Freezing herbs?

[megankl]

Hello! I was just wondering how many of you freeze herbs? I got a whole bunch of plants on sale at the local grocery store and I have re-potted them all and they are all growing super fast. I normally only use my herbs fresh so you do all still think they are just as good frozen as fresh? or is there a significant difference?
Also, if you do freeze them what is the best way to do it? Dried? whole? crumpled?

Thanks in advance!

 

[JessiFox]

I love herbs, and I'm a big fan of using them fresh as much as possible...but between our health issues (so sometimes tons of doctors appointments, neither of us feeling up to cooking when we might have planned to or even a hospital stay), sometimes we end up needing to freeze our herbs. I've frozen them both dried and whole, and perhaps there's some trick to it that I don't know, but in my experience they seem to do best dried. I do think there's a noticeable difference between fresh and frozen, of course, but it's a good option for convenience sake and it doesn't ruin them.

 

[DancingLady]

I recently saw an article that recommended freezing herbs in ice cubes to keep them fresher. You would need to put the ice cubes you have made into an airtight bag or container though, to keep them from evaporating. I think this is supposed to prevent the herbs from drying out, so they will be as close to fresh when thawed out as possible.

 

[tasha]

Hello! I was just wondering how many of you freeze herbs? I got a whole bunch of plants on sale at the local grocery store and I have re-potted them all and they are all growing super fast. I normally only use my herbs fresh so you do all still think they are just as good frozen as fresh? or is there a significant difference?
Also, if you do freeze them what is the best way to do it? Dried? whole? crumpled?

Thanks in advance!

If you are going to freeze them then crush them into how you would use them. I think that freezing herbs does change the taste and there is nothing better than fresh herbs in your food. The difference between dry and fresh herbs can be tasted if you try it you will see.

 

[Chuck]

When I have too many herbs I either freeze or dry them. I freeze them in water like an ice cube only in a Glad storage container

 

[claudine]

I remember seeing a picture of ice cubes with herbs inside of them. They looked really pretty and unique
Personally, I always dry my herbs, but I remember that my mother used to freeze parsley for me when I was a kid, so I could eat it in winter.

 

[marlingardener]

I try to bring some herbs indoors for the winter (thyme, parsley) but dry or freeze lots for winter use. I have found that making a slurry of finely chopped herbs and just enough water to make them stick together, then putting little mounds of them on waxed paper on a cookie sheet, then putting the sheet in the freezer until the mounds are frozen through is a great way of freezing herbs. The mounds go into a freezer container and one or two can be pulled out when needed. This works great for parsley, basil, marjoram, and oregano. It seems to me that they taste more like fresh than the dried herbs, but I dry sage and rosemary because their taste isn't all that affected by the drying process.
If you dry herbs, try to keep the leaves whole. There is less surface area to lose flavor/oils, which is why some ground or flaked herbs taste like grass!

 

[gata montes]

Hello! I was just wondering how many of you freeze herbs? I normally only use my herbs fresh so you do all still think they are just as good frozen as fresh? or is there a significant difference?
Also, if you do freeze them what is the best way to do it? Dried? whole? crumpled?

Although I do also dry my excess herbs I generally prefer to freeze the majority of mine as ice cubes - for the simple reason - that herbs frozen this way are the next best thing to fresh - as they retain more of their flavor.

One of the main benefits of storing your herbs as ice cubes - is that when herbs are frozen in water - once thawed they look and taste like fresh herbs - unlike those that are frozen individually and then stored in containers or plastic freezer bags - which generally turn black or get freezer burn - herb ice cubes are extremely versatile too - as they are great for popping into sauces and soups or once defrosted can be used in salads, dressings or as pizza toppings - they are also great for adding to smoothies or soft drinks.

As you are interested in freezing herbs - you may also find that there is some useful and helpful information contained in the thread I did on this topic sometime last year - which in order to save you searching for it - have included the link here

https://www.gardening-forums.com/threads/storing-your-favorite-herbs-as-ice-cubes.1620/

 

[DancingLady]

Although I do also dry my excess herbs I generally prefer to freeze the majority of mine as ice cubes - for the simple reason - that herbs frozen this way are the next best thing to fresh - as they retain more of their flavor.

One of the main benefits of storing your herbs as ice cubes - is that when herbs are frozen in water - once thawed they look and taste like fresh herbs - unlike those that are frozen individually and then stored in containers or plastic freezer bags - which generally turn black or get freezer burn - herb ice cubes are extremely versatile too - as they are great for popping into sauces and soups or once defrosted can be used in salads, dressings or as pizza toppings - they are also great for adding to smoothies or soft drinks.

As you are interested in freezing herbs - you may also find that there is some useful and helpful information contained in the thread I did on this topic sometime last year - which in order to save you searching for it - have included the link here

https://www.gardening-forums.com/threads/storing-your-favorite-herbs-as-ice-cubes.1620/

I think that's the threat I was thinking of. I loved that idea but since I have such limited freezer space, I won't be able to do it myself. It's such a cute idea though.

 

[Krrizal]

When I have too many herbs I either freeze or dry them. I freeze them in water like an ice cube only in a Glad storage container

I do this, as well. I try not to store them for too long, since I prefer to use them as fresh as possible, but they can stay well up to two weeks.