Freezing olive herbs »How do you make the herb durable?

Harvest is possible all year round

Olive herb is evergreen and keeps its leaves on the stems even in the cold season. So nothing stands in the way of a harvest even in icy January. This herb is actually the most aromatic when fresh. Holy herb can be dried, but loses much of its olive-like aroma.

Can you freeze cut branches?

You need the olive herb regularly cut. That puts you in front of the following situation:

• many young shoot tips are removed
• all are wonderfully suitable as cooking ingredients
• the branches do not keep fresh for long in water
• they are far too valuable for the compost heap

The good news is: The Mediterranean herbs are easy to freeze. In addition to soaking in vinegar, freezing is the best way to preserve olive herbs.

Prepare for the freezer immediately

Do not leave the cut branches lying around for a long time. If it is clear that they cannot be used fresh soon, they should be put in the freezer as soon as possible. This requires some preparation beforehand:

1. Clean the herb under running water, even if it looks clean.
2. Then let it dry off or dry it with paper towels.
3. Pluck the fine leaves from the stems.
4. If it's better for later use then chop them up small.
5. Put the aromatic leaves in a freezer bag. You can divide larger quantities into several bags.
6. Squeeze out the air and label each bag with the contents and the date.
7. Immediately put the herbs in the freezer.

Note:
You do not need to freeze the flowers of the olive herb. They are not edible freshbecause their consistency is too firm. Even after freezing, they won't turn into a delicacy.

How to Consume Frozen Olive Herb

If necessary, only get as much of the olive herb out of the chest as you need for cooking. You can add it to the cooking food while it is frozen. However, you should do this shortly before the end of cooking, as olive herb loses much of its flavor after long cooking.

Olive herbs can be stored in the freezer for up to 12 months.