Tag Archive for: ice cube trays

Preserve Fresh Herbs By Freezing Into Ice Cubes

,
fresh herbs

I love growing herbs in my garden and one of the reasons is that they thrive in our hot, dry summers with minimal fuss.

I must admit that I sometimes forget to make use of my fresh herbs, or sometimes I have more than I need. Some frost-tender herbs like basil don’t grow in winter in my garden – so either I have too much in the summer and almost none at all in winter.

Well, no more! Did you know that you could freeze your fresh herbs so you could use them during the winter months?

I tried this with my chives earlier this summer and it was so easy to do.

Here is how to do it:

Choose your favorite herb…

Chopping herbs

 Wash them.

chopped herbs

Chop them into the desired size.

chopped herbs

I just love chives.

chopped herbs

Place your chopped herbs into an ice cube tray, filling up each one about 3/4 of the way full.

Freezing herbs

Fill up with water, taking care to allow a little room for expansion since water expands when it freezes.

Put in your freezer for a few hours.  

herb cubes

Freezing herbs

Once frozen, pop out your ‘herb cubes’ and put them in a freezer container or plastic container and store in your freezer.

herb cubes

Freezing herbs

Now, whenever you need fresh herbs when you cook, add a few ice cubes to your favorite sauce.  

**You can also freeze herbs into ice cubes using olive oil instead of water, if desired.

Another great way to preserve herbs is to dry them.I talked about how to do this in an earlier post –  “How to Grow and Dry Herbs”

Making the Most Out of a Sour Gift…

Living close to Double S Farms, my mother’s residence, means that we get to enjoy some of the bounty from her large lemon tree.

My nephew, Oliver, helping with the lemon harvest.

My nephew, Oliver, helping with the lemon harvest.

 Now, I could grow own lemon tree in my back garden, but I really don’t need to since my mother has more lemons then she knows what to do with.

lemon

Unfortunately, lemons don’t grow year round and I am stuck getting mine at the grocery store.

Have you seen how much a single lemon costs at the grocery store?

I can’t remember the exact amount, I just know that it is a lot.

So, whether you have a ready supply of lemons fresh off the tree, or even if you have to buy yours at the grocery store

– here are some tips to make the most of each lemon:

lemon

Let’s say that you have a recipe that calls for the juice of half a lemon.  Well, after spending up to a $1 a lemon, the last thing you want to do is throw away the other half, so why don’t you save the juice?

lemon juice

Whenever I get lemons from Double S Farms, I juice them and pour the juice into ice cube trays.  Then I freeze the ice cubes and then remove the frozen cubes of lemon juice and store in a plastic freezer storage bag in my freezer.

Then whenever I need a bit of lemon for cooking, all I have to do is grab a frozen cube of lemon.

In addition to saving lemon juice, did you know that you can also save and freeze lemon zest?

lemon zest

Now this step should be done before you cut and juice your lemons.

I actually forgot this step until it was too late, but I was still able to zest a somewhat squishy juiced lemon, although I wouldn’t recommend it.

Remove the outer yellow skin of your lemon using a microplane tool.  Take care not to remove the white of the peel, which is bitter.

lemon zest

Store your lemon zest in a plastic freezer bag and put in your freezer.  Whenever you need lemon zest, just grab a little.

Whether you want to make the most out of your expensive lemon purchase or if you want to preserve your yearly bounty of fresh lemons, try out these tips.