Topic: Blanching Coriander and other Herbs

[DalPuri]

Was browsing again last night on the net for different ways to freeze coriander and came upon this method.
Now ive used this method many times for home grown veg such as peas and beans, but never considered using it for herbs. Actually, it makes perfect sense.

If you simply stick a bunch of fresh cilantro into the freezer it will be discolored and mushy when it thaws. Yuck. The reason for this is that enzymes that decompose fresh plant material can survive freezing temperatures and work on the food even while it is in the freezer.

Fortunately, there is a way to freeze fresh cilantro so that it keeps its emerald green color and lovely flavor. You just have to blanch it first.

Blanching kills off those decomposing enzymes. To blanch fresh cilantro/coriander, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Have a big bowl of ice water ready.

Once the water is boiling, dip your bunch of cilantro into it just until it wilts. This shouldn't take more than a few seconds. You don't want to cook out the flavor of the herb, just kill off those decomposing enzymes.

As soon as the cilantro has wilted, immediately transfer it to the ice water. This eliminates the residual heat that would otherwise continue to cook it.

Pat the blanched cilantro dry. Strip the leaves off the stems and transfer to freezer bags and freeze. Tip: spread the leaves thinly in the bags and store flat. This will enable you to break off just what you need when you want to use some - but not all - of a bag of frozen herbs.

taken from here: http://foodpreservation.about.com/od/Preserving-Fats-Oils/a/The-Best-Ways-To-Preserve-Cilantro.htm

And another method here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9MnTqp4z4w


There's also the possibility of using dry ice as per the method for chillies posted here:
http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,8191.0.html


Cheers, Frank.