Is It Better to Dry or Freeze Herbs? Methods for Preserving Herbs
If you are obsessed with gardening and have a dedicated indoor garden space for your hobby. Then this post will help you know more about preserving your herbs and leaves better. Anyone with fresh herbs will always have a query about whether to dry or freeze fresh herbs.
As far as your sole aim is to preserve your herbs, you might have heard about drying techniques or frozen methods to maintain the flavor of leaves. Leaves of a variety of herb species are gentle and they need utmost care to preserve their texture.
In this article, we will highlight and discuss some easy tips to store your herbs the correct way. Herbs have age-old uses and remedies in culinary and medicinal sciences. It is the reason why it is essential to maintain the quality of herbs for the production of any recipe or medicament.
Why is Drying Herbs Essential?
Herbs like lavender find their use in aromatherapies and help to soothe migraine headaches. Similarly, a wide range of herbs serves different functions, and here are the top five reasons why you must dry and preserve your herbs.
If you are into gardening then you know better the amount of effort it goes into cultivating the delicate herb leaves in your garden. No one would like to waste their essential herbs due to improper storage conditions. Thus, we would suggest you dry and store your herbs to hold their flavors intact for a long time.
- Shelf-life of Herbs increases on drying. The most important thing while storing any food item is to maintain its shelf life for a long period. Thus, if you are looking for a way to extend the shelf-life of your tender herb leaves, then drying is the best alternative for you.
- Flavors become more concentrated once you dry them. It is a proven fact that flavors of herbs like rosemary, thyme, and basil grow stronger on dry storage. Thus, the longer you keep them in maintained environmental conditions, the more potent flavors are obtained.
- Dry herbs are easy to blend into recipes. Sometimes it might become a bit cumbersome to pluck, wash, and chop fresh herbs. Then, drop them in hot oil only to create a messy spluttering session. Thus, blending dried herb powders into the recipe is easier than opting for fresh ones. However, for seasoning purposes or garnishing dishes, it is advisable to go with fresh herb leaves.
- Dry herb leaves occupy less space and are easy to store. Smaller substances can occupy a large surface area but are also greatly compressible. This is a fact that we all are well-versed with. Therefore, the same logic applies to dried herb shoots as well.
- Medicinal properties reach their full potential on drying. Not only aromatic flavors but medicinal and healing properties of herbs reach their maximum potential on drying. Many ancient medicines make use of dried herb shoots and roots.
Ways of Preserving Herbs: Tips for Freezing Herbs
Freezing herbs slows the growth of microorganisms that cause food spoilage. But, we already discussed that drying is the easiest way to preserve herbs. So which is the best way out of the two? Or do other options as freezing herbs in stock or water works well?
Herbs can be both frozen and dried for storage. In this section, you will understand the basics of freezing herbs and some tips to freeze herbs. Also, you will understand whether it is better to dry or freeze your herb for longtime use.
When you are drying your herbs you are essentially slowing their life processes and cellular mechanisms. Something similar to the drying of herbs happens when you try to freeze herbs as well. Freezing essentially halts the enzymatic degradation process for herbs and hence prevents any degradation.
Not much amount of effort is required to dry any herb. You can simply leave them in sunlight for a few days till the water content in them is lost. Then crush them manually and store them in airtight containers. However, it takes a dedicated four-step routine to freeze fresh herbs in the freezer correctly.
Freezing Fresh Herbs in Ice Cube Trays
Freezing herbs depends on the types of herb saplings you have in your garden. It is because some herbs freeze well into ice cubes while others will remain better in a dry state. Delicate greens like basil and parsley are better if you store them dry. It is because dry conditions will help prevent their oxidation.
To prepare herb ice cubes grab your ice cube trays, herbs, oil or butter, and kitchen tools like a knife and spoon. Now you can make use of your ice cube trays and freezer to prepare either ice cubes of chopped leaves or pesto sauce as well.
Start and follow these easy four steps to get the best freezing experience.
- Pluck and wash fresh green herbs manually. You can also give the store-bought ones a quick wash.
- Chop your greens using a knife and make them fine in size. You can also roll the leaf of a herb into a cigar shape and then chop it cylindrically. Pick the method that suits you the most.
- The next step is to add your chopped greens and some liquid (prefer oil or butter over water) to an ice cube maker tray and drop them in the freezer.
- Once the ice cubes are prepared take them out of the freezer and drop them in zip-lock bags or containers. Again drop them in the freezer and add labels to them so that you can distinguish between them.
A few tips you must keep in mind before you start freezing:
- Make sure that the herb you wish to freeze stays well in extreme cold conditions and doesn’t rot in the fridge.
- Always add labels to the bags because all herbs will mostly look the same on freezing.
- Do not skip the washing step if you don’t want any bacterial contamination during the entire process.
- Do not thaw frozen herbs and pop them directly in your recipe.
Meal Plans with Different Frozen Herbs
One of the most essential parts of herbs is the essential oils in them. Freezing preserves essential oils thus freezing fresh herbs will make them the best aromatic ingredient in your recipe. On the contrary drying your herbs will leave you with strong flavors that will make your dishes taste exquisite.
Here are some meal options or plans that you can try with both dry herbs and fresh (frozen) ones as well. Thus your search for easy and fresh recipes ends right here. These recipes are healthy and one can make them easily in no time. Simply harvest your fresh herbs and make an amazing meal quickly.
- Italian Smoky Chicken with Frozen Herbs: For this recipe, you won’t need any fancy tools or seasonings. Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and then season 4 chicken breasts with salt and some pepper. Add a jar of diced tomatoes and top it with frozen basil and oregano. Bake the chicken breasts for 35 minutes and serve hot.
- Tomato Soup: The most basic yet most nutritious recipe you’ll ever enjoy is creamy tomato soup. Add a large tbsp of butter to a hot pan and saute some garlic cloves and onions in it. Then add a can of crushed tomatoes and some crushed ginger to it. Cook for 10 minutes and make it extra tasty by adding the frozen herbs of your choice. Serve with some crispy bread chunks and cream on top. Take care that you don’t overcook your soup.
How Long Should You Freeze Your Herbs?
Drying can be a better option for prolonged storage. Thus, drying herbs is better if you wish to use fresh herbs in a powdered state later on. However, if you are someone who’d want to freeze their herbs then you can do so as well.
When you freeze your greens you are limiting their storage to a maximum of 6 to 7 months. Although freezing is the best option to preserve your saplings from your garden; you can also go with drying fresh herbs.
Drying will retain herbs for 1-2 years and more on proper storage, whereas freezing is better for 8 months to the most.
Do herbs lose their texture when they are dry? Which is better: dry or freeze herbs for longer storage?
Drying is often misunderstood and disregarded for various plants and herbs. But, drying is better to preserve fresh herbs from your garden than freezing. Anyways fresh herbs will lose their texture on both drying and freezing.
Thus, there’s no such bold claim that gives you the assurance that when freezing herbs you can retain the texture of fresh herbs. If you are still perplexed about whether to dry or freeze herbs then you can select your answer based on the time limit for which you wish to store your herb.