Freezing Fruits and Herbs

I recently read an article about freezing various fruits in ice cube trays. I've been freezing fruits for quite some time now. Specifically lemons. I was buying the large bags of nice big lemons and piling them into a bowl as a center piece for my table. They were lovely to look at and even gave of a faint "lemony" smell. The only problem was that some of them would go bad before I got a chance to use them. (Never store your lemons in the refrigerator. It makes them bitter.)

It occurred to me that since I usually slice lemons for my tea/water that I could slice them, freeze them on a parchment lined cookie sheet and then transfer to bags. Now, when I want a few slices for my water or tea all I need to do is take a few from the freezer.

This will work with whatever fruit you have on hand. I stock up on whatever fruit happens to be in season/on sale and use the same method. Strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, peaches, pineapple, lemons, limes, oranges, tangerines and mangos all work super well and freeze nicely. I freeze bananas (peeled and cut into chunks) too but they only work well in smoothies.

Just line a cookie sheet with parchment or non stick aluminum foil. Strawberries can be sliced or halved. Blueberries, raspberries and blackberries are frozen whole. Citrus fruits are sliced in whole rounds or sliced and then halved. Mangos, pineapple and bananas are peeled and cut into chunks. Freeze solid and then pack into freezer bags. Mix and match or put in individual bags. I put my citrus fruits together, berries together but freeze banana, mango and pineapple separately.

Herbs need to be frozen in water in ice cube trays. Lemon Verbena, basil, oregano, mint, (any soft leaf herbs) are frozen whole leaf in water. I typically use a teaspoon per cube. Use good water to fill each cube. when using your frozen herb cubes just throw them into your recipe. The water will evaporate throughout the cooking process. Mint and lemon verbena are great in tea and punches. Basil and oregano go well in sauces, soups and stews. Some like basil in their cold drinks as well.

Basil can also be made into pesto and frozen in ice cube trays as well. It's super easy to cook up a pot of linguine, angel hair or spaghetti pasta and drain. Place one or two (depending on how much pasta you cook) pesto cubes in your non stick skillet. With heat on low, allow your cubes to melt. Add good olive oil and minced garlic. Saute garlic until tender but not browned. Add drained pasta and stir to coat. Add more olive oil as necessary. Sprinkle with grate parmesan if desired. Super quick and delicious!