour - this prevents them from clumping together or freezing into a block. Once they are frozen, put them in a freezer bag, and toss back into the freezer until you are ready to use them. Don't forget to label the bags, they all look the same when they are frozen, and you can't smell them to tell the difference.
The other method that I found works well is to dice them up into small pieces, fill each spot in an ice cube tray about 1/2 full with the herbs, then top with water and freeze. Once solid, toss them into a freezer bag and keep frozen. When you need to add some herbs to a soup, pasta dish, meat, whatever, simply take out a single cube and toss it into whatever you are cooking.
Unfortunately, some herbs freeze better than others. Do a little research before you start, or better yet just try a small batch and see what works for you.
1-24-2007 @10:30PM Vanessa said... I usually roll them into a big spleaf like cigar, wrap them in saran wrap, and put them in the freezer. When I want to use some I just cut off a hunk, re-wrap the end and toss it back to the freezer.
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1-31-2007 @11:16AM jsipe1 said... Interesting blog, I also write about growing and using herbs. I've never heard about rolling them in a leaf. You're never to old to learn something new.
www.thyme-for-herbs.blogspot.com
Piana Nanna
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