Freezing Herbs in Olive Oil: Tips to Freeze Herbs
Fresh herbs serve best when used for garnishing purposes or as dried powders for different flavors in multiple cuisines. Mostly, Thai, Indian, Italian, and several other cuisines require fresh herbs when you make them. By the end of this article, you will find sufficient data on ways to freeze herbs in olive oil.
Ice is the coldest form of storage we can opt for when storing garden herbs like basil, thyme, rosemary, and others. Ice cube freezes the contents within it and also halts any degradation processes. Therefore, to store leaves of different herbs that you love you can prepare their ice cubes in olive oil and freeze them further for months.
Can you freeze fresh herbs in virgin olive oil?
Yes, you can surely freeze fresh herbs in virgin olive oil. This is the best part of freezing fresh herbs. If you don’t know how to freeze herbs like basil, then, this method will work best for you. Gather your herbs together and chop them by holding them in one place. Drop them in the ice cube tray and pour olive oil on it. Freeze the cubes and now you know a simple yet effective tip for preserving them.
Steps for Freezing Herbs in Olive Oil
There aren’t multiple or cumbersome steps to store herbs in olive oil by the ice cube method. Gather fresh herbs from your garden like thyme, basil, sage, etc., or get some from your vendor. Then, follow these easy tips given below and you should have perfect cubes of herbs ready.
Ice Cube Tray Method for Preserving Herbs
Preserving herbs or more precisely fresh herbs is a tough task. It is because these herbs are extremely delicate. Not only the leaves of herbs are tender but they also tend to wilt away quickly if you don’t store them properly.
In moments like these, the ice cube tray in your freezer will save your day! All you have to do is to make some herbs ice cubes and place them in the freezer for further use. When you freeze the herb and oil mixture on ice in the freezer, the degradation or the enzymatic process in the herbs will stop.
Follow these steps to freeze herbs in olive oil.
- Take the herbs that you wish to freeze or have in extra that needs to be stored. You can freeze different herbs together but, mix them in later steps. Wash herbs with clean water and allow them to soak in water for a minute. Don’t soak herbs for more than one minute.
- Remove the herbs from the water and then start separating the leaves from the twig. Once you do this, you can stack the leaves of herbs in bunches of six to seven and chop them finely. At this stage, you can also roll them into cylindrical shapes and give them a proper cut so that you have long slender herb slices.
- Then, start filling the cube spaces with your chopped herbs, and do not over-fill them. You can keep this ratio in your mind- ¾ th herbs and ¼ olive oil. Now, you can fill different varieties of herbs together to create different flavorful combinations.
- After the herbs are properly filled in the cube spaces, you can start pouring olive oil into them. The reason why olive oil will be the best in this step is that olive oil retains the original herb flavors.
Tips to Freeze your Herb the Correct Way
These are some final tips that you can follow to freeze your fresh herbs. Also, there are some alternate ways as well to store your herbs in the freezer apart from freezing them into ice!
- You can opt for preserving your herb by freezing it in the form of pesto. Pesto is a delicious sauce that goes well with multiple recipes. Moreover, it is quite easy to make the pesto. You simply have to grind together oil, herb, spices, and cheese. Once the Pesto is ready, you can freeze it into an entire horizontal block in an airtight bag; or make small portions of it as well.
- Don’t stop yourself from preparing multiple herb combinations while the freezing journey. In fact, a herb will retain the maximum amount of flavor when you freeze it with different herbs.
- Be sure, that you add clear labels to the packets of each herb cube or pesto. It is because, after freezing, all herbs look identical and it will be difficult to distinguish them easily.
- Avoid freezing your herbs in water and choose oil as the medium. It is because there is a high chance that water will lead to freezer burn. Thus, we would recommend you make the cube with olive oil or any other oil of your choice.
How long can you keep herbs in the freezer?
If you freeze herbs in olive oil then they can last in the freezer for up to six months without any damage. However, freezing them in water can create chances of freezer burn. Thus, refrain from freezing them in water.
No more wasting fresh herbs from your garden! Now you can make the perfect frozen ice cubes of herbs in your ice cube tray at home. Drop a comment below and let us know about your experience!