I’m happily living in Fantasy Land right now…
I’m in full garden-bliss at the moment. Winter’s not coming this year, y’all. It’s gonna be fresh veggies 24/7, a happy green garden, and a thriving herb garden year round. One can dream, right? While we’re dreaming, let’s preserve some herbs in olive oil, shall we?
Yeah right.
Reality check– winter will be here before I know it. And yes, my happy green plants will be buried under a blanket of snow.
Therefore, it’s time to get preserving.
I always try to grow herbs indoors during the winter, but they just never thrive like they do in the garden. That means it’s high-priority to get their flavors preserved, stat. There are jars of homemade herb salt in my fridge, dried herbs in the pantry, and herb-packed olive oil cubes in the freezer.
There’s just something special about the bright flavors of fresh herbs that’s hard to replace with the dried version. Now don’t get me wrong– I’m not hating’ on dried herbs– I still use them a ton, but fresh are still my favorite.
This little freezer trick works best for the tougher varieties of herbs you might commonly cook with, like oregano, rosemary, sage, and thyme. A good rule of thumb is if you usually eat the herb raw, it generally *won’t* work as well here (i.e. chives, dill, and basil aren’t great with this technique).
The freezing part is important, as there is a risk of botulism when you attempt to store fresh herbs or even garlic for long periods in olive oil (here’s my fave olive oil company). Darn you, botulism. I had visions of big bottles of homemade garlic oil dancing in my head… Thankfully, an ice cube tray makes it super easy to have little blocks of herb goodness to use for later. No drying (or botulism) required.
How to Preserve Fresh Herbs in Olive Oil
You Will Need:
- Fresh herbs (such as oregano, rosemary, thyme, or sage)
- Olive oil (This is a great one)
- An ice cube tray or silicone mold with small compartments
This is barely even a recipe–it really doesn’t get easier than this– are you ready?
Pull the woody stems from the herbs, and chop the leaves into small pieces.
Stuff the ice cube tray at least 3/4 of the way full with the herbs.
Pour the olive oil to fill the rest of the way.
Freeze for 2-3 hours, or until set.
Pop the cubes out of the tray, then store in a sealed container in the freezer until you need them.
Yes, that’s it. It’s that easy. You can do this, I have faith. Your winter dishes will thank you.
Kitchen Notes:
- These melt super fast once you remove them from the fridge- just FYI. (I had to scramble to even get the photos shot!)
- You could totally use other cooking oils instead of olive oil, if you prefer. Melted coconut oil, butter, or lard would all work to add to the cubes. I would still store the finished cubes in the freezer to be safe, though.
- Use your handy-dandy herb cubes in soups & stews, marinades, salad dressings, or sautéing.
- The combos are endless here. I used sage for this batch because I have SO MUCH, but you could get totally creative and combine herbs too. I’m thinking sage + thyme would be awesomesauce.
Listen to the Old Fashioned On Purpose podcast episode #22 on the topic How To Preserve Fresh Herbs For Later HERE.
I get what you’re saying about not storing basil this way because it could go slimy after thawing. However, I do freeze my pesto, and it’s one of our favorite treats in the winter. I make the pesto, fill 1/2 cup or 1 cup jars to about 3/4″ from the top. Then cover with about a 1/4″ of olive oil and a lid and freeze. My recipe has lemon juice which keeps the pesto from darkening too quickly. I also freeze in small portions so it gets used quickly, and I always cover any leftover with olive oil.
I am interested in doing the basil. Would you share the exact recipe you use? Thanks!
Sure. This recipe makes about 3 cups of pesto.
4 cups fresh, clean basil leaves packed down (I sometimes substitute up to 1 cup with flat leaf parsley)
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup mixed nuts, toasted and cooled (I use a mixture of almonds, cashews, pecans, walnuts – use whatever you like)
1/2 – 3/4 teaspoon salt (to taste)
1 cup grated parmesan (real stuff, powder doesn’t taste as good)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 cup olive oil plus oil to top up jars
Whiz all in a food processor, jar up and freeze. (I put mine in a basket or box in my freezer so the jars aren’t smacking against other things and getting broken.) I also make some parmesan-free batches for my daughters because they don’t eat dairy.
Hope you like it.
Sorry, makes a little more than 2 cups.
Thanks for the recipe, it sounds delicious, Can’t to to try it, Mickelina
As soon as I figure out to grow herbs (I have a brown thumb as well…I’ve killed Basil three times) I will be preserving my herbs like this!! I love the idea of pre mixing my herbs and oils/butters so I can just pop a cube or two into the pan when I start cooking. The best part is going to be figuring out the best combinations! I am a bit of a mad scientist in the kitchen (and everywhere else for that matter 😉 )
What about parsley? I’m assuming this falls into the “normal eat raw” and wouldn’t work as well with this method?
You can make “parsley pesto” in the same way as basil. With the more tender herbs, it is important to shred or them into smaller bits, as they are limp when they rehydrate. If they are in tiny pieces, they don’t get slimy . . . .
Hi,
Mi name is Jacky and I have a business idea and I would like some advice please.
my idea is I would like to do like a Caribbean green seasoning or they also call it sofrito it’s a bunch of fresh herbs garlic etc blended or done in a food processor. preserved in olive oil.
my idea is to sell and distribute to the supermarkets to be sold.
can the be stored on the shelves in supermarkets?
would they last on shelves?
can it be dangerous for consumption after a while?
how long can they last on shelves to be sold?
what should I take care of?
shoukd they be pressured canned?
or just canned in mason jars?
pls who can give me some answers
thank you.
Jacky H.
I chop parsley, fennel, dill or even onions , celery , carrots and put them in ziplock bags. Mark what it is and put straight in the freezer. They keep good for ever
You don’t blanch the carrots?
Wonderful idea! I love that you can freeze a bunch and then throw them in a ziplock bag to store them in the freezer. It will take up so little freezer space and make meals taste fresh. Thanks 🙂
I do a similar thing with basil and it works beautifully. Harvest as much as will fit in my cuisinart food processor, grind it up while pouring olive oil in until it’s kinda like a paste, squish it into the ice cube trays, freeze, pop out, and put in zip locks. All winter I add it to soups, my favorite Italian meatloaf recipe, etc.
This is my first year growing herbs and I’d love to try this out 🙂
changing topics – i was searching your archives for information on food processors: we just finished hosting a Pass Over Dinner – and had to borrow a food processor for some of the recipes, and would like to get our own. – you mentioned you had a favorite, but the link was broken. if you don’t mind sharing when you get a minute, what is the brand/model food processor you like?
I use the cuisnart pro custom 11 cup model. Recommended by Alton Brown…Food Network guy.. Really like it. Big enough to do most projects. Including pie dough.
I mix chopped basil with some evoo then put in a ziploc bag and spread it to make it smooth. Just enough to make a thin layer. This way I can just break off pieces as needed and the layers stack easily in the freezer.
Question! Must you make this in small batches? I get that it’s easier to pop them out in measured proportions but could you also fill a pint or jelly size mason jar 3/4 full of herbs and oil/butter, freeze the whole thing and scoop out what you need when you need it? I wasn’t sure if botulism is more of a worry when you have a thicker larger amount altogether. Thank you for your insight!
Yes, I’ve done that. However each time you take it from the freezer, you have to thaw it in order to use just a few spoonfuls, then re-freeze it. I gave up on that method and now prefer my frozen cube process.***
This summer, I used my small meatball scoop to fill ice cube trays with my fresh pesto. (Much easier to portion than with a spoon!) I topped each cube with additional olive oil and placed them in the freezer. Once frozen, I popped them out into freezer bags. One cube is the perfect amount to add to a pint of my homemade tomato sauce on a wintry eve.
Why freeze your herbs? Let them grow all winter in front of a south-facing window with a LED grow light over them. Basil, dill, and cilantro do well.
Are you supposed to wash them first?
I didn’t know about the botulism. . .eek! Thanks for sharing this. I do my basil this way, except the ice cube trays, I blend in my food processor, with olive oil, then scoop onto a tray,with a spoon, like cookie dough. Flash freeze, then pop them into a zip lock bag. It’s less tedious and I can manage bigger batches 🙂
Awesome! Thanks for sharing this. I’m curious – do you ever try combining your herbs in the freezer cubes with a drop of the essential oils? Or do you think that would be overpowering?
Unhealthy I know, but I am a butter lover – must be that we have great dairies on our island. Summer chillies,garlic, herbs and wot not can be whizzed up in a blender with butter, stickily slopped into those ice cube trays and frozen for a butterry treat or to add flavour to a winter dish!
I’m curious about this ting. But, let me try it at home. Well good idea. Thanks for sharing it! Good day!
I’ve had really good results canning minced garlic with olive oil or water. Had to figure something out as I just couldn’t seem to keep my garlic bulbs from drying out in a heartbeat. I saw the jars of minced garlic at the store and figured I can do that, and I was right. 35 min at 10 lbs of pressure. The hardest part is keeping the oil off the rims of your jars
In some recipes I don’t want olive oil; so I chop my herbs into ice cube trays, pour water to cover, freeze, then pop cubes into baggies marked with name of herb & date.
I do this all the time and it’s a wonderful way to store.
Can you share how you made your tin garden beds
I use aluminum foil on cardboard V’s behind the plants to reflect sunlight onto the back sides of my herb plants. It really helps and they grow a lot faster. I also put the bottom 3″ white part of green onions in a jelly jar with a little bit of water to keep the roots wet and I have fresh green shoots anytime I want them all winter long. A drop of liquid fertilizer weekly in the water helps too.
I freeze herbs in olive oil in 4 or 8 oz jars… once it sits on the counter for a few minutes I can scoop out with a regular serrated flatwear knife. I prefer this method because the ice cubes always start accumulating frost.