Freezing and preserving herbs

catznine

I have frozen left over wine successfully (yes I do sometimes have some wine leftover - if I can hide the bottle!) It's great for adding to casseroles etc., never thought of adding herbs to the wine though. What a good idea!

Curry_Queen

What Nigella also does is collect up any half full wine glasses at the end of an evening and freezes that too :rotfl:

I've always got some white wine i the freezer as I don't tend to drink that as often and feel it's a waste just to open a bottle to use for cooking, but more often than not I've got a bottle or two of red open so only freeze that if it's one I'm not overly keen on drinking

Loadsabob

My boyfriend grows chamomile, peppermint and lemon balm in my garden, for teas. He harvests the leaves of the last two more regularly than he makes the tea, to keep the plants growing, and the flowers of the chamomile as they appear, and uses them from the freezer in his infuser as he needs them. They stay perfectly fresh, and it really extends their season - he had chamomile tea daily for months after the plant had stopped producing flowers!

I have done this with shop-bought herbs too...I heard recommendation of lemon juice to keep the herbs' green colour...I've never bothered with that bit, as by the time I've finished with them they're disguised by whatever I'm cooking them in anyway!

apprentice_tycoon

Loadsabob wrote:

My boyfriend grows chamomile, peppermint and lemon balm in my garden, for teas.

can you tell me how to make lemon balm tea? it smells a bit soapy to me....

Loadsabob

All my boyfriend does is stuff a little metal infuser (for holding tealeaves) with some scrunched up lemon balm leaves (about as many as can fit comfortably in there and still let the water circulate...but you can adjust the amount according to taste), pops it in a cup and and pours boiling water over and lets it infuse.

I always think his smells lovely, really lemony. But he has it without honey or sugar - I think I'd need something a little bit sweet! It smells stronger than it tastes, it's quite delicate. Very good to chill you out, appreantly! He does the same with peppermint (good for aiding digestion) and the chamomile flowers (about four flowers a time), good for sleep.

MrsMondragon

I peel and freeze garlic. It comes out a treat. Or sometimes I dont even peel it and freeze it. It peels much more easily when frozen.

Sharra

I now have a windowsill full of basil and parsley - i would like to freeze some of it to keep for if I run out and if the plants produce more than we can use.
Am I better open freezing it whole, then bagging it up? Or would I be better chopping it up and freezing it in ice cube trays?
Any suggestions appreciated
Ta
Sharra

thriftlady_2

I'm not sure which is the best method,but I do the ice cube thing with success.You can drop a cube into soups or stews,or defrost in a sieve to use in other recipes.

Sharra

Thanks
Do you add water to the cubes when you freeze them or just the herbs as they are?

Pink.

I usually add water to them, then tip them into a freezer bag once they are frozen, so I can use the trays again. However recently I was in a hurry and just threw a load of chopped parsley into a freezer bag and it's frozen well....I just lift a handful out when I need it.

Pink