The Beginner's Guide to Preserving Food at Home - Janet Chadwick [43]
Freezing Herbs in Bags
Best and quickest method
To freeze herbs, gently wash freshly picked herbs, if necessary. Blot dry. Strip the leaves off the stalks and chop or leave whole. Pack into bags or containers, seal, and freeze.
Freezing Herb Pastes
A convenient way to preserve herbs is chopped and blended with enough oil to make a paste. This paste can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 month or frozen for up to 6 months. Herb pastes can be made into pesto — the traditional Italian herb paste made with basil, olive oil, parmesan cheese, and pine nuts — to dress pasta or add flavor to soups, stews, or salad dressings. A recipe for Pesto Pasta is found on page 206.
Coarsely chop 2 cups fresh herb leaves in a food processor.
Slowly drizzle in 1/3 cup high-quality olive or other salad oil while the motor is still running.
For immediate use, pack the herb paste in small jars; remove any air bubbles by running a knife through the mixture. Cover the top of the mixture with more oil to seal out any air, and refrigerate. For long-term storage, pack in jars, seal with oil, and freeze.
To have small quantities readily available for adding to a dish, drop by tablespoons onto waxed-paper-lined cookie sheets. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze. When frozen solid, place frozen mounds in a plastic bag, seal, and return to freezer.
tip Pesto is traditionally made with basil, but other herbs such as chervil, cilantro, dill, fennel, marjoram, mint, parsley, rosemary, sage, savory, and tarragon also make delicious pastes.
Freezing Herbs in Ice Cubes
Good product for soups and stews
Wash and dry the herbs. Chop and spoon into an ice cube tray. Pour water over them and freeze. Pop them out of the tray and into the cooking pot as needed.
Herbal Products
THE HARVEST SEASON FOR HERBS extends throughout the summer. Somehow it always seems like there’s enough time to make teas and vinegars, perhaps because they are usually made in small quantities. Also, you can make teas and vinegars with dried herbs, so even if the harvest season finds you flat out with gardening and preserving chores, you will probably be able to find some time during the year for making herb teas, vinegars, and jellies.
Herb Teas
Herb teas made from the dried leaves of herbs can be soothing or invigorating, spicy or mellow, good for serving hot or cold. It all depends on which herbs you select. There are no rules for combining herbs. You will have to experiment until you find a mix you like best.
Herb teas are usually steeped in hot water but not boiled. Simply place 1 teaspoon of dried herbs (or 1 tablespoon fresh herbs) into a tea strainer. Put this in a teacup and pour boiling water over it. Allow to steep for 5 to 7 minutes. Sweeten with honey or sugar, if desired.
Herb Vinegars
Herb-flavored vinegars add zing to a salad and provide a wonderful way to preserve the sprightly flavor of fresh herbs. Plus, they are very easy to make.
Select any herb, or combination of herbs, that you like. Wine vinegar is recommended as a base, as cider and white vinegars are so strongly flavored, they easily overpower the delicate herb flavor. As a general rule, white wine vinegar is used when color is important, such as with chive blossoms or opal basil, and red wine vinegar is used for strong flavors, such as basil, oregano, and garlic.
To make herb vinegar, follow these steps:
Sanitize the fresh herbs by briefly dipping them in a solution of 1 teaspoon household bleach and 6 cups of water. Rinse the herbs well and pat them dry. Place 1 cup of the prepared herbs in a sterilized quart jar. Pour 3 to 3½ cups vinegar heated to just below boiling (190°F) over the herbs.
Seal the jar and place in a cool, dark spot for 3 to 5 weeks. Shake the mixture every few days. Taste. If the mixture is too herbal, dilute with more vinegar. If the mixture