Don’t
you
hate
it
when
you
are
forced
to
buy
too
much
basil
at
the
grocery
store
knowing
you
will
only
use
a
few
of
the
fragrant
leaves
in
your
favorite
recipe
and
leave
the
rest
to
wither
and
rot
in
your
fridge?
Or
perhaps
you
have
a
glut
of
it
from
your
herb
garden
and
you
don’t
know
what
to
do
with
it.
At
RecipesofItaly.com,
the
best
way
we’ve
found
to
get
our
money’s
worth
on
fresh
herbs
like
basil,
mint
and
sage
is
to
freeze
them.
There’s
no
fancy
preparation
like
the
ice
cube
tray
method.
Our
method
is
incredibly
simple
and
the
color
and
flavor
of
the
herbs
will
keep
for
at
least
a
year
frozen.
This
method
is
used
for
herbs
you
intend
to
ultimately
cook
such
as
adding
basil
to
tomato
sauce,
sage
to
braised
beef
or
mint
to a
soup.
We
do
not
recommend
using
frozen
herbs
in
recipes
like
pesto.
First,
remove
the
basil
leaves
from
their
woody
stems
into
a
colander
or
mesh
strainer.
Once
all
of
the
leaves
have
been
removed,
rinse
the
leaves
thoroughly
to
clean
them
well.
After
washing
the
basil
leaves,
place
a
layer
of
paper
towels
or
absorbent
dish
towels
on
the
counter
and
spread
the
leaves
in a
single
even
layer
across
the
towels.
Place
another
layer
of
paper
towels
or
dish
towels
on
top
of
the
layer
of
basil
leaves
and
lightly
press
over
the
leaves
to
dry
them.
You
can
also
gently
roll
the
layer
of
towels
up
into
a
scroll
to
remove
even
more
excess
water.
Continue
drying
the
herbs
until
they
appear
to
be
mostly
dry.
To
maintain
optimal
freshness
for
the
longest
time,
we
recommend
freezing
the
herbs
in
glass
jars
with
a
wide
mouth
opening.
Place
the
leaves
into
the
jar(s),
making
sure
not
to
pack
them
too
tightly.
If
the
leaves
are
too
tightly
packed
when
they
are
frozen,
they’ll
crumble
into
tiny
pieces
when
you
try
to
remove
them
from
the
jar
when
you
are
ready
to
use
them.
The
leaves
are
good
if
they
move
around
in
the
jar
when
you
shake
it.
Once
the
jars
are
packed,
close
the
lids
well
and
place
them
in
the
freezer
until
you
are
ready
to
use
the
herbs.
To
use
the
herbs
in a
recipe,
simply
remove
the
quantity
you
need
from
the
jar
and
place
the
leaves
into
your
recipe.
For
example,
if
you
are
making
our
authentic
Italian
Homestyle
Tomato
Sauce,
bring
the
sauce
to a
simmer
and
add
4 –
5 of
the
frozen
whole
basil
leaves
to
the
simmering
sauce.
Cover
the
pan
and
simmer
another
8 –
10
minutes
or
until
the
sauce
is
ready.
When
the
sauce
is
ready
for
serving,
you
can
either
leave
the
basil
leaves
in
the
sauce
and
serve
or
remove
and
discard
them
prior
to
serving.
Need
some
inspiration?
Here
are
a
few
of
our
authentic
Italian
recipes
where
you
can
use
frozen
herbs:
-
Vodka
Sauce
-
Home-Style
Tomato
Sauce
-
Baked
Gnocchi
with
Sausage
and
Cheese
-
Baked
Ziti
