Preserving Herbs in Oil

In the alternate reality, I would be picking fresh herbs from my garden all year round and use them immediately to whip up delicious food. Ah... the smell of fresh herbs lingering in the kitchen must be a wonderful thing to experience.

Unfortunately, that shall remain a dream as we live in a high-rise apartment with little to no direct farming space and sunlight. Indoor farming under grow lights seems to be the next best alternative, and that's a project we hope to kick-start soon.

Meanwhile, I have been relying on supermarkets for my herbs. But they're not cheap - 10g of thyme in my local supermarket costs $2.85! And they last at most 2 weeks in the fridge, so most of it usually goes to waste as I use only a small portion for cooking.

Tired of all the food waste, I decided to try and preserve them for the first time today by freezing them in oil. I used olive oil but I suppose you could use butter or any kinds of oil.

First up was to give them a quick rinse and pat them dry.

I then removed the leaves and placed them in ice cube trays up to the halfway mark. Fill the remaining with olive oil, before covering loosely with cling wrap and freezing overnight. 

Satisfied with the end product 😃 The best thing about this is that it also cuts down on preparation time for your next meal. I can imagine stuffing one or two of them under the chicken skin the next time I roast a chicken. Or use them in stir-frys or stews. The possibilities are endless.