How to preserve fresh herbs at home. Conditions, period and temperature for storing fresh herbs at home How to store greens in a jar in the refrigerator
Keeping greens fresh is far from easy; after just a few hours, they can lose their presentation, even begin to deteriorate and become tasteless. To prevent this from happening, and to have the opportunity to store green herbs in the refrigerator for even 1-2 weeks, through experience and experimentation, quite simple but effective tips were discovered. In this case, if you urgently need a pinch of fresh herbs, you will not need to run to the supermarket. Just open the refrigerator and take what you need. It is worth considering that picked greens, even if placed in the refrigerator under the correct storage conditions, will gradually lose some of their beneficial properties. Freezing greens is able to completely preserve vitamins.
Rules for storing greens in the refrigerator
Since cut greens rapidly lose moisture, this is precisely the task we must cope with. But excess moisture also has a bad effect on the plant, especially if condensation constantly forms. Constant access to oxygen and sunlight is also detrimental to delicate plants; they quickly become brown, yellow and lethargic. Some housewives prefer not to even wash the greens, but to pack them as they are, but the main thing is that they are also dry.
The category of spicy greens includes spinach, basil, dill, mint, parsley, sorrel, cilantro, tarragon, celery, etc. The refrigerator is an ideal place to store any food, especially herbs. Here's how to store greens in the cold:
- Clear greens from yellowed leaves and twigs.
- Place the greens in a container of cold water rinse from sand and dust, you can keep it in water for several minutes if it has already withered.
- Shake off excess moisture and dry.
- Sort dry herbs by variety, sprig by sprig.
- Package greens in bags or containers, preferably vacuum sealed.
- Send greens to the bottom shelf refrigerator, on the door or a special compartment for storing vegetables and herbs.
- Check your greens regularly to ensure condensation does not form. delete yellowed leaves and twigs.
How to store greens?
If you buy a lot of greens and don’t have time to use them quickly, store them in containers such as:
- An ordinary glass jar with a lid.
- Plastic container.
- Cling film or bags.
- Kitchen, paper towels.
- Parchment.
- In a glass of water.
Simple step-by-step ways to store greens
Option 1
Dry the washed greens until they are dry. Moisture will promote rotting. Some housewives prefer not to even wash the greens, but to pack them as they are. Place the prepared greens in a clean, dry plastic container and cover with a lid. Greens also store well in a quart jar with a lid, but they also need to be dry. Place in the refrigerator.
Option 2
Place the washed and dried greens in a plastic bag, tie it so that there is air there to create a favorable microclimate. On the bottom shelf, such greens will be stored for up to 2 weeks.
Option 3
Place the washed and dried sprigs of herbs on a paper towel, parchment, wrap, sprinkle with water and place in a bag. Place on the bottom shelf of your refrigerator. If you just leave the greens in paper towels, without a bag, then you need to sprinkle them periodically so that the greens are slightly damp.
Option 4
Wrap clean and dry greens in a cotton towel and secure the edges. Place in the refrigerator on the bottom shelf.
Option 5
Option 6
Cilantro is very delicate and takes its moisture from the roots, so don't cut them off. Place clean and moisture-dried greens in a container or bag, without squeezing the leaves, and place them in the refrigerator on the bottom shelf.
Option 7
Pour about 1-2 cm of water into a jar, put a bunch of greens in it, put on a bag and tie it tightly. Place in the refrigerator. Don't forget to change the water periodically.
Option 8
You can store greens already chopped. Wash, be sure to dry, chop and place in a vacuum container or jar with a lid. To prepare dishes, take a pinch, then return the rest to the cold, removing the air.
Fresh greens are used in salads, for preparing first courses, main courses, and appetizers, so the culinary secret of properly storing greens will definitely come in handy!
It’s rare that a summer resident will refuse to try food with fresh herbs throughout the year. By the way, fresh greens should be periodically included in every person’s diet. But not everyone and not always have the opportunity to pick fragrant herbs directly from the garden. In this regard, the question of how to keep greens fresh and aromatic becomes relevant. We all know that it should be stored in the refrigerator, but not everyone knows how best to do this.
Preparing greens for storage
It is not recommended to wash green onions and fresh parsley with dill before storing them - they should be washed immediately before use. Heavily soiled greens can be simply wiped with a dry cloth. And if you really want to wash it, it is advisable to do this not with water flowing from a tap, but in a fairly deep container or basin. If necessary, you can rinse it under the tap later.The next preparatory stage will be thoroughly drying the greens. First, carefully shake off the water from the leaves, after which they are laid out on a towel on the table. Paper towels are especially suitable for this - you need to spread the greens on one, and blot large droplets of water with the second. Then the greens are left to dry completely for another fifteen to twenty minutes.
Cold storage
Parsley with dill for subsequent storage in the refrigerator is often placed in clean glass jars, which are tightly closed with washed plastic lids. This method allows you to preserve the greens for a whole month - at the same time, they will not dry out, will not deteriorate, and will not lose their aroma or turn yellow.
It will also be good to store greens in vacuum plastic containers - some manufacturers adapt them for storing delicate plants. The range of such containers is quite large, so choosing the desired shape, volume and color is not difficult. Before placing them in such containers, the greens are carefully sorted, and then thoroughly washed and dried.
There is another way to store greens for a long time. Head lettuce, fresh sprigs of parsley and dill, as well as green onions and spinach with celery can be stored dry in the refrigerator for about a month. In this case, the greens are also not washed, but wiped with a cloth and slightly dried on the table. Next, it is placed in ordinary polyethylene bags, tied and holes are pierced in them with forks to ensure good ventilation. Only after this are the bags of greens sent to the refrigerator. Spinach keeps well in this form for three months, lettuce cut together with stalks lasts for about a month, and celery lasts for about six weeks. Their taste and invigorating aroma remain unchanged in this case.
To preserve the aroma of celery and sprigs of parsley and dill, they are dried at a temperature of about fifty degrees (drying in the sun will not work in this case). Dried fresh herbs are wrapped in polyethylene bags and, after tying them, placed in the freezer. Greens will retain not only their color and amazing aroma, but also almost all vitamins.
Parsley, as well as freshly picked mint and dill, can be preserved for several days even in hot weather. For this purpose, dry herbs are placed in dry saucepans, tightly closed with lids. Or you can first wrap the washed and dried greens in paper (not waxed paper), then put them in bags, which in turn should be placed on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.
To preserve green onions for at least three weeks, remove all bad feathers from them and moisten the roots with water. Moreover, only the roots are wetted with water; the feathers do not need to be wetted. Then the roots, together with the bulbs, are first wrapped in a soaked cloth, and then in paper. After this, the bulbs are tied at the very base of the feathers, placed in bags and sent to the refrigerator.
Today, rarely is any summer dish prepared without the use of fresh herbs. It is included in many recipes, used to decorate dishes or simply placed on the dining table - for gourmets.
One problem is that fresh herbs are not stored for long, and after a couple of days they begin to lose their presentation - a few days and she becomes lethargic and unappetizing.
And every time housewives have the problem of storing greens, in particular green onions, dill, parsley, lettuce, spinach, sorrel.
To always have truly fresh greens on the table, use the following tips:
Secrets of long-term storage of greens
It should be remembered that the main enemy of the vitamins contained in greens is light and heat. When exposed to sunlight, vitamin C is lost faster in greenery - a few hours are enough for this.
Therefore, green vegetables should only be stored in the refrigerator, preferably in a tightly closed bag or container. There are several ways to store greens, choose any one.
Tip 1. The easiest way. Rinse the greens with cold water. It is advisable not to wash under running water, but to fill a deep saucepan with water and immerse the greens in the water. And then finally rinse under the tap.
Then place the washed and shaken greens on paper kitchen towels. We need to dry the greens as best as possible. Blot large drops of water and place the greens on the table, let them dry for about fifteen minutes.
Next, pack in a spacious container with a tight-fitting lid (a vacuum sealer is even better).
If there is no container, then take a clean, dry liter jar, put the greens in it and close the jar with a clean plastic lid. That's all.
Keep refrigerated. In this form, the greens stand quietly for a month and do not spoil or even turn yellow.
Tip 2. To keep greens and leafy vegetables fresh for several days, you should carefully sort them out (throw away spoiled ones), rinse, let the water drain and place in a plastic bag. Then open it wide so that the maximum amount of air can get into it, and tie it tightly. Keep in the refrigerator on the bottom shelf.
Tip 3. Greens can be stored for 2-3 weeks if, before storing, rinse them well, let the water drain, and pat dry with a towel. wrap in paper (not waxed). Kraft paper or a thick paper towel are well suited for this method, the main thing is that the paper does not unravel from moisture. Wrap the clean herb completely in a towel. Spray the paper with water from a flower spray bottle or wet it under the tap. Place the bundle in a plastic bag and place it in the refrigerator.
Do not use newsprint - printing ink is harmful to the body.
Tip 4. For long-term storage of greens, they should be sorted, but not washed. Then place in a plastic bag along with 1-2 onions, unpeeled and cut into four pieces, and tie. Store in a cool place. Every 4-5 days, take everything out, wipe the bag dry and put the greens back into it, replacing the onions with fresh ones.
Tip 5. If you don’t have time, you can simply wrap fresh herbs immediately after purchase. waffle towel, and put it in the refrigerator.
Tip 6.Green onions, celery, lettuce, spinach, parsley, dill Can be stored in the refrigerator for quite a long time if they are dry. There is no need to wash such greens before storing them - just sort them out, dry them on paper and put them in a plastic bag, making several holes in it with a fork for ventilation. Celery greens in a plastic bag can remain fresh in appearance for 5-6 weeks, lettuce cut together with the stalk - 1-1.5 months, spinach - almost all winter.
Tip 7. Parsley and dill can be stored like flowers, placed in a glass of water: trim the roots of fresh greenery, place a bunch of greenery with stems in a jar or glass of water, cover the greenery leaves with a plastic bag on top (or wrap the leaves with damp gauze or another clean cloth), change the water once every two days
Tip 8. Lettuce leaves They will stay fresh and crisp all week if you place them on a plate, top with a paper towel and cover with cling film.
Tip 9. Green onions can be kept fresh for two to three weeks by sorting it out, moistening the roots with cold water and leaving the feathers dry. Then wrap the roots with the onion with a wet rag, and on top of the rag, wrap the roots with the onion in paper, tie it at the base of the feathers with twine, place it in a plastic bag and put it in the refrigerator.
Freezing greens as a storage method
To store greens for a longer period, they should be frozen.
- To do this, you need to wash fresh greens, wait until they are dry from moisture, cut off their stems, and throw away the rotten parts. Then place the green leaves in bags or airtight containers in the freezer of the refrigerator.
- To rinse the greens properly in a large amount of water, it is recommended not to drain the water after washing the greens, but to remove the greens from it so that the sand remains at the bottom of the dish and not on the greens themselves.
- Classic. Chop the greens, put them in a plastic bag and put them in the freezer
- Parsley, sage and thyme It is recommended to cut it, and it is better to freeze it in tightly closed plastic containers
- Dill, mint It is recommended to freeze in small portions wrapped in foil: divide the dill and mint into portions. Wrap each piece in food foil and place in the freezer.
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Each type of greenery can be pre-labeled on foil with a marker (for example, mint - m, dill - y), for faster and more convenient searching in the freezer. This method is quite effective in terms of storing greens all year round and you can freeze a fairly large amount of greens.
- Basil and rosemary leaves It is recommended to sprinkle salt on top and freeze also in tightly sealed plastic containers, removing the salt before use.
- Store chopped green onions in the freezer in plastic bottles. Just make sure the onions are completely dry before you put them in the bottle.
- And one more, in my opinion, interesting way freezing fresh herbs: Wash a mixture of herbs (anything: basil, cilantro, dill, parsley, etc.), dry with a towel and place on a layer of plastic wrap in the form of a thick sausage. Wrap the “sausage” very tightly and, to be sure, tie it along the entire length with thread (you can use a rubber band).
Don't use salt! Place in the freezer. In my freezer I have a place on the side reserved for such a log with herbs. I don't sign, you can sign using masking tape. If necessary, take it out, bend the plastic and cut with a knife as much as you need directly into the plate with the soup. Or remove the film and cut - the greens cut very well and do not lose their flavor !
- There is another original way - freezing fresh herbs in ice cubes. To do this, you need to finely chop the leaves of fresh herbs and place them in ice trays supplied with the refrigerator, fill the molds with the herbs with water and place them in the freezer. Store the finished cubes in a bag or box in the freezer. It is very convenient to throw such a cube into a pan with soup (or other dish) when the soup has already been cooked.
- Alternatively, greens can be frozen in this way: Fill ice cube trays with greens, pour olive oil or melted butter- and into the freezer. Then you can add it to salads or potatoes!
These simple tips will help you keep fresh herbs collected from the garden or purchased at the market fresh for a certain time and preserve the nutrients and vitamins in them as much as possible.
Don’t neglect the tips, even if they seem too simple to you to be effective: o) Thanks to them, the greens are stored for a very long time, and you can safely buy them for a week in advance.
Based on materials from www.imhoweek.ru, eh-zhituha.ru
PS. How to Refresh Wilted Greens
- If the greens have wilted, then to restore their freshness it is enough to hold them for an hour in cold water, slightly acidified with vinegar (1 teaspoon per half glass of water).
- If you rinse parsley in warm rather than cold water, it will become more fragrant.
- Wilted lettuce leaves can be refreshed by rinsing them or soaking them in warm water for 15 minutes.
- Wilted green vegetables will become fresh again if you dip them first in hot and then in cold water.
Spicy herbs freshly brought from the market or your own dacha smell so wonderful! But for some reason, even in the refrigerator they quickly turn into unappetizing withered hay... How to store greens so that they remain fresh for a long time? Experienced housewives do this using special tricks. Here are some culinary secrets.
How to store fresh herbs
Fragrant bunches of dill, cilantro, basil, and parsley spoil if they are placed in inappropriate conditions. The main enemies of freshness:
- Sunlight. It destroys chlorophyll, especially in delicate herbs - parsley, cilantro. They are starting to turn yellow.
- Oxygen. Open air access to plants torn from their roots causes the leaves to curl and turn brown.
- Excessive humidity. Water vapor from the air promotes decay. Leaves and stems become covered with mucus or mold. This happens if you leave greens in store packaging.
- Lack of moisture. Water evaporates from the plants, causing them to lose their flavor and dry out.
If the herbs are to be used in the coming days, you can store them without refrigeration. To do this, the purchased product is removed from packaging, and plants from your own garden are thoroughly cleaned of roots and lower leaves stained with soil. The grass should never be washed! It is sorted by type (dill - separately, cilantro - separately, etc.) and each bunch is wrapped in parchment, cotton or linen cloth. The packages are put away in the kitchen cabinet. In this form, the plants will remain fresh for 3-4 days.
Basil and mint are placed in a deep jar, at the bottom of which a 2 cm layer of water is poured. This “bouquet” can simply stand on the kitchen table, the main thing is that direct sunlight does not fall on it. You should change the water daily and trim the stems a little.
How to store greens in the refrigerator
Almost all herbs are best placed in the refrigerator. There are several effective ways to prepare plants for storage:
- Remove from store packaging, wrap in paper towel and place in a ziplock bag. If the plants begin to dry out inside, lightly spray the paper towel with water. This method is effective for storing dense herbs - sage, rosemary, thyme, but is also suitable for delicate chives.
- Wrap the greens in a damp piece of natural fabric (cotton, linen) and place on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.
- Place the bunch vertically in a plastic mayonnaise bucket with some water poured into it, put a plastic bag with a zipper on top, and place it on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. This is the optimal method for soft herbs - parsley, cilantro.
- Wrap the bunch in a black bag and place it on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.
These methods are suitable for all culinary plants, except basil and mint, which quickly turn black in the refrigerator.
I really like to season my dishes with fresh spices. But preserving greens at home is not so easy. Let's find out together how to store greens in the refrigerator and what to do to prevent them from wilting.
The main disadvantage of fresh weed is that it has a very short shelf life. In warm and bright rooms it begins to turn yellow and rot after just two days. To prevent the greens from wilting, it is necessary to observe certain conditions for storing the greens.
Preparing greens for storage
To store greens in the refrigerator for a very long time, you need to do several preparatory steps:
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Step 1: Cleaning
Carefully inspect the grass tufts for dead branches and insects. If you find something, remove it. |
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Step 2: Washing
If you need to remove a small layer of dust, wipe the green leaves with a dry sponge. If there is a lot of dirt, wash the spices in a container with clean water.
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Step 3. Drying
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Step 4. Packaging
Sort the spices into prepared clean containers. |
Packaging: 5 options
How to properly store greens in the refrigerator? You need to select a suitable container, put herbs in it and place it on the bottom shelf.
Which storage container would be ideal for which greens?
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Option 1. Glass
You can put sprigs of dill, parsley and cilantro in a clean glass jar with a lid. Be sure to remove long stems and roots. |
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Option 2. Plastic container
An airtight food-grade plastic container is suitable for long-term storage of lettuce, spinach, sorrel and tarragon. |
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Option 3. Packages
Place a paper towel in a plastic bag and fold the greens on top. Place in the refrigerator with the napkin on the bottom. |
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Option 4. Foil
You can wrap celery, dill and mint in foil. The wrapper should not be pressed very tightly against the leaves - it is advisable to even allow air access. |
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Option 5: Paper towel
Wrap the green leaves in a paper towel and place them on the side shelf of the refrigerator.
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Specifics of storing 10 types of herbs
Fresh herbs are a seasonal product, so the price of greens in winter is very high. But each spice has unique properties, so the stock must be made taking into account their characteristics.
How to store fresh herbs in the refrigerator correctly:
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Sorrel
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Dill
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Celery
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Parsley
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Mint
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Leek
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Watercress
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Green onions
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Basil
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Spinach
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How to bring freshness back to greens:
- Place herbs in a container with ice cubes immediately before use;
- Scald the green leaves with boiling water and consume immediately.
conclusions
We found out that you can store various herbs in the refrigerator. The main thing is to properly prepare and follow the recommendations for each of them. The video in this article will show you how to prepare greens for storage with your own hands. If you have any comments, please write in the comments.
