Basil, Parsley and Chives preserving
From the Cooks Garden
List of Ingredients
The soft leaves of basil, parsley, and chives actually preserve best by freezing instead of drying. The leaves have tiny places where they store oils that are the essence of the flavor and fragrance of the herbs. If you dry them out you cause most of the oil to evaporate. Other Herbs like Rosemary, Sage, Thyme, and Oregano dry very well and actually get stronger as they dry because the oils concentrate and condense in the leaves instead of evaporating. The best method for freezing Basil is to blend the fresh leaves with some olive or vegetable oil and then freeze them in a ice cube tray. When they are frozen, put them in a zip lock bag and then use them one at a time by defrosting just what you need. (If I'm making soup or sauce I don't even bother defrosting) The color tends to get very dark but the flavor really stays well. For Chives I generally just chop or snip them into small pieces and place them in a ziploc bag and throw them into the freezer. They hold very well. This method would also work for parsley but you might want to use the other method if you have a lot to store and like to use a lot when you cook. Drying herbs is even easier, lay them out in a basket in a single layer or between newspaper sheets and leave them for a few days. Depending upon the amount of humidity they should be dried within a few days.
Recipe
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