What To Do With Fresh Herbs Before They Spoil

Using fresh herbs is an easy way to instantly elevate your cooking, whether you're making a fragrant pasta sauce, garnishing meat, or working them into your bakes. Fresh herbs like basil, rosemary, mint and cilantro pack a bright punch that dried herbs simply can't match, and whether you grow them yourself or purchase them at the grocery store, keeping a sprig or two on hand is a surefire hack for culinary success. Unfortunately, fresh herbs are also significantly pricier than dried ones, and can go bad rather quickly, so it's important to learn how to make the most of them.

First, make sure you are storing herbs correctly to extend their shelf life as long as possible. Stored properly, fresh herbs generally last two to three weeks in the refrigerator. If you simply toss a packet of leafy herbs in the fridge, however, it will likely start to wilt and brown within a few days. The best way to prolong their freshness is to treat tender herbs like a bouquet of flowers, and refrigerate them with the stems submerged in water and the leaves loosely covered with a plastic bag.

You can also store fresh herbs by wrapping them in a damp paper towel and keeping the bundle in a plastic bag — the important thing is to retain their moisture. Your method might differ depending on your herbs; for instance, basil does better in a room-temperature environment, while cilantro prefers the cold. Eventually, though, your herbs will start to lose their freshness, so before that happens, try these solutions to extend their usage.

When you have excess herbs but no immediate use for them, the best thing to do is freeze them in water. This effectively turns them into herb-infused ice cubes. Freezing your fresh herbs in an ice cube tray not only preserves them for months to come but also divides them into neatly stored, measured portions that can be used both for cooking and as ice in refreshing drinks.

The technique is simple: Just chop up your leftover leafy herbs (this method works best with tender green herbs, like basil or mint) and portion them out in the cubes of an ice cube tray, then pour in enough water to cover them, and freeze overnight. You can also use oil as the submerging liquid for the herbs, which works well for woody or hard-stemmed herbs, like rosemary. These frozen oil cubes serve best as a cooking base and shouldn't be used to garnish drinks. Whichever method you choose, make sure to store your cubes in an airtight container to prevent freezer burn.

If you bought fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme or basil for cooking and now you're left with a few straggler sprigs, put them to use by making herb-infused olive oil. Infused olive oils add flavor to any dish, and can be used for cooking, in a salad dressing, or drizzled on crusty bread for a decadent snack. Instead of buying expensive infused olive oil at the market, make your own with the herbs you already have sitting around.

Infusing olive oil is quite simple, and there are a few different methods you can try. The quickest way is to heat your oil on the stove, making sure to keep it on low heat as you don't ever want it to reach a boil. Then just add your clean, dry herbs and cook for a few minutes before straining, cooling and jarring. Note that infused olive oil made with fresh herbs should be used within a few weeks, so it's best to start with a small batch unless you're cooking for a big group. You can also place your dried herbs and oil in an airtight container and let it sit in the sun for a few weeks if you have the time and want a more passive method, but this typically works best with dried herbs rather than fresh ones.

If you thought that fancy compound butter was only a treat for expensive steakhouses, think again. Compound butter is simply a mixture of butter (duh) and extra flavoring ingredients, such as garlic, lemon, spices, and of course fresh herbs. These plussed-up butters are made by whipping softened butter with your ingredients of choice, then re-forming and chilling. Chopped, fresh herbs are the perfect butter mix-in to maximize flavor without compromising its texture with too much moisture.

Try building your own compound butter for steak by mixing herbs like parsley, rosemary, thyme, or even cilantro into whipped butter. You can also add complementary ingredients like garlic, sherry, or blue cheese — just keep in mind that less is often more to avoid overwhelming your palate. Excessive butter is the secret to steakhouse-quality beef, and making compound butter is the perfect way to go the extra mile.

Herbs may pair deliciously with beef, but that doesn't mean your herby butter is limited to steak. Spread it on bread, corn on the cob, or a baked potato. Experiment with classic or unique combinations, from garlic, chive, and dill to basil and sun-dried tomato. You can even make sweeter mixtures, such as honey lavender or citrus and thyme butter, and use the infused butters in your next baking project.

Whenever you find yourself with excess basil on your hands, that's a cue to make pesto, pronto. Traditional pesto recipes combine fresh basil with pine nuts, olive oil, garlic and Parmesan cheese, so it's the perfect sauce to make when your basil garden is overflowing (for super vibrant color, try blanching your basil before blending it). Basil also isn't the only herb you can use to make pesto. Most tender herbs, such as parsley, cilantro, dill, or mint, do well when blended with nuts, cheese, oil, and salt for an impromptu pesto party.

Once you've exhausted your pesto craving, another herby, blended sauce you can make that is similar yet distinct from pesto is chimichurri. Chimichurri is an Argentinean sauce that's made from fresh herbs, garlic, olive oil, and vinegar, so it's typically oilier in consistency. It's best known as an accompaniment to steak, but it has plenty of other potential uses as well. Chimichurri is usually made with fresh parsley and dried oregano, and no blending is needed! Just chop up your herbs and whisk them together with your other ingredients.

If you're hungry for more herbaceous condiments, fresh blended or chopped herbs are easy to incorporate into a huge variety of sauces and dressings. Consider green goddess dressing, Italian vinaigrette, or a hearty tomato sauce.

You've used up or frozen all the fresh herbs you can handle, but you still have some sitting in the fridge somehow, taunting you with their inevitable spoilage. Now what? No matter how you ended up with excess herbs, the good news is that as long as you act quick, you won't have to throw them away. The best way to preserve herbs for use over a long period of time — we're talking years, here — is to dry them.

Sure, dried herbs won't have quite the same potency as the fresh variety, but they'll still be great flavoring agents, and there are instances when using dried herbs is actually preferable to using fresh ones. There are a few different ways to dry fresh herbs, including using kitchen appliances such as the oven, microwave, or dehydrator. You can also air-dry bunches of herbs by hanging them upside-down somewhere dark and dry and letting time do the work for you — about a week, to be specific. Whatever method you choose, the best way to store dried herbs is in an airtight glass or plastic container, and it's up to you whether you want to crumble them for easy seasoning or keep leaves whole.