Storing Herbs – In Ice Trays?!

When you think of storing herbs you don’t typically think of an ice tray.   I’ve seen it done a few different ways but here is the basic method.  This method seems to work well with high moisture herbs such as basil, parsley, cilantro, and chives.   Low moisture herbs are more like bay leaves and dill.  Remove the leaves and make sure they are clean.   Keep them whole or chop them up and put them in the ice trays part way.  Fill with water and freeze.  To prevent the herbs from floating to the top and being exposed to the air, only fill the trays half way with water and then freeze them.  Then add the rest of the water to finish filling the trays and freeze again.  When totally frozen, remove the cubes and store them in zip lock bags in the freezer.   It’s ingenious!

Some people say they last indefinitely, others say up to 6 months.   For myself, I would not say indefinitely, but even at 6-8 months that takes you through quite a few months you wouldn’t otherwise have had with fresh herbs.  The potency is a little less naturally, but not by much.

Tips: Use these “herb cubes” in stews, soups, sauces, or even stir fries.   I just did a recipe with parsley (my risotto with orzo recipe) and this would have been great to just pull out some cubes of parsley rather than having to buy them at the store.

Liz
Simple Italian Cooking.com

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