How to Freeze Fresh Herbs for Storage

12.06.2023 - 00:53 / gardenerspath.com / Lorna Kring

The bright taste of fresh herbs is a pleasure that both cooks and gardeners alike enjoy. There’s nothing quite like their heady fragrance and zesty flavor to add flair to a recipe!

Sadly, at summer’s end, much of our fresh but frost-tender seasonings go dormant.

But those fantastic flavors don’t have to disappear from our plates until next year. You can still enjoy the rich flavor of garden-fresh herbs – straight from the freezer!

Whether you have a bountiful garden harvest or simply can’t finish a large batch you bought from the market, freezing is easy and efficient – and it’s a great way to reduce food waste.

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In fact, it often does a better job of preserving flavor than drying does.

If you’ve got an abundant harvest, try one or all five of the best ways to freeze herbs, and continue to enjoy those vivid flavors year round!

Here’s what I’ll cover:

Freezing herbs is easy, economical, and it retains high levels of aroma and flavor.

Drying, or dehydrating, is another popular preservation method.

Unfortunately, drying doesn’t always hold the flavors as we’d like, since a large amount of the essential oils responsible for that flavor are lost via this method.

As plant cells and fibers dry out, most of the oils are expelled and evaporate. But freezing preserves the essential oils that give these kitchen favorites their deep flavors, intense fragrances, and exceptional nutritional value.

When they are frozen, herbs don’t look as pretty as they do when they are fresh – the leaves darken, and can be limp when thawed. So you won’t want to use them as a garnish or in a