Tuesday, March 3, 2020

How to Freeze Fresh Herbs in Olive Oil

You can either thaw them and let them come to room temperature to use raw in dressings, or you can drop them into a hot pan to use in hot dishes instead of just plain cooking oil. You can even get extra fancy and grate some garlic cloves, lemon zest, or ginger into the mix!

I used extra virgin olive oil for these. But avocado oil, melted butter or ghee, melted coconut oil would also all be awesome choices. Freezing bare herbs may be a better option for preserving small batches, but even then, loss of flavor and aroma are still a concern, as oils within the leaves are released. Although nothing will quite match the taste of fresh herbs, this method for freezing fresh herbs comes pretty close and does it in cooking-friendly portions.

Using a ice cube tray, herbs that will be used for cooking can be frozen in olive oil or butter in convenient one ounce cubes to trap the flavor in fresh herbs for use all year long in soups, salads, stir-fry's, pastas or marinades. Portions may be thawed for use or tossed whole into recipes for a burst of flavor when fresh herbs aren’t available and store-bought seasonings just won’t do.

Press them down into the ice cube tray before adding the oil, I try not to fill them more than halfway to allow room for the oil. Then after the oil has been added, use a fork or your fingers to press it down so the herbs are fully submerged. This prevents any bits that stick out from getting dried out by freezer burn. You can also cover the top of the tray with a lid or wrap it to prevent this from happening.

Once cubes have frozen completely, transfer into airtight containers marked with the date, herb type and amount. Herbs frozen in oil or butter may be stored 6 to 9 months without significant loss of flavor.

No comments:

Post a Comment