How Do I Keep Cut Basil Fresh – Award-winning food writer and cookbook author Molly Watson has created more than 1,000 recipes that focus on local, seasonal ingredients.
Basil, especially sweet basil or Genoese basil, which is very popular in Italian cooking and used in pesto, is quite difficult to keep fresh. It turns black and dries surprisingly quickly. However, there are ways to keep the leaves fresh after the stems have been harvested. The fresher the basil you buy, of course, the longer it will last anyway.
How Do I Keep Cut Basil Fresh
The best way to store basil is to put the bunch in a bottle or jar filled with water like the flowers.
How To Dry Basil
Cut off the cut ends, put the bunch in a glass, jar or vase of water that will fit in the refrigerator, and cover everything, or at least the basil leaves, with a plastic bag. Put it all in the refrigerator. Basil stored this way will stay fresh and green for up to a week.
Does it hurt a little? Of course. Not super-duper comfortable? Fair point. Are you taking up a lot of space in the fridge? No one could argue about that. Does it also keep the basil fresh as long as possible? It definitely does.
We’ve found that the best approach isn’t always as practical as we’d like. Fortunately, there is a second best option that is still completely useful.
The second best way to store basil is to store it as a salad green: lift the leaves from the stem and place them in a more or less single layer on paper towels or a clean kitchen towel, roll the towel around the leaves, and place the roll in a plastic bag. This method keeps the leaves moist, but not wet and soggy.
How To Store Basil (and Keep It Fresh For Months On End)
Want to store basil for more than a few days? Freeze it! There are several ways to do this effectively.
For the greenest, freshest basil: blanch the basil in boiling salted water for 15 seconds, drain and cool quickly in ice water (this gives it the green color), then blitz in a blender with a little olive oil. You can pour the puree into ice buckets, freeze them, and transfer the cubes to resealable plastic bags, where they keep for up to a year.
True, this method requires a little work. Alternatively, you can place clean, dry basil leaves in a baking dish, freeze until frozen (about an hour) and transfer to resealable plastic bags. Basil frozen this way will turn a dark, almost black color, but retain plenty of basil flavor. To keep it green, it must be blanched, dried and laid flat to freeze. Once you bother to blanch the basil, it’s worth pureeing and freezing it this way, as it retains more flavor that way. If you have more basil in your garden than you can use when it’s fresh, the solution is to put it in the freezer and enjoy fresh basil all year long. There are three different ways to freeze it to use throughout the year.
Wash and dry the basil leaves. Then throw away the legs. Spread them on a cookie sheet and freeze. Transfer the frozen basil to freezer bags and use as needed.
How To Harvest Basil
Blanch the washed basil leaves for 15 seconds and plunge them into ice water to stop the cooking process. Dry the leaves thoroughly, then freeze and transfer to freezer bags as described in option 1.
Use a food processor to coarsely chop the washed basil leaves. Add a drizzle of olive oil and pulse to lightly coat the leaves with oil; this will keep the basil from turning dark in the freezer. Place the resulting mixture in ice trays and freeze. Transfer the finished cubes to freezer bags and use as needed. One cube is usually equal to about two tablespoons of fresh basil. Measure your icebox to find out how much yours is.
If you want larger cubes, use two-inch ice cubes. Each cube will contain about half a cup of basil. It’s also a great size for freezing excess broth, wine, and buttermilk.
Dry some basil from your garden so you don’t have to buy dried basil at the grocery store. You can use a dehydrator or low heat oven to dry them quickly, but if you’re not in a rush, hang small bunches of basil upside down in a warm, dry room and let them air dry. It may take a few weeks, but if you have lots of fresh basil on hand, it will probably be a while before you need it. Store your dried basil in an airtight container in your pantry. Make sure you tag it. All those little jars of dried herbs at home start to look the same after a while. Dried basil tied with a cute ribbon from your garden makes a thoughtful gift for friends. Chop the herbs very quickly, especially the basil! Want to extend the life of your grass? There is a trick to preserving fresh basil.
How To Store Basil And Tomatoes
Have you ever brought fresh herbs inside, only to have them wither a few hours later? We brought basil from our garden and put it in a glass of water, only to find it completely wilted within 1 hour! Luckily, we’ve found a trick to storing fresh basil: all you need is a canning jar. The canning jar method keeps basil fresh for 3-5 days! How to store fresh basil indoors to extend its life.
First of all, it is a fresh storage method for the stem of the basil leaf, not for the cut basil leaf. Can you store fresh cut basil leaves? Unfortunately, not really. Basil leaves removed from the stems do not store well. We recommend using basil leaves on the day of harvest. Make a batch of pesto with the leftovers!
For this method, you will need basil sprigs with the leaves still attached to the stem. All you need is a large tin jar with a lid, such as a Ball jar or mason jar. What to do:
A store-bought herb saver works just as well for storing fresh basil and any type of other herb! We’ve been using ours for years and love it. Store-bought weed killer works best for taller herbs like cilantro and parsley. The same idea is the canning pot method, but it works perfectly for basil as it provides a little more room for the branches.
Storing Fresh Basil Leaves (best Ways To Preserve)
Growing your own basil at home? If not, you should be! Basil is easy to grow and all you need is a pot and a sunny shelf. Here are all our tips for growing basil. See also our quick guide to Basil.
Want the best ways to store other herbs? How to store cilantro, how to store parsley, how to store mint or how to store fresh herbs.
Alex is definitely basil and my staple herb to grow and cook with! It might be because we love cooking Italian recipes and basil is key to Italian cooking! But basil works in all kinds of different dishes. Some of our favorite recipes with basil:
Meet Sonja and Alex Overhiser: Husband and Wife. Experienced cooks at home. Authors of recipes that you will want to repeat. How do you store basil and keep it from wilting or turning black too quickly? I have you covered with the BEST, No-Fail Hack!
How To Harvest Basil From Your Garden And Use It At Home
Fresh basil is among the most widely used herbs in Mediterranean cuisine, and almost everyone I know enjoys its aromatic, sweet, and slightly minty flavor. It can be the only ingredient to add flavor and fresh color to your meals!
We all know it’s hard to keep fresh basil alive for more than a few days without the leaves wilting and turning black on you. One of the best ways to use and store fresh basil quickly is with homemade pesto! A jar of pesto will last a good week in my fridge, and I put it to good use as a spread over pasta, pesto chicken, or perfectly cooked chili sea urchin.
One of my best ways to keep basil fresh is to treat my cut basil like a bouquet of flowers by keeping it in a jar or glass of water. Works like a charm! (I use a similar method to store other fresh herbs.) I shared my hack on Instagram before and so many people had questions, so I thought I’d post how I store basil and 1 to 2 . on my kitchen counter for weeks.
In these next easy steps, I’ll show you how to properly store fresh basil so it lasts up to 2 weeks! You will need a glass container half filled with water, a couple
How To Store Fresh Herbs So They Last Longer (parsley, Cilantro & More!)
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