If I Could Save Thyme in a Freezer Bag

With apologies to Jim Croce, sometimes we get a lot of herbs in our CSA share (Basil, you know who we’re talking about). There was parsley last week, and thyme’s time is coming. Drying herbs is a tried-and-true method of preservation, but CSA member Suellyn Shupe recently did a little research to find out you can freeze herbs almost as easily as you can other things we get in abundance (that would be you, Beans).

The process is simple and straightforward (and, of course, available on the Internet):

1. Select fresh and tender herbs to freeze. In most cases, you’ll need to remove the leaves from the stem and discard the stem, although sprigs of herbs such as thyme and dill, which do not have thick stems, can be frozen whole.

2. Wash the herbs with just a little water as possible (you can even brush them off with a towel or vegetable brush rather than using any water), to retain as much of their essential oils and flavor as possible. If you do use water, put the herbs in a salad spinner or pat dry gently with paper towels to remove excess water.

3. Now, “to blanch or not to blanch, that is the question.” To blanch herbs, you simply pour boiling water over them in a strainer, but there isn’t any need to blanch herbs—except for basil. Basil leaves turn black in a very short time if they are not blanched. When you do blanch herbs, remove the excess water as in Step 2 afterwards.

4. Place the herbs in separate freezer bags, labeled with type of herb and dated (don’t mix different types of herbs in one bag). Frozen herbs keep for about six months.

A few other notes: You can also chop up the herbs and place them in ice cube trays. Then fill the trays with water and freeze. Label the trays with a permanent marker to show the type of herb and date frozen.

When using your frozen herbs in your cooking to flavor soups, sauces, and so forth, break off the amount you need. Just drop in the frozen herbs and stir them in as they melt. If you want to use them in a salad, just run a little hot water over them to start the thawing process. You can also freeze mints and stevia in ice cube trays and then use the ice cubes directly in your tea.

A caution: Never freeze herbs that have been treated with pesticides or other chemicals.

And, for more information, go to “How to Preserve Herbs by Freezing,” http://www.ehow.com/how_5202090_preserve-herbs-freezing.html#ixzz1y53lKXwz