Storing Fresh Herbs
From the moment that I started working on this blog, I've found myself wanting to give tips or advice on a number of things in my recipe posts that would be helpful to all of you while working with food. Each time I would try to fit one in, I realized that it made the post too lengthy and would perhaps be a bit distracting while you are trying to learn to execute a recipe. That said, I have decided to add a quick tip once in a while in between recipe posts that I hope you will all find helpful. This particular tip has been on my mind for a while.
Whether you grow fresh herbs or purchase them, at some point in time you will either harvest or purchase more than you can use for one meal or, in my case, in an entire years time. You can, of course, always hang them to dry as you can see I have done in the picture above. Another great way of storing fresh herbs is to freeze them. There are a number of herbs, however, that do not do well in the freezer when stored in a regular freezer bag. Basil is a good example of one of those herbs and it also does not dry especially well in my opinion. The solution to both of these issues; freeze them in olive oil, chicken or vegetable stock, or water for later use.
The easiest way to freeze your herbs in oil, stock or water is to use an ice cube tray. You can actually find ice cube trays in kitchen stores that are sold specifically for this reason. To prepare the herbs for freezing, you will want to start by giving your bunch of herbs a rough chop, add a good portion into each of the cube molds and pour the liquid down over them. Place the tray in the freezer and after your cubes have frozen, you will then place the tray in a plastic freezer bag to help protect from freezer burn. Another quick tip; do not chop your basil. Basil leaves are quite delicate the blade of your knife will bruise the leaves and they will start to discolor almost instantly after you chop them. When working with basil for any preparation, you want to gently tear the leaf rather than cutting or chopping it.
Not only is this a great way to store your herbs but an incredibly easy way to use them. When it comes time to prepare a dish that calls for fresh herbs, just pop a couple of cubes out of the tray and stick them into a hot saute pan or into a soup or stock that you are preparing. If you have frozen them in water, you can make a fantastic herb infused beverage that is both tasty and beautiful and is sure to impress all of your dinner guests!
I hope that you will find this quick tip to be helpful and I encourage you to give it a try the next time you have an abundance of herbs that you can not use before they go by.
Enjoy!
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