A few weeks ago, I made Emeril's Chicken Patty Pockets and had an extraordinary amount of cilantro left over. I didn't want to waste any of it, but I knew that cilantro was too delicate to dry in the usual fashion – i.e. washed, tied with twine, and hung upside down in a cool, dry location.
Since I didn't have any upcoming dinner idesa that called for cilantro, I had to figure out what to do with it. So I searched online and was pleasantly surprised to find that I could freeze my more delicate fresh herbs in ice cube trays!
I also had a monstrous amount of fresh parsley sitting in the fridge, so I decided to freeze that too. How perfect would these herb cubes be for tossing into stews, soups and sauces?
So, I finely chopped the herbs and dropped 1 teaspoon into each ice cube conatiner. This way, I would always know how much I was using. Then I carefully poured just enough water over the herbs so that they would freeze properly.
When they froze, I just popped the herb cubes out of the tray and stored them in ziploc bags. On the outside of the bags, I labeled the herbs, cilantro or parsley, and also added 1 teaspoon on it, just in case my husband decided to use them!
This was very easy to do, and I'm happy that I didn't have to eat cilantro for days on end!
Just in case you're curious…
- Some delicate "soft" herbs that do well in ice cube trays include: cilantro, basil, parsley, mint, dill, tarragon, lovage, and chives.
- Some hard "sturdy" herbs that do well when air-dried include: thyme, rosemary, oregano, bay leaves, marjoram and sage.
Happy Reading,
Denine
Thanks Dana! I use them in soups and sauces all winter!
great idea-i never know what to do with herbs
I had no idea I could do that – I am so excited for next year’s herb garden! I’ll just fill my freezer full of herbs!
I did that with my basil and parsley from my garden after the summer. But I froze it with a little olive oil.
Greg throws them into sauces and soups all the time.