Keeping Herbs Fresh

I love the smell of fresh herbs and I am slowly learning how to cook with more herbs.........the only problem is that when you live in zone 5, it's quite hard to always have fresh herbs in the garden year round! Thus, you must  preserve them!

One of my Herb beds....

Have you ever had trouble keeping fresh herbs fresh? Do your cilantro and parsley go wilty, limpy, or dry after a few days? The trick involves the clever use of a plastic bag.


How to Store Parsley, Cilantro, and Other Fresh Herbs:


1 - Snip off the bottom of the stems.
2 - Make sure the leaves are completely dry. Better to hold off rinsing them until you're about to use them.
3 - Fill a jar or a water glass partially with water and place the stem ends of the herbs into the water in the jar.
4 - If you are storing the herbs in the refrigerator, cover loosely with a plastic bag. Cilantro loves cool
temperatures and should be stored in the refrigerator.
 Parsley can be stored at room temperature or in the refrigerator. According to Harold McGee, basil is ideally stored at room temperature and not in the refrigerator, because it is susceptible to damage from cold.
5 - Change the water after several days if the water starts to discolor.


Fresh parsley, cilantro, basil, and other fresh herbs can last up to 2 weeks or longer when stored this way.


If you need to store herbs for longer than 10 days, but do not wish to preserve it by drying it, take the leaves off of the stems, fill the cups of an ice tray with cilantro leaves, fill the tray with water, drowning the leaves, and freeze. After two days of freezing, remove the herb cubes from the ice tray and place them in a plastic freezer bag. Then put them back into the freezer. Thaw one cube at a time as needed for use. This storage method will last for up to two months.


To store fresh herbs for two to six months, you will need to dry the them. WASH the herb, cut off a half inch of stem and re-bundle it with the stems facing in the same direction. Tie the bundle with a string or rubber band. Poke holes in a paper bag every two to three inches; holes make for better air circulation. Place the herb bundle in the hole-ridden paper bag. Twist the top of the paper bag closed and tie a string around the top to keep it closed with the herbs inside. Place the bag  in a dark place, such as a pantry or basement and leave the paper bag for a week to 10 days to dry the leaves. Once dry, gently shaking the dried bundle will cause pieces to break easily from the stem. Once dry, store herbs in an airtight glass jar.

What are some of your favorite herbs and what recipes to you add them too?

Comments

  1. Thanks for sharing this information! We buy cilantro weekly, as we make a lot of fresh salsa, but the cilantro usually goes slimy before we have a chance to use it up. We'll use this method for sure!

    We LOVE basil; growing it and turning it into basil pesto!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I didn't know that I could store them in water. I am also in zone five. I am growing parlsey x 2, marjoram, 2 types of basil, cilantro, chives, oregano x 3, thyme x2, 2 types of mint. I use the mint in sun tea. I make all of my own tomato and pizza sauce and some pasta sauce which is where a lot of my herbs go, but they also go in soups, stews, and roasts. I use lots of herbs for flavor and rarely use salt.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dear Rhoda,
    I enjoyed reading about your life in the ABOUT section. I, too, am a new blogger, and feel quite inept at it, but LOVE being creative. The Lord is most important, so I try not to get too stressed if it takes a long time to think through the daily challenges that come my way and them post something. I found you on titus2sday. Come over and visit me sometime at Deeprootsathome.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Cheryl and Kim, I'm so glad you could use the info! Jacqueline, thank-you, I am headed your way now!
    (for some reason, blogger keeps logging me out and isn't letting me reply to comments.... so sorry)

    Rhoda for srkindredspirits

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I'd love to hear your comments:

Popular posts from this blog

Shaklee Basic H - 1001 uses

Crochet Pattern for Christmas Tree Skirt

Shaklee Basic H for Agriculture Use