No matter whether we are cooking a soup, a casserole or a stew - fresh herbs give our dishes a wonderfully refreshing touch and are an indispensable part of the kitchen. Parsley in particular enchants us with its spicy, fresh taste and mild scent and is definitely one of our favorite herbs of all. But most recipes only call for a few leaves and we would hate to throw the rest away. In the spirit of sustainability and reducing food waste, we can freeze fresh parsley! Curious how it works? Then read on and find out the best way to preserve parsley!
Freeze parsley: These methods are suitable for this
No matter whether you have bought too much parsley or are happy about a generous harvest from the garden - it is always worth freezing fresh parsley. While the popular culinary herb only lasts for 2 to 3 days in the refrigerator, it can easily be stored for at least 6 months when frozen.
Prepare parsley
Before you freeze fresh parsley, you must first prepare it properly. To do this, first wash the shoots with lukewarm water and then dry them very gently with kitchen paper. Also don't forget to remove the wilted leaves.
Freeze parsley in freezer bags
And now you have two options for freezing parsley - you could either chop it finely or put the stems in small bunches in a freezer bag. It is particularly important that you seal the bag as airtight as possible and squeeze as much air out of it as possible. Then label the bag with the freeze date and herb name, put it in the freezer and you're done - it's that easy to freeze fresh parsley.
Freeze parsley in ice cube trays
Particularly practicalyou can also use parsleyFreeze in portions in ice cube trays. This method is particularly practical if you want to slightly refine your dishes. To do this, first rinse the leaves thoroughly and dry them gently and then chop them finely. Fill the ice cube trays with the chopped herbs and fill the individual chambers with a little water. After the parsley is completely frozen, you can transfer the cubes to a plastic bag. Or how about making your own herb butter? To do this, you can mix parsley with other fresh herbs and fill the ice cube trays with olive oil instead of water. These little “herb bombs” are ideal for preparingdifferent pan dishesas well as frittatas or omelettes.
Do you have to thaw frozen parsley first?
Okay, you already know how to freeze fresh parsley. Now you may be wondering, do you need to defrost these first before using them? Since the leaves quickly become watery and mushy after thawing, we would advise against it. It would be ideal if you added the frozen herbs to the cooked dishes shortly before the end. And very important - once you thaw frozen parsley, you should never freeze it again. So – only thaw as many herbs as you will actually use.
