All the rain and sunshine the past few weeks have really helped the gardens grow! Our herbs, and especially the basil, have been growing so fast! We have used and shared our basil, but we still have more than we can use right now.
Fresh herbs are so fun to cook with during the summer, but most do not keep fresh very long after they are picked. You can keep basil fresh longer by placing the cut basil in a vase or jar of water. It is also so easy to propagate and then you can plant more.
What is the best way to preserve basil? Drying herbs is probably the most popular, but with basil, drying seems to totally change the flavor. I asked friends what methods they used and did some research, and found that freezing basil in olive oil may be the best way to preserve the taste of fresh basil. Then you can have it on hand all year.
One easy way to freeze the basil is to use ice cube trays. Harvest your basil, clean and let it dry. You will also need olive oil and sharp scissors or a knife.
Layer about 8 basil leaves on top of each other, roll them up tightly and then cut thin strips of the basil with sharp scissors or a knife.
Fill the sections of an ice cube tray with the sliced basil.
Then drizzle olive oil into each section, covering the basil. Freeze for about 8 hours.
Then pop out the frozen cubes of basil and olive oil and place them in freezer Ziploc bag.
I placed 2-3 cubes in snack sized bags and then placed them in quart Ziplock bag, so I could easily share them with my kids.
These basil cubes could be used in sauces, stir-fries, soups, salad dressings and more.
Another popular freezing method is to place unblanched basil leaves in a Ziplock bag. Harvest, clean and dry basil.
Place basil leaves in a freezer bag and remove as much air as possible. You can use a straw to suck the extra air out of the bag right before you close it completely.
I spread the basil leaves out before freezing.
This is what the basil looked like two weeks after freezing. You could remove as much basil as you need for your recipe and return the rest to the freezer.
Since the herbs are so plentiful this year, you might experiment and see what method works best for your type of cooking. I tried the same method as above, only covering the basil strips in the ice cube trays with water and processing the basil into a pesto.
Your choice would depend partially on how you want to use the basil, but I though that the basil preserved in the oil (on the left) tasted better and retained it texture more so than the basil preserved in the water (center). The pesto method tasted good, but I preferred the look of the strips.
All of the methods are easy to use, once frozen, place in freezer Ziplock bag. They should last up to 6 months in your freezer.
To freeze using the pesto method harvest, clean and dry basil. Remove stems. Combine about 1 cup of the fresh basil with 1/4 cup of olive oil in the food processor. Pulse to blend into a paste and then place in ice cube trays. Once frozen, pop out and place in freezer Ziplock bags.
I like to keep a little vase of basil by my kitchen sink – love that smell! Sometimes I stick in a few other herbs. Enjoy your garden produce!
