Freezing herbs

I often freeze my herbs. It started years ago when I lived down "Down South" and Waitrose started their frozen herbs range, so that makes it at least before 2011 when we left the UK for the first time. We found that the frozen coriander was great when fresh wasn't available and also their parsley. They were the main 2 we used frozen. I do grow a lot of my own herbs, but back then didn't realise I could freeze the excess so in the winter when my plants had died back or were hibernating (can't think of the right word here, just remembered it!) dormant for winter we would use the commercial frozen herbs.

Now I freeze also sorts of fresh herbs left right and center.... including rosemary, thyme, parlsey, sage. bay leaf, mint, and a few others like chilli fruit and obviously pureed ginger and pureed ginger.

I have found that some don't require any preparation, like rosemary and thyme. Once frozen the leaves are easier to get off the stalks than when they are fresh so I just freeze the whole things. Parsley and coriander I do tend to chop up first though. Ginger and Garlic, as previously stated, are best pureed first and frozen in teaspoon sized servings for easier use from frozen. Chilli I just freeze whole.

One herb I have yet to successfully freeze and re-use is lemon grass. I think I just forget it is in the freezer and it is there too long. sadly my plant didn't survive the winter so I don't have any growing (yet) this year.
 
Francesca said:
Photo By: Francesca Guillamet ..

Thyme and Lavender Herbs on my back or terrace facing west ..

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Francesca said:
Photo By: Francesca Guillamet ..

My Parsley Herb .. These are on my front terace ..

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Francesca, I`m curious. All of my herbs require a lot of watering, even when in much larger containers. I thought that you were away from home for weeks at a time? Who water`s them for you? Even in a UK summer those small containers would use up all the water in that small base in a matter of days. In a Mediterranean summer I would not have thought that they stood a chance even on a north facing terrace. Here in Australia, my containers are much larger and they still need watering a couple of times a week throughout Spring, Summer and Autumn.
 
@SatNavSaysStraightOn

My husband waters the plants .. If he has to travel, my secretary or my parents or sons or inlaws drive down to do the job ..

The majority of these small pots were brought up to Cadaques yesterday to my parents .. We just kept a few as it is over whelming .. My Genovese Basil is in my salón so it gets lots of natural sunlight but not direct .. Did not do well on terace ..

My mom shall re-pot them as well ..

Have a nice day ..
 
I think it all depends on whether or not you care about the structural integrity of the thing you're freezing once you unfreeze it. Some things might break down the cell walls once the moisture freezes. I used @SatNavSaysStraightOn's tip to puree and freeze ginger, and it worked incredibly well:

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Here's a list of herbs that freeze well:

basil, borage, chives, dill (better frozen than dried), lemongrass, mint, oregano, sage, savory (both winter and summer), sorrel (better frozen than dried), sweet woodruff, tarragon, thyme​

Follow the above link for tips on how to freeze things.
 
I freeze chillies whole too. In fact I don't even take them out of their packaging but just put them straight in the freezer when I buy them. I freeze ginger whole in a plastic bag - it's easy to chop and grate, but it must be very, very fresh - not from a supermarket or shop.

Some people say you should blanch basil first as that way it freezes a lot better, but there are many different types of basil, so maybe that isn't necessary for all of them.

My living herbs are on the window ledge in a north-facing, cold kitchen. They need watering every day.
 
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