I've been trying to preserve basil and cilantro from my garden this year, but whenever I freeze them whole they turn into brown mush. I've heard about freezing them in ice cube trays with oil, but I'm not sure if that's actually worth the effort or if there's a simpler method that actually works.
Don't freeze them whole in a bag or container expecting them to stay nice - that's basically guaranteed to give you the mush situation you're already dealing with. The issue is that herbs have so much water content that ice crystals destroy the cell structure, and then when they thaw you're left with a soggy mess that's barely usable.
The ice cube tray method with oil actually does work and it's worth the minimal effort. Chop your herbs finely, pack them into ice cube trays with a bit of olive oil (just enough to coat and hold them together), freeze solid, then pop the cubes into a freezer bag. When you need herbs for cooking - soups, sauces, pasta, whatever - you grab a cube and toss it straight into the pan. The oil helps protect them from freezer burn and you get concentrated herb flavor that's genuinely useful. I do this with basil every fall and it saves me from having nothing when winter hits.
If the ice cube thing feels like too much work, another option is blanching them briefly (literally 10-15 seconds in boiling water), then plunging them in ice water, patting completely dry, and freezing on a sheet tray before bagging. This actually preserves more of the bright color and texture than plain freezing. It takes a couple extra steps but skips the oil part if that's not your thing. Honestly the blanch method might be faster overall once you get the rhythm down. Either way beats the brown mush - the key is either protecting them with oil or pre-cooking them so the freezing doesn't wreck the cell walls as badly.
Log into answer.
