“Your eyes are bigger than your stomach.”
That phrase typically applies to filling one’s plate with more than he or she can possibly eat. For me, it rings true when I’m planting herbs every summer. Somehow our raised bed gets filled with tons of fresh herbs–this year we planted two basil plants, two parsley plants, lemon thyme, two oregano clusters, cilantro, and our chives and mint returned for a nice harvest.
The final harvest of herbs from our garden. Almost nothing was left after this.
It’s more than we could possibly use in our cooking, especially when many of the herbs keep producing throughout the season. This summer I was pushing chives and basil on everyone. Aside from a couple big batches of pesto or a heavy-handed herbal infusion to our spaghetti sauce, I was at a loss on how to use everything before the weather turned cold and the plants died.
Then I came across a brilliant way to preserve herbs–the freezer. Sure, I could let them dry and later crush them to add to dishes, but that’s very time consuming, and I’m impatient. There are several methods for freezing herbs including individual leaves on a baking sheet or making ice cubes filled with fresh herbs and/or oil and water. I chose the latter, and it’s fairly simple.
1. Wash and dry the herbs, either patted dry with towels or in a salad spinner, which I used.
2. Chop them as you normally would if using fresh herbs.
3. Place the chopped herbs in an empty ice cube tray. How much in each is up to you but a tablespoon or so is a good rule of thumb.
4. Top with olive oil or water, and place in the freezer overnight.
5. When they’re frozen, place in individual freezer bags and label which herb is in each.
Ready for the freezer. We used both oil and water for each herb.
I tested this during the summer with chives and water, and it worked like a charm. I wanted to make sure I didn’t waste my time (or the herbs) if it wasn’t going to work. We did this again this fall and have had a steady supply so far this winter.
The obvious way to use these is to drop the herb cubes into soups or stews. We also take out the ones in oil and let them melt in a hot pan, which serves as a great base for sautéing onions or pan-frying fish.
Sometimes I’ll melt the water cubes in the microwave then squeeze dry the herbs to use in another dish. There are plenty of creative options.
A few things to note:
- Personally, I felt like I had to use too much olive oil for this and will probably try to figure out a way to use less next time.
- Also, the basil and mint turned brown in the water cubes. They still taste fine, so don’t be put-off when they don’t come out of the freezer all green and beautiful.
- Consider writing on masking tape instead of directly on the bag. Even though we used permanent marker, it’s rubbing off in the freezer. Most of the time I can tell which herb it is, but sometimes I use it anyway and hope for the best.
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