How To Store and Freeze Your Fresh Herbs

How to store fresh herbs

This can be a hotly contested subject, but our favourite (and best tested) methods come from Serious Eats. They say that the best practice for storing fresh herbs is:

Photo credit: Serious Eats

1. Washing them immediately in cold water
2. Dry them in a salad spinner and catch any excess with a paper towel
3. Roll up hardy herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage and chives) in a damp paper towel and seal in a zip lock bag before refrigerating
4. For tender herbs (parsley, coriander, dill, mint and tarragon) trim the bases and add them to a mason jar with an inch of water at the bottom. Seal the jar and refrigerate 
5. Basil is the exception and is happy to have its bases trimmed and store like a bunch of flowers in two inches of water out of direct sunlight 

The best way to store fresh herbs in the freezer

Photo credit: Serious Eats

The unfortunate truth is that you’re never going to retain 100% of the texture and flavour of fresh herbs when you freeze them, but the most effective methods seem to be either:

1. Chopping fresh herbs and freezing them flat in a zip lock bag
2. Or adding chopped fresh herbs to an icecube tray with either olive oil or a splash of water 

Simply add them to soups, stews or any other dinner as you wish.  They should be at their best for around two weeks. 

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!