Freezing greens at home: how to freeze greens in oil
If you bought a large bouquet of herbs, and this is a lot for preparing one dish, then some of the herbs can be frozen. Try freezing greens in oil. We will talk about how to do this correctly in this article.
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Benefits of freezing greens in oil
The most important advantage of this freezing method is that the grass does not freeze and is not “burned” by low temperatures. The greens, wrapped on all sides in layers of oil, completely retain their color and aroma.
Also, herbs frozen in oil have a muted odor, which does not allow other products in the freezer to absorb the spicy aromas of herbs.
An undoubted advantage is the ease of use of butter cubes. You just need to put the required amount in salads, broths or any other dishes.
What greens can be frozen in oil?
Dense leafy greens with a pronounced aroma are more suitable for freezing in oil. These are, for example, oregano, thyme, basil, thyme and sage.The choice is determined by the fact that these herbs require additional heat treatment and are added to the dish during its preparation. However, freezing, for example, parsley and dill in this way is quite possible.
Preliminary preparation of greens for freezing
First of all, the grass is sorted out, leaving only intact fresh branches for freezing. Then the greens are washed under running water and dried thoroughly with paper towels. You can also dry greens naturally in the fresh air by placing bouquets of greens in a glass or mug.
Methods for freezing greens in oil
How to freeze greens in olive or vegetable oil
For this method, all hard parts of the grass are removed, leaving only leaves and tender twigs. Small leaves can be left whole, but large ones need to be chopped with a knife.
Place the grass in clean ice trays, filling the containers approximately 2/3 full. In this case, the greens can be mixed together or each type can be frozen separately.
After the forms are filled, they will need to be filled with vegetable or olive oil. Next, the workpiece is sent to the freezer for a day. After this time, the butter cubes are removed and placed in freezer bags.
If you froze different types of herbs, then sort them into bags by name. It is convenient to leave a mark on the bag indicating which greens are frozen.
Watch the video: Olga Piskun will talk about preparing greens in oil.
How to Freeze Greens in Butter
Another way is freezing in butter. The technology for preparing raw materials is the same as in the previous recipe. The only difference is in the filling. Before pouring the greens, the butter must first be melted.
Cubes of frozen butter with herbs are convenient to use when preparing sauces, as well as defrosted as a spread on sandwiches.
Watch the video: Tricks for making green oil
Freezing herb paste and butter in a bag
Greens frozen in this way are very convenient to use and, importantly, take up very little space in the freezer.
So, the prepared herb must be crushed with a blender or food processor. Then you need to add oil (olive, vegetable, butter). If you use butter, add it after it has melted. The ratio of herbs and oil is approximately 2:1. Grind the greens with oil again. You should get a green, aromatic mass.
Place the spice paste into freezer bags equipped with a ziplock. Distribute evenly, flatten, and close.
All that remains is to freeze these plates in the freezer. If necessary, use a knife to separate the required part of the greens, and put the rest back into the freezer.