Cress is such a fast-growing herb that it's hardly worth freezing to preserve. Only in an emergency, if you have sown far too much cress, should you store the delicious herb in the freezer.
Freeze cress - only if absolutely necessary
Basically, it's not worth freezing cress. When sowing, make sure that you only plant as much cress as you can use up. If the harvest turns out to be too generous, freezing is an emergency solution.
Harvest the cress in the early morning when the essential oil content is highest. Avoid washing if possible. Chop up the cress and place in a freezer bag. Let them freeze well.
Frozen cress is not as aromatic as fresh herbs. It can even become quite bitter when frozen and is very mushy. It can only be used as a soup herb.
Make herb cubes
Cress herb cubes can be used in a variety of ways in the kitchen to spice up quark dishes or refine soups.
Use a clean ice cube tray for this.
- Fill in the chopped cress
- Fill up the cube with water
- Place containers in freezer bags
- Leave to freeze in the freezer
- Squeeze the herb cubes out of the container
- Store in the freezer bag in the refrigerator
Make cress butter and freeze
Just like herb butter, cress butter can be used for many dishes. You can also mix the cress with other herbs or add garlic.
Chop the cress with the blender. Melt the butter at a very low temperature so that it doesn't get too hot, just runny.
Add the cress to the butter and stir the mixture until it has completely cooled. Spread the cress butter on cling film, roll up and wrap in the freezer.
tips and tricks
An alternative to freezing is oil preservation. To do this, harvest fresh cress and place the stalks whole in a tasteless oil such as rapeseed oil. The cress keeps in oil for several months. The aroma is transferred to the oil and the vitamins are not lost as much.
The garden journal freshness ABC
How can fruit and vegetables be stored correctly so that they stay fresh for as long as possible?
The garden journal freshness ABC as a poster:
- as a free PDF file to print out yourself