Preserving Cilantro

[Salmonsmoker]

I'm running a little experiment on preserving cilantro. It's just about harvest time for the first crop of cilantro in my garden and we can't consume it fast enough before it goes to seed. I have more coriander than I know what to do with, so I picked a small bunch, laid it flat in a vacuum bag and sealed it. In a few days I thaw it and see what the end product is like. I hope this works as I've tried dehydrating it and it loses to much flavor. I already vacpack dill and it works real well. Anyone done this?

[tlg4942]

  Let us know if it works...   I have lots of sage, rosemary and basil.
I tried drying as well and had the same results. They lose so much flavor it's not worth the trouble. I had not thought of vac sealing and freezing. Sounds like a good idea.

[TMB]

I would try freezing some then vac seal and vac seal then freeze, see if there is a defference by doing this.   

To me if you freeze first it wont crush the leaves and smush out the flavor    Just a thought

[smokeasaurus]

We love cilantro.  Watching this one

[ronman451]

I've chopped it and frozen it in ice cube trays with decent results. You lose a little bit of the brightness after thawing, but not much. We use cilantro so much that we always have a fresh bunch from the local market in the fridge...

Here's an article that describes pretty much the process that I've used. Only difference, I add a little bit of water to each cube before freezing. https://www.thekitchn.com/why-freezing-is-the-best-way-to-preserve-cilantro-221279

[Salmonsmoker]

I've chopped it and frozen it in ice cube trays with decent results. You lose a little bit of the brightness after thawing, but not much. We use cilantro so much that we always have a fresh bunch from the local market in the fridge...

Here's an article that describes pretty much the process that I've used. Only difference, I add a little bit of water to each cube before freezing. https://www.thekitchn.com/why-freezing-is-the-best-way-to-preserve-cilantro-221279

Thanks for the link Ron. According to the article, my vac & freeze will be mush. I'll try Tommy's suggestion with freeze then vac, and also try a light coating of EVO, freeze, then vac.

[Salmonsmoker]

Okay, got the cilantro in the freezer un-vacced. 1 plain, 2 w/coating of EVO. Will vac one evo and bag the other evo w/o vac. This is really great. Pinching the stalks off makes my fingers smell like cilantro. Now everybody thinks I'm picking my nose with both hands.