Suggestions for freezing cilantro

[susannah]

As I mentioned in a few posts, my cilantro is growing faster than weeds this year. I've never grown cilantro before. Has anyone had luck freezing it? Suggestions? Freeze it in oil, freeze in water, or...?  Preserve it some way other than freezing?

Thanks for any help you can give this cilantro-preserving newbie. We love cilantro, but we're actually getting tired of salsa. The few recipes I have that use cilantro have been made more than once.

Or any ideas for using cilantro in recipes or fresh would be appreciated!

[solargeek]

I only freeze cilantro in water and very little. I use the ice cube tray because you don't generally want as much cilantro in a recipe as you might want of basil or something else.

It is great in homemade guacamole in the winter, and any Mexican dinner you might be making. I also add it Indian food in the beans or lentil dal.

[susannah]

Thanks solargeek . I tried freezing cilantro in olive oil, and while dh said it would probably be fine in cilantro lime rice, we both are unsure of using it in salsa due to the oil factor. So, very little water is the trick. Makes sense. I tried freezing it in water in ice cube trays once before, but didn't like the result. Now I can see that it was probably because there was way too much water in those cubes.

I do have two ice cube trays dedicated for use in freezing herbs. The permanent green-ish discoloration makes those trays easy to identify.

After I wash the ice cube tray that I used for freezing pesto yesterday, I'll take a run at freezing cilantro.

[solargeek]

susannah I can't use ice cube trays for basil pesto because I make too much of it. I use small Ziploc containers with a wonderful Ball canning 9 cube freezer trays.

[mollymckee]

I dehydrate cilantro. It’s much better than the dried stuff from the store.

[Melissa]

I don't like cilantro fresh because to me it has a really strong taste but I like it dried.