So you freeze fresh basil perfectly

Content

• So you freeze fresh basil perfectly
• Careful preparation is half the battle
• Blanch fresh basil and freeze - that's how it works
• Quickly freeze the king's cabbage - this is how it works
• The gourmet method - purée basil and freeze
• Tips & Tricks

So you freeze fresh basil perfectly

Occasionally a richer harvest of fresh basil is available than can be used in the kitchen. Professional freezing serves as an effective method of preservation. Which approaches have proven to be, you can find out here.

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Careful preparation is half the battle

So that basil preserves its unique aroma after freezing, preparation plays an important role. Harvest entire shoots just before flowering during the morning hours. Once royal weed flowers, the leaflets quickly acquire a bitter taste. To prepare basil properly then:

Now sort all brown leaves as well as otherwise damaged specimens. Shredding king cabbage already during the preparation has a tremendously reducing effect on the aroma. Leave the leaves in one piece and cut them shortly after thawing just before preparation.

Blanch fresh basil and freeze - that's how it works

In order to freeze royal herb, it is blanched in advance. First, fill a bowl with cold water, add some ice cubes and set aside. Then fill a kettle with water and bring it to a boil. The prepared basil leaves are placed in a slotted spoon. This is dipped for 5 to a maximum of 10 seconds in the boiling water and immediately afterwards in the ice water.

As a result, a little patience is needed, because the blanched herb leaves should dry on spread paper towels. After 10 to 15 minutes it goes on like this:

In this way, you can freeze the king cabbage in the freezer to save space. If basil is preserved in this way, the herb can be used for a period of 6 to 12 months.

Quickly freeze the king's cabbage - this is how it works

It may be a little at the expense of the aroma, but in high speed. To freeze basil very quickly, you can do it without blanching. These variants are available for selection:

Frozen in ice cube form, this variant has the advantage of an uncomplicated dosage for later preparation. A basil ice cube corresponds in dosage to one tablespoon. If a recipe requires two tablespoons of royal cabbage, you will need to remove two ice cubes from the freezer.

The gourmet method - purée basil and freeze

With olive oil, basil enters into a wonderful partnership that makes gourmets rejoice. This applies to all types of basil, such as the exotic Thai basil or the savage wild basil. In order to get this delicious treat all year long, we recommend the following method of freezing:

Once the chopped cabbage has reached the desired consistency, turn off the food processor and put the mixture in small freezer boxes. Instead of olive oil, you can also use water, whereupon a spicy sorbet is created in the freezer.

Tips & Tricks

If the freezer is already full, basil can be stored in other ways. Pickled in white wine vinegar, preserve leaves and flowers for many years. Dried in an air-ravaged place, royal herb also serves as an aromatic spice for a long time.

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