You can freeze parsley in a few different ways including placing it in water, placing it in olive oil, or leaving it on its own. The results will be slightly different depending on the method that you utilize, but you will be able to add fresh parsley flavor to dishes throughout the colder months of the year. Proper care and preparation of the parsley both before and after freezing is important for a fresh-tasting and long-lasting herb.
Before freezing, the parsley should be carefully cleaned and dried to remove any dirt or debris from the leaves and stems. At this point, you can determine whether you would like to keep the parsley whole or chop it into smaller pieces. If you would like to place the parsley in liquid before freezing, it is best to chop it up roughly first. After it has been chopped, you can place it into ice cube trays and fill the trays with either water or olive oil before placing into the freezer. Once the cubes you used to freeze parsley have frozen, you can place them into airtight plastic bags or plastic containers to store for three to six months.
If you decide that you want to keep the parsley in whole pieces before you freeze parsley, you can place the pieces into airtight plastic bags or plastic containers after they have been cleaned and dried. Remove any excess air by gently squeezing it out before closing the bag or container to best freeze parsley. This method also works for chopped parsley if you prefer it over whole.
Once your parsley has been frozen, you can use it to add flavor to sauces and soups throughout the colder months of the year. The flavors will be different depending on whether you used water, olive oil or simply froze it by itself, so it is important to remember that when making a dish. Frozen parsley does not have the same flavor as fresh parsley because it has been frozen, so it does not work well as a garnish or placed in fresh dishes that have not been cooked. When you freeze parsley, it loses some of its freshness, but retains more of the bright flavors of fresh parsley than dried parsley does.