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Freezing chives preserves the aroma
Chives are one of the herbs that simply taste fresh at its best. Nonetheless, from time to time it becomes necessary to stock up on larger quantities. Unlike many other kitchen herbs, chives, however, do not dry. Its characteristic aroma as well as the contained vitamins are preserved only when freezing.
Previous article Easily overwinter chives outsideHarvest chives
If you only want to use the tender, green stalks of the chive, then you should harvest them before flowering. Flower-bearing stalks become hard and very firm, they also lose their aroma and instead take on a bitter taste. For this reason, you should cut down the chives regularly to prevent the plant from blooming. In that case, you can finally harvest chives all year round. However, both the flowers and the buds of chives are edible - try it!
Prepare chives
First of all, sort the cut chives: Use only those that look crisp green and healthy, wither stalks should be sorted out. Now thoroughly wash the stems under running water and then dab them dry with a clean kitchen towel. Then cut the stalks with a sharp kitchen or herb scissors into ready-to-use rolls. Incidentally, a freezing of whole stalks is not recommended, because these can not be cut after thawing.
Freeze the chives
Now the prepared chives can be frozen, for which several methods are available.
1. Fill the rolls in larger quantities with a closable tin or a freezer bag. The chives remain loose when frozen, even when frozen, so you can easily remove the quantities you need.
2. Instead, the chives can also be frozen in portions: Fill the desired amount in the individual compartments of an ice cube container or in similarly small containers. For better stability, you can replenish the herbs with water or a good vegetable oil (eg for a later salad dressing).
3. You can also, depending on your personal taste, put together a herb mixture (possibly even with chopped onions and / or garlic) and freeze them. This means that you already have a ready-to-use mixture for cooking - for sauces or soups, for example.
Make a chive butter ready and freeze it in portions - delicious with a juicy piece of steak from the pan or grill.
Frozen chives should be used within six months if possible - after which they lose a lot of flavor. Incidentally, the aromatic flowers can also be frozen in the same way, only the buds should be inserted.
Tips & Tricks
Frozen chives should not be thawed prior to use, as this will burst the cell walls and eventually make the rolls mushy and tasteless.
IJA