Can you Freeze Lemongrass?
Lemongrass is a herb that is high-on-demand in recent years. It is a plant that can be grown in your backyard garden area. If you wish to know how to freeze lemongrass continue reading till the end.
Lemongrass has some amazing properties which make it an all-time favorite backyard plant for many. Lemongrass oil finds its uses in many skin conditions. It is a proven anti-bacterial agent that aids in skin and hair conditions.
There are different ways of using lemongrass for different purposes. You can drink lemongrass tea or use its stalks while preparing Thai foods. You can extract lemongrass oil and apply it directly to hair or skin. There are dozens of ways of using this essential herb.
Nutritional Approach to Lemongrass
Lemongrass isn’t consumed in heavy amounts. Just the way we add spring onions in Chinese recipes; lemongrass finds its use in Thai curries. Therefore, here’s a quick summary of the nutritional benefits we gain from eating lemongrass:
Every 100g serving of lemongrass gives:
- Energy 100 kcal
- Protein 1.82 g
- Carbohydrates 25.3 g
- Total Fat 0.49 g
- Calcium 65 mg
- Iron 8.17 mg
- Magnesium 60 mg
- Phosphorus 101 mg
- Water 70.6 g
Benefits of Lemongrass
This citronella herb is packed with essential micro and macro elements required for the proper functioning of the human body. Lemongrass tea is a proven home remedy to cure cases like bloating and high levels of cholesterol in the blood.
A significant amount of magnesium and phosphorus in lemongrass helps to cure disorders related to the digestive system. Therefore, eating lemongrass once in a while is good for your gut health too.
Lemongrass oil has anti-inflammatory properties that help to reduce swelling caused due to acne. It also helps to achieve radiant skin by penetrating deeper into the layers and is also effective for aromatherapies. Thus, lemongrass has exquisite benefits like other essential oils.
How to Freeze Lemongrass
One of the drawbacks while purchasing lemongrass is the bulk that is offered by the sellers. You can’t purchase a stalk or two of the lemongrass herb. It is sold in bunches by the vendors. Here comes the need to freeze lemongrass. Follow the steps mentioned below to do so.
Tips to Freeze Lemongrass Bunch
This is the fastest and easiest way of freezing lemongrass. Many of you might have been doing it for a long. Here’s what you can do to freeze a lemongrass bunch:
- Wash the stalks of the lemongrass. Remove any dirt or roots hanging on the stalks.
- Scrap off any leaves or weeds hanging with the lemongrass stalk.
- Toss these stalks into airtight bags and remove excess air from the bags by pressing them.
- Now pop these bags in the freezer. Add labels to them for later use. This is the end of the process.
- Yes, it is the shortest route for freezing your herbs without creating a mess.
Method to Freeze Lemongrass in Ice Trays
Now amigos this is a cool and decent method of storing your herbs neatly. Unlike the method mentioned above, we recommend you follow this method for more apt freezing and storing of lemongrass.
- Wash and peel your lemongrass stalks nicely. Remove any excess dirt or weeds from the stalk by scraping them.
- Chop the lemongrass stalk into fine pieces using a knife or a pair of scissors. You can make use of a food processor as well. Use any tool that will aid you in the process. All you need is finely chopped lemongrass.
- Now take your empty clean ice trays. Wash them with water once to remove any traces of dirt. Now add chopped lemongrass to the ice tray.
- Add equal amounts of lemongrass to every cube. Do not overfill the areas. Leave some space for adding water as well.
- At this stage, you can add other herbs like rosemary and basil as well. It is fine to mix these herbs and store them together.
- Lastly, fill the ice tray with water so all the herbs are dipped nicely and clean in it. Pop the tray in the freezer and allow it to freeze.
- Once the cubes are nicely frozen then, separate them from the ice tray. Add these lemongrass water cubes into air-tight bags or boxes immediately. Label them and place them in the freezer again.
Why you should follow the Ice Tray Method of Freezing Lemongrass?
That is how you prepare lemongrass ice cubes that can be used for 2 months effectively. One of the benefits of this method is that you can avoid the step of defrosting lemongrass. Since you’ll be using them in the preparation of curry you can directly add the ice cubes to the gravy.
As the cube starts to melt the flavors start to absorb in the curry. Another plus point of this method is that you can combine different herbs and store them for better flavor management.
Things to Remember When Freezing Lemongrass
While freezing lemongrass is an easy task here are a few things to keep in mind when freezing them.
- Do not store frozen lemongrass for long periods. Lemongrass has a strong aroma and it will end up leaving a strong scent in your refrigerator. Therefore refrain from storing it for more than 2 months.
- Do not try to defrost lemongrass unless specifically needed. Since you’ll be freezing lemongrass directly if you try to defrost them it becomes a bit messy. Therefore you can directly use frozen lemongrass stalks.
- Be sure to remove any excess dirt or leaves from the stalk before freezing it. This is a simple step to avoid any bacterial contamination.
- You can also freeze lemongrass by converting it into a paste. Directly fill the ice tray with the lemongrass paste and freeze them until hard.
Lemongrass is a delicious herb that goes in different curries. It has an exclusive aroma and a lemonish tangy taste that adds extra flavor to the dishes. However, this aroma is strong enough to leave a scent in your refrigerator. Therefore, storing lemongrass for more than a month is not recommendable. Follow the easy steps in this blog to freeze lemongrass.