2024 Author: Jasmine Walkman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 08:29
Fresh basil is one of the most delicious and useful herbs, but it does not retain its color and aroma for long when dried. Fortunately, there are others, better ways to preserve basil.
Freezing and blanching
If you put a stalk basil in the freezer, it will be a discolored slurry when thawed. This is because the enzymes that break down fresh plant material can survive low temperatures and act on food, even when refrigerated. Blanching kills these enzymes. To blanch fresh basil, follow these steps.
Bring a large glass of water to a boil. Prepare a large bowl of ice water.
Once the water boils, dip the basil in it - just until it relaxes. This should not take more than a few seconds. You do not want to take away the aroma of basil, but simply kill these enzymes.
As soon as you remove the basil, immediately transfer it to the ice water. This eliminates the residual heat that would otherwise continue to cook it.
Put the basil in a dry place. Remove the leaves from the stems and transfer them to freezer bags and freeze.
Freeze basil or pesto oil
After blanching, cooling and drying the basil, remove the leaves from the stems. Put them in a blender or food processor and puree them, adding enough olive oil to make a smooth, somewhat liquid paste, or just use blanched leaves to make your favorite pesto recipe before freezing.
It is better to freeze in small containers or boxes so that you do not have to defrost the whole amount afterwards.
Freezing pesto or herb oil in ice cube trays
Alternatively, fill the ice cube tray with your butter or pesto. Freeze, then remove the cubes and transfer to refrigerated containers (or freezer bags). Each cube will be approximately 1 tablespoon of basil or pesto oil.
Basil salt
Basil salt is delicious in pasta sauce recipes and on seed salads. Just leave out any other salt required for your recipe and use basil salt.
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