Your freezer is your friend. What would pesto be without basil, for instance? Probably delicious, but not the same. But herbs, particularly the tender green ones, are also quite fragile.
This is particularly true for herbs with woodier stems, which require fairly minimal processing to hold up for a long time. If you store them properly, you can get a lot of use out of even a small clipping. First up, look at your herbs. Some common varieties in this category include basil, parsley, mint, dill, tarragon, and cilantro.
These are herbs like rosemary, thyme, and sage. Fall weather is finally here in full force, and most gardens are on their last leg, if not already retired. Of course, the best way to keep herbs fresh is to pick them straight from the ground. But not all of us are blessed with a green thumb, and soon it will be too cold to grow herbs outside.
So I thought this would be a great time to share how I store fresh herbs. This technique can be applied to store-bought herbs or herbs picked from your garden. Tender herbs have soft stems and leaves like, cilantro, parsley, and basil; tarragon also can fall into this category. Hard herbs have a woody stem, like rosemary, thyme, marjoram and oregano. Some say not to wash herbs because it adds moisture, but the truth is, when you bring herbs home from the supermarket, they are already wet.
It has been my experience that herbs do best when washed under cold water and spun in a salad spinner. Washing and spinning them removes any debris or germs that will feed decay. This is especially true for tender leafy herbs. After the herbs have been washed and spun in the salad spinner, trim the ends of the stems. Remove any wilted or browned leaves. Place in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator or resealable bag to restrict oxygen from entering and avoid wilting. If you have a larger amount of herbs, you may want to bundle smaller batches individually to better control moisture levels.
Make sure to re-moisten the paper towels as they become dry over time. Proper care of your fresh herbs will extend shelf life upwards of two to three weeks. Bundle your herbs with a rubber band, place in a paper lunch bag with holes for aeration and hang upside down in a warm, dry room until they are crisp to the touch and crumble easily. Alternatively, you can freeze your clean, fresh roughly chopped herbs in ice cube trays, filled with olive oil or water. These individually portioned herb cubes will be good to go just over eight hours and can be preserved for months for anytime use.
By Maki Yazawa Updated March 02, Save FB Tweet More.
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