Can You Freeze Coriander? – Preserving Herbs: The Pros and Cons of Freezing Coriander

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Can You Freeze Coriander Leaves?: Coriander leaves or technically Cilantro, as they call it in the US, are single-handedly enough to bring that zing of fresh Thai, Indian, or Mexican-oriented dishes. Freezing cilantro is arguably the best way to preserve an abundant harvest from this biennial herb.

But, you will need to be extra careful while doing this because the slightest mistake can dry out and rob off the entire harvest of its signature taste and aroma. In this article, we will share some amazing freezing techniques for coriander with you guys so make sure you stay tuned till the end.

How To Freeze Coriander Properly?

Freezing coriander is important to keep it fresh and green for the longest time possible. But here, you need to follow some strict steps to freeze coriander because otherwise, you will end up having dried-out or black leaves.

Though this process is not the best way to freeze coriander, you will get results earlier. Better approaches are mentioned in further sections of the article. For now, here are some quick steps that you can follow:

  • Step 1 – Clean your coriander leaves properly and tear out any soggy or black leaves. Also, make sure you remove yellow leaves too because those me spoil the taste of the other fresh leaves.
  • Step 2 – Once your coriander leaves are freshly washed and dried place them inside a freezer-safe air-tight bag. Make sure to squeeze out the excess air first and then seal the bag tightly.
  • Step 3 – Finally, put proper labels having the date and contents mentioned on the freezer bag and then put the bag inside the freezer. Wondering, Can you freeze coriander whole? The above steps are for you.

How To Freeze Coriander In Ice Cube Trays?

If you have storage issues or want to try storing coriander leaves in a compact way, then storing them in ice-cube trays and then freezing them is the best possible thing you can do. Now, let’s see the steps for the same:

  • Clean and Chop It: Clean your coriander thoroughly and pick out any dodgy-looking or dark-colored leaves. Next, you must trim the stalks from the leaves because you can only freeze the leaves with this method and chop them up.
  • Add Coriander to Tray: Next, you must place all the chopped leaves into the slots of an ice cube tray and make sure to fill each slot around two-thirds up of the way. You can also add other herbs at this point.
  • Cover your leaves in oil or butter: At this point, pour olive oil or melted butter into the slots of your ice tray making sure the coriander leaves are completely submerged in the liquid. Follow this step by wrapping the tray in cling wrap or plastic film. This step is optional and can be done only if you have sufficient resources and time, instead just plain water will also do.
  • Initial Flash Freeze: Now that your preparations are done, place the ice cube tray into the freezer first and allow the cubes to flash freeze to solid making sure the tray level is maintained.
  • Final Freeze: After flash freezing the leaves overnight or for several hours, the cubes must be frozen solid. At this stage, remove the tray from the freezer, put the frozen coriander cubes out into a freezer-safe air-tight bag, and put that inside the freezer again.

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Best Tips To Freeze Coriander

Now that you have learned how to freeze coriander in a couple of different methods, it is important to know about the three most important tips that we strongly recommend you follow in order to get the best results while freezing coriander:

  • Avoid Using Raw Coriander: Coriander is considered to taste absolutely okay when frozen, but its texture and structure might change a little bit. Using frozen coriander raw on various dishes as a garnishing ingredient is also not something that you would want. You must stick to fresh coriander for these.
  • Create Flavour Cubes: Herbs and spices can be preserved best if they have been stored in the form of instant flavor cubes. You can start by combining your favorite ingredients like ginger, garlic, coriander, and lime. Next, place the leaves into the slots of any moderately-sized ice cube tray, cover the compartments with water, wrap them with a plastic film to collect any condensation, and then freeze.
  • Remember to discard the stalks: Stalks if cut off before freezing will result in fresh, greener-looking coriander leaves. But if you don’t want to waste even that slightest punch of flavor then you can freeze the stalks as the leaves in the same way.

How Long Can You Freeze Coriander For?

You can freeze your coriander leaves inside the freezer fresh for around 4 months but remember to use them up as soon as possible because the longer you leave them inside the freezer, the higher the chance that the leaves will turn up black and the flavor will degrade. Make sure you do not exceed the time limit of 4 months whatever the situation is.

Freezing and storing coriander in ice cubes and then surrounding it with water is highly beneficial because this will ensure the minimal risk of freezer burn that is going to affect the taste and texture of your coriander. If you store your coriander inside the fridge then it will stay fresh for up to a maximum of 2 to 3 weeks. After that, the leaves will shrink up, turn dark and the flavor will degrade.

For more interesting articles on herbs refer to our article on Can You Freeze Parsley and clear your queries.

How Do You Defrost Coriander?

The good news here is, that regardless of whichever form you have frozen your coriander, you will not need to defrost it. If you have frozen it as full leaves, you need to stir the leaves into your hot dish. If you have frozen your coriander as ice cubes, then you can simply toss the ice cube into your soup, stew, curry, stir fry, etc., and give it a couple of minutes to completely melt in the cooking heat.

Like most other soft herbs, coriander is very delicate, so refreezing coriander is not something that we will recommend. Texture changes are a very common thing to occur while freezing some soft herbs like coriander but refreezing will do nothing but completely ruin it.

How To Use Frozen Coriander Leaves & Stems?

Frozen coriander can be used in multiple different ways as the main ingredient in a particular dish or even for dressing purposes. You can chop or pop in a cube of frozen cilantro in your sauce, soup, or even roast and cook just like normal.

However, if your recipe needs fresh herbs to be added like salsas, continental salads, or garnishes, then frozen coriander may not give you the exact texture or appearance as a bunch of freshly chopped coriander leaves would do.

Instead, if you’re using the coriander leaves in another cooked dish like soups, etc. then without giving a second thought just, grab what you’ve frozen.

FAQs on Can I Freeze Coriander Leaves | Can Coriander Be Frozen?

1. Is it better to freeze cilantro or dry it?

Freezing cilantro is the best way to preserve it to keep its unique flavors intact for a really long time, as compared to drying which robs the delicate herb of its signature flavor.

2. How do you preserve coriander leaves for one year?

To preserve your coriander for a year, wash and dry your coriander leaves properly, then take a container, cover it with a dish or paper towel, add the leaves cover it with a second layer of paper towel, and seal the lid of the container tightly.

3. How do you freeze parsley and coriander?

Leafy, softer-stemmed herbs like parsley and coriander can easily be frozen into logs, just gather them in large bundles and pack them tightly at the bottom of freezer bags.

4. How do you preserve homegrown coriander?

To preserve homegrown coriander, chop the coriander leaves after harvest and put them in the freezer in smaller bags or ice tubes so that you can use them as per your need rather than taking out the whole and refreezing.

5. Can I freeze fresh coriander?

Yes, freezing fresh coriander is possible. You can freeze fresh coriander in two simple ways. Move to our main guide and read completely about can fresh coriander be frozen.

6. How to freeze coriander leaves?

Bottom Line – Can u freeze coriander leaves?

That’s it for today’s article, we hope that you will be able to preserve your coriander leaves properly now, Make sure to be extra careful while adding the frozen coriander ice cubes to your cooked dishes. This is because if you do it excessively, the taste can get way too overpowering as compared to what your actual recipe calls for.

We end this article here, hoping to meet you super soon with another interesting topic like Can You Freeze Dill and others.

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