Seeing as my herb garden is rapidly expanding I have been looking into methods of preserving herbs quite a lot of late and in particular how to preserve herbs by freezing. In our Cultivation Station we have a wide variety of garden herbs such as dill, thyme, rosemary, sage and coriander, all of which are growing like mad in this weather.

Although I have been merrily snipping away at them and using them in cooking (carrot and sweet potato mash with coriander – yummy) I have also been looking at methods of storing fresh herbs for the winter so they won’t go to waste.

So what do I know about storing herbs?

Methods I know about include drying herbs and putting them in water after cutting but I wanted to start with preserving herbs by freezing first. I did a bit of research and this is my mini ‘how to’ guide.

1. Cut the herbs, nice and clean with a pair of scissors (or a knife)
2. Wash the herbs in cold water
3. Place herbs on a piece of kitchen towel and allow to dry
4. Lay the herbs in a sandwich bag
5. Label the bags (just in case) and place them in the freezer

Shortly after doing this I required some coriander, so I promptly got it out of the bag and it defrosted quickly and was chopped and ready for the dish in seconds.

So, so far so good and I have read somewhere that freezing should keep herbs preserved for around 6 months, so we shall see. In the mean time I can see myself ending up with a freezer full of herbs as there are plenty of fresh herbs outside still available for rich pickings.