Greenin’ Up

By SHARON L HAGEMANN, ND, DO, CH

Herbs: freeze more flavor

While drying may be the traditional way to freeze herbs, many modern cooks have discovered that freezing holds the flavor better. So, just how do you freeze herbs? Are they... shudder... yet another food you’re going to have to blanch?

After experimenting with three methods—blanching herbs before freezing, skipping the blanching but freezing the herbs in ice cube trays of water and just freezing them raw, my conclusion is that you can make a noticeable improvement if you blanch or make ice cubes. Fresh-frozen herbs lose flavor, color or both. Basil, frozen raw, turned terribly bitter, while thyme isn’t much of an improvement on dried. The other herbs frozen without special treatment (chervil, chives and cilantro) were at least better than the dried versions, but nowhere near as good as the blanched or ice-cube herbs. The difference is great enough to convince me to continue blanching my herbs.

Don’t let the idea of blanching discourage you. The process for herbs is very simple. Bunch stems together. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. With kitchen tongs, hold the bunch of herbs and swirl them about in the boiling water. In a few seconds (as soon as the herb’s color turns brighter), remove, and shake off the water. Place in a single layer on towels, to cool. Remove stems where appropriate (i.e. dill or basil), but keep leaves whole so they’ll be easier to handle later. Lay the herbs in a single layer on waxed paper, then roll or fold so that there is a layer of paper between each layer of herbs. Put into a freezer bag and freeze immediately. To use, break off the amount of herb needed, chop and add to your recipe as you would fresh herbs. The herbs may also be thawed in the refrigerator, where they will stay in good shape for up to one week.

If you prepare a lot of soups, stews and sauces, ice cubes may be more convenient, since you can simply toss in the whole cube. (A note of caution: Beware of thawing the cube for other types of dishes, since some of the flavor will be lost in the water that drains off.) Remove the leaves from the stems of fresh herbs, chop and pack into ice cube trays. Cover them with cold water and place in the freezer. Once frozen, remove the cubes from the tray and store in freezer bags.