Make Ice Cube Herbs
Freeze fresh cut herbs in coconut oil or olive oil in these 3 easy steps!
Fresh herbs are a culinary flavor booster. Whether you have a container of your favorite herb on the patio, a lavish outdoor herb garden, or you purchased cut herbs from a local market, you can freeze culinary herbs and oil into cubes for future cooking convenience.
Materials and Method
Besides your choice of fresh herbs, you’ll need paper towels, a sharp knife or kitchen scissors, a cutting board, ice cube trays, melted coconut oil or olive oil, freezer bags, and a permanent marker.
Step 1. Harvest fresh herbs. Wash and dry on paper towels. Using kitchen scissors or a knife, dice culinary herbs.
Step 2. Fill each compartment of an ice cube tray with one herb, such as basil, or a favorite cooking combination, such as basil, parsley, and oregano.
Pour melted extra virgin coconut oil or olive oil on top of the herbs and place the filled ice cube trays in the freezer.
Step 3. Once frozen, transfer cubes from trays into freezer storage bags. Label contents and return to freezer.
Remove a cube or two from the freezer and melt in skillet or pot as needed. Use when cooking: soup bases, sauces, stir-fry, fajitas, and omelets.
Pesto Cubes
Use our pesto recipe with just about any herb you like. Divide it up into trays, and freeze. Then drop a cube or two into hot pasta and you’ve got dinner in minutes!
Deborah Tukua
Deborah Tukua is a natural living, healthy lifestyle writer and author of 7 non-fiction books, including Pearls of Garden Wisdom: Time-Saving Tips and Techniques from a Country Home, Pearls of Country Wisdom: Hints from a Small Town on Keeping Garden and Home, and Naturally Sweet Blender Treats. Tukua has been a writer for the Farmers' Almanac since 2004.
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Deborah Tukua#molongui-disabled-link
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Deborah Tukua#molongui-disabled-link
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Deborah Tukua#molongui-disabled-link
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Deborah Tukua#molongui-disabled-link
You should use them now….
😉
Is there an advantage to using oil or coconut instead of water???
Hi Julie, many people use water as well, it’s really just a preference. And if you’re making a sauce, for example, adding a little flavor with the oil is just a bonus.
This also works for citrus zest, lemon, lie or orange. Use water instead of oil. Easy to do when you are squeezing fresh juice. Zest the fruit before juicing. Freeze zest by tablespoons in water in Ice Cube tray and you will always have zest on hand.
I’ve done this with mint and water also and it worked very well but seemed to take up too much space in the freezer. So now I’m using freezer bags, laying the herbs flat, covering with oil, pressing the air out, and sealing. It’s now easier to break off the desired amount and it didn’t use as much oil.
Coconut oil I guess if u like the xtra flavor it adds. Olive oil, discovering more issues there. My personal opinion, purified water best bet.
Joanne, Coconut oil is solid when it is room temperature or cooler, Simular to crisco. That’s why it has to be melted to pour.
Joanne, Coconut oil has a consistency similar to Crisco or lard when it is kept cool. During the summer, or when heated, coconut oil melts, turning to a liquid that is easy to pour.
Why melt the oil as it is already liquid?
This is a great idea. I have frozen herbs in water but the oil sounds better. Will try.
I did this last year with Basil. Used the last of it in May. It was fresh tasting then. So, at least 9 mo. Hope this helps😄
How long will they stay good in the freezer?