One reason I chose to write One Shade Greener at Home was to continue to learn and push my progress on creating a lighter environmental impact and healthier home.
This post highlights a tip that I came across when thinking about waste in the kitchen.
I love to use fresh herbs when cooking, but I end up feeling wasteful. They are expensive and I end up throwing half of what I buy into the compost bin because they go bad before I use them up. This is both financial and food waste!
I know that you can dry herbs and reuse them that way, but I typically don’t take the time to do this.
So, during the research I came across the idea of freezing herbs. The process was really easy and is my new go-to.
How to Freeze Herbs
The process is really simple. All you need are herbs, water, and an ice cube tray.
- Chop up all your remaining herbs.
- Place them in an ice cube tray.
- Add water to fill to the top of the herbs.
- Freeze for 24 hours.
Finally, you just pop the cubes out of the tray and store in a freezer bag.
To use the herbs, you can drop a cube into a pot of soup or something cooking on the stove. If you would like less water, you can get a cube out early, let it melt and drain the excess water.
Herbs that Freeze Well
There are a lot of herbs that freeze well including basil, cilantro, chives, mint, oregano, and sage. The photos in this post were from cilantro. To date, I’ve personally only frozen basil and cilantro, but both worked very well.
Another freezer technique that I read about, but haven’t tried is freezing herbs on the stem. This is recommended for bay, rosemary, and thyme.
Your Turn
Do you find yourself with herbs going bad before getting used?
Have you tried freezing herbs?
Which herbs might you try first?