Can You Freeze Basil ?
Basil has a strong aroma and flavor. It is commonly used in many Italian dishes, such as tomato sauce for pasta, mozzarella and tomato salad, and pesto, where fresh basil leaves are used. Many people prefer to grow basil plant in their gardens. One can also purchase fresh basil from stores. However, during winters these become scarce, and then you have to be dependent on frozen basil leaves. |
Those who grow basil leaves in their gardens can freeze it and then use it whenever they want. There are many ways of freezing basil leaves.
The first thing you can try is chop the leaves coarsely and spread them evenly in the sections of the ice-cube tray. Then put some boiling water into these sections filling till top. Place this ice-cube tray in the freezer. Once the ice-cubes are totally frozen, take them out from the tray and store it in a freezer bag that has a zip on its top. Now whenever you need them, you can simply take out the cubes and use basil the way you wish. This process can be repeated many times in a year so, that you have enough stock always.
There is one more way of freezing basil leaves. The basil leaves can be carefully pulled off one at a time. Once you have pulled out all of them, place them in a colander. The leaves should then be cleaned under running cool water. The next thing to be done is to dry these leaves using paper towels. All these leaves should be allowed to dry completely. Now put the dried leaves in a freezer bag carefully and then close the bag tightly. Put the freezer bag in deep freezer and use the leaves whenever you want.
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