My friend Karen once had, what I now refer to, as the “mother-load” of Basil harvest. She handed be an armful bouquet of Basil… and she still had more to spare. I have yet to experience such a harvest again. So now, because Basil can be so persnickety in the garden, and because I love it so much, I rarely take Basil for granted. When it’s here, and it does grow, I use it or save it.
But how do you save Basil? You can always make batches of pesto, leaving out the cheese, and freeze portions… that works well…but what if you just want to preserve the Basil leaves?
Freezing makes it slimy… and can’t even imagine blanching it. Drying Basil strips the herb of its flavor, stripping away the oils. Then, I found this…
perserving basil in salt.
The salt, unfortunately, does not take on the flavor of the basil, but the basil leaves do maintain their flavor. So, you can re-use the salt. Plus, who wouldn’t want to open the freezer in January, and see a jar like this, just waiting to be topped on a pizza.
To preserve Basil in salt, simply layer sea salt in a jar, and add basil leaves. Keep the salt jars in the freezer and use the basil within six months.
This is RIGHT on time! A friend gave me a freshly picked bushel of basil today and I was wondering how to preserve it. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Does this work with other herbs? (I’m thinking specifically of cilantro)
would a freezer bag work as well as glass?
Yes… it would work! Just be careful to keep it steady when unloading the precious cargo!
Yes! It does. All herbs can be preserved in this way. And don’t forget edible flowers — and how pretty that would look!
What a fantastic idea. Unfortunately, my basil “crop” was pitiful this year, but I’ll be ready for next year!
Do you think that sea salt is a must? What about coarse kosher salt? I have too much of it, but no sea salt!
Love this idea!! Will do it tonight if I can!
Will the glass Jar break though?
I am also wondering if you can use any other salt. I just did a small jar with sea salt but do not have enough to do more. Thanks!
I would not use an iodized salt… kosher salt or pickling salt will work!
Oh this is welcome advice. I just started to plant herbs (Sage, basil, rosemary, thyme) and would throw out the unused remains from the garden since I had so much left over.
I will use this method, now that I found out how to save these herbs.
Thank you so much
Sharon
I learned recently of another way to preserve herbs: Take an ice tray and place several leaves in each hole. Then add olive oil to almost cover the leaves. Freeze overnight and transfer to a plastic bag. This way, you get the fresh herb & the olive oil you’ll probably need in your recipe. Remember to write the herb’s name if you’re freezing different types.