Freezing Dill & Cilantro
I very much LOVE both of these herbs! I cook with them as much as possible! I grow a ton of both in my garden every year - which is great during the Summer & Fall. But, the question was: How do I enjoy these fresh herbs year-round??
I have a sunny, west-facing room that I tried growing dill and cilantro in during the winter. I tried several times. Even with grow lights. Even with several grow lights. No luck.
In theory, it should work - but I just don't have any luck with it! I sometimes have some sparse dill or cilantro come up, but it's definitely not the wonderfully healthy dill and cilantro that I grow in my garden during the Summer and Fall months. Don't get me wrong - I won't give up - BUT, I needed another plan to be able to enjoy my own dill and cilantro year-round.
FREEZING DILL & CILANTRO
A little bit of research brought me to the method of freezing these tasty, fragrant herbs! I tried it, and it worked wonderfully!! And it's pretty easy to do. Here's how you do it:
First, wash up your herbs really well. I like to soak my herbs in a mixture of cool water and vinegar first - the vinegar will release and "float" any pesky bugs that may be clinging to the herbs. Vinegar is also supposed to help with releasing any pesticides and herbicides that your herbs may have come into contact with - this is especially important if you're freezing store-bought herbs that may have come into contact with a variety of things.
Rinse them well, a couple of times if needed. Then let them drain in a strainer and/or pat them dry, just so they are dry enough to work with.
easily. Fill the ice cube trays about 1/2 - 3/4 full with the chopped herbs. Pat them down with your finger or a teaspoon as much as possible.
Gently pour your liquid of choice into the ice cube trays. Again, try to pat down as much as you can so that the herbs sit as much under the liquid as possible. Place the ice cube trays onto a cookie sheet and set into the freezer as levelly as possible.
Once the herbs are frozen you can simply pop the ice cubes into a plastic bag or other airtight container and freeze. Be sure to mark what they are and when you froze them.
I find the average ice cube tray makes about 1.5 Tbsp cubes. This usually ends up being around 1 Tbsp of chopped herbs and about 1/2 Tbsp of liquid.
Pop these beautiful little cubes into your recipes as needed!
DRIED DILL AND CILANTRO
As a backup, I also keep a supply of Organic Watkins Dill and Cilantro on my spice rack. These are great to keep on hand for when you need dried herbs - eg. to sprinkle on garlic toast. Yum!