How to Store Basil

Basil is a kitchen herb that is often used in Italian dishes and tomato dishes. Basil has a strong yet wonderful scent. You can already smell it when you hold it in your hands. The question ‘How to store basil’ will be discussed in this blog.

How to Store Basil?

• A jar of basil, a few weeks
• Well cared for and repotted, a few months
• In the plastic tray from the store, 5 days
• Loose leaves in the refrigerator, 3 days
• In the freezer, 2 months 
• Rolled in kitchen paper and in the refrigerator for 3 days

Below is a detailed description of what you should pay attention to if you want to keep basil as long as possible.

Basil Plant 

When you buy a basil plant in the store, buy a specimen that looks fresh and green. The stems are upright and the leaves have no gray edges. You can keep this basil plant in a pot for a long time. There, some measures are needed to keep this plant fresh and fruity.

How to Store Fresh Basil?

Give the basil plant food immediately upon returning home. The plant has received just enough from the grower to survive until purchase. Basil plants usually also go straight into a dish, so that more nutrition is not necessary. If you want to keep this plant a little longer because you don’t need that much, for example, then nutrition is useful. This keeps it looking nice and fresh and the leaves stay nice and green. The plant can then be kept for a few weeks.

If you want to use a few leaves for a dish, pick the leaves on the side. When you start topping the basil, that stem will stop growing. If you pick them from the side, the plant can continue to grow and you can keep the plant longer and beautifully.

Place the basil plant in a pot where the plant can absorb water from below. Basil likes to have wet feet. So refill this regularly. This way you can keep the basil longer.

Do not put the basil plant too dark, it is fine on the windowsill. The plant does not grow well in the dark.

When you return home, you can also repot the plant in a pot with well-draining soil, if you do not want to eat the plant immediately, but cherish it. For example, the basil plant feels fine because the roots are no longer under pressure. This is usually the case when he comes from the grower. The basil plant will give off a wonderful scent every time you walk by. This way you can keep the basil longer and eat the leaves when it suits you.

When you apply all these ways, this basil plant will certainly last longer than a few months. The basil plant cannot resist that much love!

Basil Store in Refrigerator

You can buy basil in the plastic tray in the store. This basil comes in a closed container with a special air mixture that keeps the basil longer lasting. You can keep this container with basil in the fridge until you open it.

Pay close attention to the expiration date. When the basil is out of date, it will become limp and the taste will deteriorate.

If you have basil left when you have made a dish, you can do the following:

Roll the remaining basil in wet kitchen paper and place it on a plate. Place this in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator. Make sure that other products that cannot withstand moisture do not come into contact with it. Otherwise, it will rot again.

Otherwise, place the basil in the tray with wet kitchen paper that contained the basil and then places it in the vegetable drawer. Handy when you don’t have that much left.

Store Basil In The Freezer

There are a number of ways to freeze basil leaves. Basil can then be kept for 2 months.

The easiest way to store basil in the freezer is to put the leaves in the freezer after washing. You proceed as follows:

Find and pluck the best basil leaves. Wash the leaves well in a colander and let them drain for a while. You can put the leaves in a freezer container or bag so that the leaves freeze quickly.

Write the date so that you know when you froze the basil leaves because in 2 months the mint leaves will no longer be tasty. Also, include the date until which you can use them and what is in the container.

When you freeze several herbs, it is nice that you do not have to open all the containers.

Blanching Basil And In The Freezer

The best way to preserve basil is to blanch the leaves of the plant first. This is how the taste of the leaves is best preserved.

Boil a little water in a pan. Place the leaves in a sieve and lower them into the boiling water. Do this for 15 seconds, no longer because then the taste of the basil will be lost. This is blanching.

Then rinse them immediately in ice-cold water. This way you stop the cooking process and do not ‘cook’ them any further.

Once this is done, place the leaves on a plate, spread out a little, and let them cool. This is done in no time. After that, the plate or bowl can be put in a plastic bag and let it freeze in the freezer.

When the basil leaves are frozen, you can remove the plate and put the leaves in a freezer container or bag. Handy for sticking a sticker with the date on it.

Now you can add delicious basil to your dishes at any time of the day. The basil leaves will go limp after thawing. So you can’t really use them for decoration when they are frozen.

Puree Basil And Put In The Freezer

Pick and pick beautiful basil leaves from the plant. Wash the leaves in a sieve under running water. Let them drain for a while and put the leaves in a food processor or chop them finely.

Grind the leaves into a puree, add a little water if it does not grind properly. Put the puree in a freezer bag and lay it flat on the counter. Make sure the puree forms a thin layer. This way you can break off a piece when you need basil in a dish.

Also useful for putting the puree in ice cube molds. This is 1 tablespoon of puree. An easy guideline for dishes.

Store Basil In Oil

Here, too, you can pick the best basil leaves. Instead of adding water, you can add oil to the pureed basil. Then dry the leaves well after washing. Add some oil to the basil and mash it or chop the leaves.

Also, put this in ice cube trays or in a freezer bag or container with a lid. The following also applies here: Sticker on the freezer box. Date of packaging and how long they can be kept.

The basil puree is delicious with pasta dishes or to make pesto. 1 ice cube with basil puree is about 1 tablespoon. Good to know about recipes!

Tip: Also mention what’s in the box. When you freeze more, you don’t have to open all the boxes to see what’s inside.