A Quick Guide to Freezing Fresh Herbs

Herbs are a must for any home or professional chef. You will want to have them on hand for those favorite savory dishes you plan to cook. Freezing fresh herbs is the perfect solution and not complicated to do.

Just give your herbs a wash in cold water, and shake off the excess water. Chop the herbs into small pieces and fill the freezer trays about 2/3rd full with the herbs. Next cover the herbs with oil or with melted butter. The fat in the oil or butter will protect your herbs from freezer burn. Freeze until completely solid. Next you will want to transfer them to a Ziploc freezer bag. It is a good idea to label you package. These herbs will stay fresh for up to a month.

This simple method works well with all herbs. Let's learn a little bit about the great properties that parsley offers us. You often see this taken for granted herb as the garnish on your dinner plate. You also usually see it getting left behind when the meal is done, then tossed out.

A better thing to do would be to eat your parsley! There are two types of parsley, curly and this variety has bright green curly leaves, and then there is Italian flat parsley. This variety is usually a darker shade of green and has smooth flat leaves. Italian parsley is more fragrant and less bitter than curly parsley.

Parsley is rich in chlorophyll, vitamins A,K,C and K. It also contains folate and iron. The beneficial minerals this little green leaf offers are calcium, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, vanadium, and zinc. To really get benefits from parsley, it can be juiced. All herbs offer not only great flavor to foods but health benefits.

To watch the video on making your frozen herb-cubes please visit the "Real Simple" website below.