How To Freeze Herbs For Winter

How to freeze herbs for winter- an easy tutorial to help you preserve some of your favorite herbs for the cold season.

How to freeze herbs for winter

It is that time of the year when I start freezing different herbs for winter.

I do not know about you, but I hate spending money during the colder months on organic parsley, therefore I always take advantage of the Farmers Market in the summer and stock up on my favorite herbs.

Maybe it's not the perfect solution, but definitely it's economical.

After all, why not take advantage of the fresh produce you can find at the Farmers Market during the short summer we have here in Minnesota and can or freeze as much as possible?

Growing up in Romania, we always prepared for winter. Many years ago, when supermarkets did not exist, people used to take advantage of the Farmers Market in the summer and buy vegetables and fruits that would become the main supply of food for the winter months.

I usually freeze parsley, cilantro, celery leaves, mint, rosemary and dill. These are the herbs I use the most and like them in a raw form in my soups and dishes I make over the winter.

The rest of the herbs I use are usually in a dried form.

There are many ways to freeze the herbs, but my favorite way is the simple way.

How To Freeze Herbs For Winter:

Step 1.Wash the herbs really well and remove the stems. I like to use only the leaves.

• Remove the water as much as possible with towels, then wrap them in paper towels and put them in plastic bags that go in the freezer.
• Wrap them in batches, usually only the amount you might use for a recipe.

The herbs are safe in the freezer for 4-6 months.

NOTE: Plain frozen herb leaves are not great as a garnish on a salad, as they can be limp compared to fresh ones, but I often mix them into the dressing to spice it up.

I put them in soups, hot dishes or stews and I just love them!

A few days ago, we were walking around the neighborhood when we saw the community garden.

We went to check it out and while we were admiring the beautiful tomatoes, peppers and eggplants among other herbs and flowers, we met a neighbor who was attending his vegetable garden.

He offered us a celery plant, so I brought it home, cleaned it up, separate the leaves from the stalks, freeze the leaves and stored the stalks in the fridge.

I used the stalks for snacking on them, or for soups and salads.

Here are the steps:

The process is very simple and you can always enjoy a little bit of your summer treasures during the winter, while making delicious meals. Enjoy!

Here is a picture for you to pin for later use:

If you liked this tutorial, you might like this other way of preserving herbs for the winter: How To Salt Preserve Herbs For the winter. I use both methods every year and always have flavorful herbs for the dishes I make.