Vokar
Blooming
Posts: 183
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Post by Vokar on Oct 2, 2019 1:33:11 GMT -5
I've frozen chives, bunching onion greens, and garlic greens before, but I never really thought about freezing other herbs before. I thought about drying them, preserving them in salt, pickling them, etc., but yeah. Freezing seems like such an obvious option, if you plan to use it within a couple years. So, I harvested most of my epazote leaves, and thought about how to dry them. Then I realized I could freeze them instead. Hopefully they're still good frozen. I've got a gallon freezer bag of them. So, I suppose I could freeze basil, oregano, summer savory, tarragon, mint, catnip, and all kinds of things. Do any of you freeze your herbs? My epazote ready to freeze:
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Post by tom π on Oct 2, 2019 8:21:20 GMT -5
I harvested most of my epazote leaves, and thought about how to dry them. I dry mine indoors on a window screen supported by jugs for air circulation underneath. To use, I pull out the stem, wad up the leaf, and cut it into small pieces with kitchen shears. I'm using one leaf a day on fish.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Oct 2, 2019 14:35:44 GMT -5
I used to freeze herbs, before the hydro, and what I did with basil was to wash it, spin dry it, then grind it in a food processor, with just enough neutral oil to make it into a paste. I'm not a fan of frozen pesto, as the raw garlic gets an off flavor. I would do this with regular basil and Thai basil, then freeze the paste in those little popsicle molds I got in a dollar store. When I needed basil flavor in something, I'd pull out one of these, and swish it in a sauce, to get enough of the basil melted into it, then stick it back in the popsicle mold, and back in the freezer.
Foodsaver works great for freezing herbs. I still have some hoja santa that I grew 4 years ago (!), and it's still good!
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Post by desertwoman on Oct 2, 2019 16:54:19 GMT -5
I'm not a fan of frozen pesto, as the raw garlic gets an off flavor. I make my pesto, for freezing, without the garlic and then simply add the garlic after I defrost a container.
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Vokar
Blooming
Posts: 183
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Post by Vokar on Oct 2, 2019 17:46:28 GMT -5
pepperhead212, What's a hydro? And what's Foodsaver? I'm planning to look those up right after I finish here. Okay, I looked. I'm not sure what the hydro is, but it looks like Foodsaver is one of those things that vaccuum seals plastic bags.
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Vokar
Blooming
Posts: 183
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Post by Vokar on Oct 2, 2019 17:50:30 GMT -5
pepperhead212, desertwoman, On the line of freezing garlic, it's a good idea to freeze it in glass containers. The smell can go through plastic and make your freezer smell like garlic. I've had that happen before. If it's just a small amount, I don't know that it matters. Garlic greens can be frozen in plastic without problems. I like garlic greens on pizza. They remind me a bit of artichokes.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Oct 2, 2019 20:19:50 GMT -5
Sorry Vokar. The hydro is my short for the hydroponics I set up to grow herbs and greens in, during the off season. In fact, I just did that (or started doing it) today. I'll post photos elsewhere. I don't freeze garlic. I just let it hang in my basement.
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Post by desertwoman on Oct 2, 2019 20:50:16 GMT -5
Vokar, I don't freeze garlic either. It hangs from a beam at the edge of the kitchen. We were talking about freezing pesto, with or without garlic in it. I have found, like pepperhead, that if I freeze pesto with raw garlic in it , the garlic flavor turns unfavorably. Better to add it later. I don't find the garlic gets an odd flavor if it's cooked, however- like in pasta sauce.
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Post by ahntjudy on Oct 26, 2019 20:16:57 GMT -5
Vokar ...I roll up parsley leaves in Saran wrap into a big cigar-like log and freeze it... Then when the log is frozen, you just unroll it, slice or shave off as much as you need and freeze the rest right back up...It's incredibly fresh tasting... Same thing with dill...
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