• Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Portfolio
  • Services
  • Contact
  • Nav Social Menu

    Let’s Connect

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest

River Studio Design

Where style meets functionality

You are here: Home / Blog / Preserving Herbs: Getting The Most From Your Crop

Preserving Herbs: Getting The Most From Your Crop

Blog, Lifestyle

1 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet
Here are the two pots that I have with thriving herbs in them.
Here are the two pots that I have with thriving herbs in them.

Have you ever tried preserving herbs? I planted herbs in the spring, and now they are thriving. The problem is, that I will never use them all before they wilt away or die from frost. Are you in the same boat?

I planted these garden boxes in the spring with cumbers, tomatoes, lettuce and cabbage. The pots of herbs were separate from this, located by our back door.

I am determined this year, to find a way of preserving herbs that will make them easy to use.

The Plan for Preserving Herbs

Here are the I two different methods of preserving herbs that I decided upon. For the first one, I am freezing some herbs separately, so that they can be used when an individual spice is required. For the second one, I am making multi-spice herb balls. (that is my own term and I am coining it right now).

In my case, the herbs that I am dealing with are cilantro, basil, oregano, chives and rosemary.

Preparation

I started by cutting the herbs and discarding the bad parts
I started by cutting the herbs and discarding the bad parts

For both, the initial labour related to preserving herbs was the same. I had to pick all the herbs, wash and dry them.

First, I washed the herbs. Then, I spun them in the salad spinner. Next, I laid the herbs out on paper towel to dry. The quantity was amazing when the herbs were all spread out drying in the kitchen. My salad spinner is from Costco . It seems to be currently unavailable. But there are lots of good salad spinners on amazon.

.

I dried the herbs in stages, one herb at at time, to make it more manageable in the kitchen. This was a surprising amount of work. As each herb dried, I separated them into two groups: the ones that would be frozen on their own and the ones to be combined with others.

Straight Freezing

There was really a lot of cilantro. To use it, I added a bit to both of my spice ball combinations, but I laid the rest on trays and froze it. This worked surprisingly well as I used it in meat balls. It doesn’t matter that the cilantro was a bit soft when thawed.

I had a lot of cilantro so I washed and dried it and put it on  trays to freeze
I had a lot of cilantro so I washed and dried it and put it on trays to freeze

Herb Ball Combinations

As for the herb balls, I made two separate bowls. The Italian bowl included basil, oregano and a bit of cilantro (this is in place of Italian parsley). For the savoury balls I added basil, oregano, chives, rosemary and cilantro. I gave the contents of each of these bowls a few turns in the food processor. The goal was to finely chopped but not puree.

I used the food processor to lightly chop but not puree the herbs.
I used the food processor to lightly chop but not puree the herbs.

Freezing as a Way of Preserving Herbs

When I was done, I filled up ice cube trays. I then, added a little bit of oil so they wouldn’t dry out. Water or broth also works well. I like the protection against drying that the oil gives. I already had ice cube trays but, these silicone ones from amazon would make it easy to pop out the frozen herbs.

Herb combinations in ice cube trays
Herb combinations in ice cube trays

I stuck them in the freezer overnight. Once they were frozen, I popped them into a ziplock bags and labelled them. I am so happy that by preserving herbs I will have these combinations accessible in the freezer.

Thawing

As for thawing, you can completely thaw them and then add to your dish. I like this way, as the freshness of the herbs in preserved and you get more flavour. Alternatively, you could add a frozen ball to a dish that you were cooking for a long period and surely it would thaw.

I now have a wide variety of herbs in my freezer to use all winter. What will I use them in you ask? Well not in things fresh like a salad. But, they can be used in so many cooked things from soups to stews and sauces.

Putting the Preserved Herbs to Use

The herb balls were big hit on top of roasted potatoes recently and they would taste as good on any roasted vegetable, as well. To make this, I first roasted the potatoes. Near the end of the cooking time, I sautéed garlic and a couple of chopped spanish onions from our garden. I heated up the savoury spices and mixed it all together. It was so good.

Delicious roasted potatoes with garlic and Spanish onions from the garden and the savoury herb combination added
Delicious roasted potatoes with garlic and Spanish onions from the garden and the savoury herb combination added

If you give this a try, let me know how it works out for you.

Always

Leslie

River Studio Design Logo
River Studio Design Logo
Tweet
Pin1
Share3
4 Shares

24/09/2019 · 20 Comments

Previous Post: « How to Decorate a Room
Next Post: GET PAID TO WORK WITH YOUR DREAM BRANDS »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. bandar12 says

    28/09/2019 at 7:32 AM

    Ꭼverytrһing іs very open with a clear clarification of the challenges.
    It was really informаtive. Your website is very
    helpful. Many thanks foг ѕhaгing! http://iranblog.org/blog/?p=20812

    Reply
    • Riverstudiodesign says

      02/10/2019 at 8:04 AM

      Thank you.

      Reply
  2. bandar12 says

    28/09/2019 at 9:04 AM

    Exϲelⅼent pоst but I was wanting to know iff you could rite a lіtte more on this topic?
    I’d be ery thankful if you coulld еlaborate ɑ lіttle bit further.
    Many thanks! http://hezenghui.s133.cnaaa7.com/comment/html/?357581.html

    Reply
    • Riverstudiodesign says

      02/10/2019 at 8:05 AM

      Thank you. I am not sure I have much more to say. Did you have a specific question?

      Reply
  3. harga spandek pasir says

    28/09/2019 at 2:36 PM

    bookmarkeɗ!!, I really likе your website! https://Searchgatein.com/author/princeharad/

    Reply
    • Riverstudiodesign says

      02/10/2019 at 8:06 AM

      Thank you so much.

      Reply
  4. harga atap spandek says

    28/09/2019 at 5:30 PM

    Hello, jᥙst wanted ttο say, I lіked this рost.
    It was funny. Keep on poѕtіng! http://www.hodderhomes.ca/?option=com_k2&view=itemlist&task=user&id=371151

    Reply
    • Riverstudiodesign says

      02/10/2019 at 8:06 AM

      Thank you so much.

      Reply
  5. bandar12 says

    28/09/2019 at 11:22 PM

    Very soօn this site will be famous amopng all bloցginhg and site-building visitors,
    due tοо it’s nice articles http://tzrspa.com/comment/html/?23153.html

    Reply
    • Riverstudiodesign says

      02/10/2019 at 8:07 AM

      Thank you.

      Reply
  6. info lengkap says

    29/09/2019 at 1:16 AM

    Hi! Wouⅼd yoս mind if I share your blog with my facebook groսp?
    Theгe’s a lot of people tyat I think would really enjoy your content.

    Pleaѕe let mee know. Maany thanks http://mthermshop.com/comment/html/?226165.html

    Reply
    • Riverstudiodesign says

      02/10/2019 at 8:08 AM

      That would be much appreciated. Thanks so much. Could you copy me?

      Reply
  7. kunjungi situs says

    30/09/2019 at 11:56 PM

    Just want tto say your аrticle is aɑs surprising. The clеarness to your put up is simply great and that i could assume you arе
    a professional in this subject. Fine with your permission aⅼlow me
    to ɡrab your feed to stay uppdateԀ with drawing close post.
    Thank you 1,000,000 and pⅼease ҝeep up the enjoyable wߋrk. http://yoriyorifood.com/xxxx/spacial/6323941

    Reply
    • Riverstudiodesign says

      02/10/2019 at 8:08 AM

      Thank you so much

      Reply
  8. Graphic T Shirt Women's says

    07/10/2019 at 5:58 AM

    Incredіble points. Sοund arguments. Keep up the good work. http://hhzpcx.com/comment/html/?151627.html

    Reply
    • Riverstudiodesign says

      07/10/2019 at 9:58 AM

      Thank you.

      Reply
  9. Erna says

    12/01/2020 at 3:26 PM

    Do you have a spam problem on this site; I also am a blogger, and I was wanting to know your situation; many of us
    have created some nice methods and we are looking
    to trade methods with others, why not shoot me an email
    if interested.

    Reply
    • Riverstudiodesign says

      13/01/2020 at 3:11 PM

      I do have a spam problem. Lots of spam followers and I get messages saying that my password has been changed. Do you have that problem?

      Reply
  10. mobile legends hack says

    22/02/2020 at 11:05 AM

    Greetings, I think your site could possibly be having web browser compatibility problems.

    When I take a look at your blog in Safari, it looks fine
    however, when opening in I.E., it has some overlapping issues.
    I simply wanted to give you a quick heads up!
    Apart from that, wonderful site!

    Reply
    • Riverstudiodesign says

      02/03/2020 at 2:30 PM

      thanks for the heads up

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You have to agree to the comment policy.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Latest on Instagram

Follow on Instagram

Lets connect!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest

About

My name is Leslie Buchanan-Jones. I love design and all things beautiful that function well. I am a mom of three thriving young adults and am married to an awesome Welshman. Follow me on my journey.

Subscribe for tips and tricks on making your house a beautiful and functional home!

Footer

Join us!

Subscribe for tips and tricks on making your house a beautiful and functional home!

Privacy Policy Disclosures

About

Contact

 

Let’s Connect

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest

Copyright © 2023 · anchored theme by Restored 316

1 shares