It is best to store the fresh herbs in the fridge. Wash the leaves with cold water and wrap them in a few sheets of paper towel or a sandwich bag. Keep this in the vegetable drawer of your fridge. This way the herbs stay good the longest, about 1 week. It is also possible to freeze or dry the leaves.

Storing fresh herbs for a long time

There are two different options for long term storage of fresh herbs, freezing or drying. For both options applies, the longer you keep the product, the less quality it gets. We advise to never store the herbs for longer than a year.

Freezing

There are two ways to freeze fresh herbs. The first way is to freeze the herbs completely. Rinse the herbs well under the cold tap and let them dry completely. It is important to put the herbs separately from each other in the freezer, so it doesn’t stick together and get damaged when you take it out of the freezer. When the herbs are completely frozen you can keep them in an airtight freezer bag with a date sticker on it. This way the herbs will stay good for at least a year.

Another way is to chop the herbs first and keep them in a water-filled ice cube tray or muffin tin. In this way the herbs will stay good for half a year. This is shorter because they are first chopped and therefore lose their taste faster. An advantage is that in this way you can get exactly the right amount you need for a dish from the freezer. When you are going to use the frozen herbs it is best not to defrost them but to put them frozen in the pan or add them to the dish. The leaves lose some of their flavour quickly and adding them immediately to a dish preserves most of the flavour.

Drying

There are different ways to dry the herbs. It is important to keep the temperature as low as possible, because otherwise a lot of flavour can be lost during the drying process. The fastest way to dry the herbs is in the microwave or oven. Spread the herbs on a piece of kitchen- or baking paper and put a second sheet of kitchen- or baking paper on top. Let this dry for three minutes in the microwave at 600 Watt or in a hot air oven at 30 to 40 degrees.

If you have a bit more time for drying, it is also possible to dry the herbs on a piece of paper in a warm, dry and dark environment. An attic is ideal for this or near a heater. Let this dry for 1 to 2 weeks in the air. Store the dried herbs in a tightly closed jar. In this way the herbs remain good for 6 to 12 months.