Home Bakery Cilantro with garlic for the winter in oil. How best to store cilantro for the winter: storage methods. In vegetable or olive oil

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Cilantro with garlic for the winter in oil. How best to store cilantro for the winter: storage methods. In vegetable or olive oil

Coriander is able to transform the taste of even the most boring dish, making it spicy and multifaceted. Fresh greens contain many vitamins, demonstrate immunostimulating, antibacterial action, improve digestion. Summer is a great time to stock up on cilantro.

Selection and preparation of plants

Coriander is famous for its spicy taste and strong aroma. The very leaves of the plant, which are usually eaten, are called cilantro. They go well with meat and vegetables, being an integral part of Caucasian cuisine.

Coriander should be harvested on a dry day, after the dew has subsided. If you make blanks in wet weather, then the raw material will rot and mold, even thorough drying will not save it from this.

However, you can not do it under the scorching sun. It is better to make preparations in the early morning or in the evening, when the heat subsides.

Coriander has 2 incarnations - green petals (cilantro) and spicy seeds. The harvest time depends on what you need to prepare for the future - greens or seeds.

The cilantro must be harvested before flowering begins. If you miss this moment and cut off the greens during the formation of the ovaries, then it will have an unpleasant bitterness.

It is recommended to cut the greens at the moment when it has reached a height of 10-12 cm. If you plan to save both greens and seeds for the winter, you should grow coriander in two areas. It will not be possible to pick green leaves and seeds from the plant, because in this case the quality of one of the blanks will noticeably suffer.

If you buy cilantro, then for long-term storage it is better not to do it in supermarkets. Preference should be given to private traders who grow fresh herbs in your area. When choosing greens, you should pay attention to its stems. If they are rotten, refuse to buy. The same applies to the presence of a large number of yellowed leaves.

If the greens are wet, they have probably been kept in water or sprayed. This indicates that it has been torn down for a long time. It hardly makes sense to buy such cilantro. Too weak aroma or its complete absence also speaks about the duration of storage. Freshly picked cilantro emits a strong, even pungent odor.

Features of plant preparation depend on the method of storage. In any case, the harvesting of coriander leaves involves the removal of yellowed and rotten branches.

If you plan to store fresh herbs in the refrigerator, then you should cut the stems of the plant, shortening them by 2-2.5 cm. This is necessary if a bunch of greens is placed in a jar of water.

Upon contact with air, the stems die off, and therefore will be unable to absorb liquid. By updating the cut point, it is possible to achieve water absorption by the plant. For cutting, you need special scissors or a sharp knife.

If cilantro will be stored in the refrigerator, then it should be washed before consumption, and not before storage. However, large contaminants must still be removed. When drying, freezing or salting, you must first wash the greens, wipe it thoroughly and dry it, and only after that perform subsequent manipulations.

It is better to wash the greens by soaking it for 7-10 minutes in a bowl of cool water. In this case, all dirt, insects and dry leaves will float to the surface. After that, it is recommended to rinse the branches under running water, holding them down with leaves.

How to keep fresh?

You can store fresh cilantro in the refrigerator. But for this you need to follow some simple rules. First you need to inspect a bunch of greenery, remove dirt, but do not wash the plant. Then update the cut on the stems so that it absorbs the liquid better.

Place the greens in a jar of water in the manner of a bouquet, and put a plastic bag on top and tie it with an elastic band to the jar to prevent contact of cilantro with air. With this method of storage, you should change the water every 3-4 days, if necessary, renew the cut on the stems.

Another way to keep green leaves fresh is to put cilantro in a bag along with the onion. Seal the bag and put it in the refrigerator. Onions should be changed every 3-5 days. If the bag inside is wet, then it should also be replaced.

Preparing for the winter

Despite the variety of recipes, it is possible to prepare cilantro for the winter in only one of three ways:

dry;
to freeze;
pickle.

Freeze

The next step is simple, but responsible - you need to dry the greens very well. It is better to spread it in a thin layer on a cloth towel and leave it for several hours. Then take another towel and put the cilantro on it, trying to turn it over on the other side.

When the blanks are dry, they can be finely chopped with a knife. However, if desired, you can freeze whole branches. After that, small, no more than 60 g, bundles should be formed, wrapped in cellophane or a container, and put in the freezer.

There is another freezing method. It involves grinding washed and dried cilantro. The resulting raw material is placed in ice cells and a little cold boiled water is added.

Now you need to freeze the cilantro with water, after which the ice "cubes" are poured into plastic bags. Such blanks are convenient to add to soups and sauces, and can even be used for cosmetic purposes to wipe the face.

Drying

No less popular is dried cilantro. Of course, it loses some of its healing properties and its elegant green tint. Dried cilantro is commonly used for sauces and soups.

Drying can be carried out in natural conditions or using an oven. In any case, you need to wash and dry the cilantro. For air drying, choose a warm room protected from moisture and drafts. The plant is collected in small bunches, which are suspended with the leaves down. It is advisable to put a paper bag with holes for ventilation on these bundles. Drying time is 2-3 weeks.

It is important to avoid direct UV rays on the coriander during the drying process, as this destroys the healing components in it.

You can dry cilantro by chopping it finely and then spreading it on a clean, flat surface in a thin layer. If the raw materials are dried on the street, then at night it must be brought home and not taken back until the dew subsides. Naturally, in case of rain, you should think in advance where the cilantro will remain to dry.

Prepared greens can also be finely chopped and sent to the oven for 4-5 hours at a temperature not exceeding 40-50C. It is better to cover the baking sheet with a sheet of parchment beforehand, and leave the oven door open to speed up the evaporation of moisture.

During the drying process, the size of the cilantro leaves will decrease, which should be remembered when cutting. Properly dried greens crumble, but it should not crumble into dust.

Cilantro should be transferred to glass containers or canvas bags and kept in a dry, dark place. Before laying dried herbs for storage, as well as during the process itself, it is recommended to periodically check the composition for pests and mold. Frozen and dried herbs retain their properties and taste for up to a year.

salting

Finally, less common, but no less effective, is another way to keep cilantro until spring - pickle it. The easiest way to do this is in a dry way, for which the stems with leaves are crushed, mixed with salt, and the first ones are given a little time to release the juice. Then the mixture is transferred to sterile jars and sealed with capron lids. The ratio of cilantro to salt looks like 5:1.

Pickled cilantro can be refrigerated for up to 10 months. When adding it to a dish, the latter should reduce the amount of salt.

If we are talking about coriander seeds, then they are collected together with umbrellas in late August, early September. The maturity of the seeds is evidenced by their brownish-brown hue. With an earlier collection, there is a high probability of picking unripe achenes, which will not have valuable properties, may become moldy.

Thresh the seeds by removing the umbrellas. Pour the resulting powder into cloth bags and put in a well-ventilated, dry and dark place. The shelf life of seeds is 4 years.

You can cut coriander stems with umbrellas, tie them into small bundles and hang them in a dry, ventilated room. Place clean paper or bags under the bundles. Ripe seeds will simply fall on them. After 2 weeks, you should untie the umbrellas, and vigorously tapping them on the palm of your hand, remove the remaining seeds. Then they are put away for storage.

It is not necessary to grind the grains immediately. They will give a richer taste if done just before adding to the dish. However, this increases the cooking time, so many housewives prefer to grind the entire batch of seeds.

Recipes

"Cubes"

This recipe involves freezing coriander in ice molds, but instead of water, vegetable oil is poured - sunflower or olive. The plant is washed, dried and crushed with a knife, then placed in molds. Raw materials need to be compacted a little. The cells are then filled with oil and sent to the freezer.

You can use not only vegetable, but also melted and cooled butter. In this case, when adding cubes, it will be possible to provide the dish not only with coriander, but also with a delicate creamy taste.

In this case, the blanks will be cubes in which the border between greens and butter is clearly visible, and the first one is cut rather large. If you want to get green ice of a more uniform consistency, then you should proceed differently.

50 mg of cilantro should be crushed with a blender into gruel and pour 80 ml of olive oil. Mix the composition and, spreading it into molds, send it to freeze. It is especially successful to put such an additive in pastas, spaghetti, pastries. You can add garlic pressed through a press to the coriander. Store "cubes" should be in the freezer (you can put the frozen pieces in one bag) for no more than 2-3 months.

If you like sandwiches with fresh herbs, then it is better to freeze them in butter. To do this, the greens need to be very finely chopped with a knife or mashed with a blender. Then softened butter (pre-pull out of the refrigerator for 2 hours) mix with herbs, form a sausage and send it to the refrigerator or freezer to grab.

When the butter has acquired its usual consistency, pieces are cut off from it as needed, which are spread on slices of bread, crackers or toast. You can use it for frying, add to dough or creamy soups, sauces. Store the composition in the refrigerator for no more than 7-10 days, in the freezer - no longer than 2 weeks. You can add pieces of chili pepper, garlic, your favorite spices and other herbs to the green mass.

Oil

From cilantro and achenes of the plant, you can get a fragrant and healthy oil used for dressing salads. On its basis, you can also prepare sauces, homemade mayonnaise. Fresh herbs should be tightly packed in a glass jar (you can also take frozen ones, having previously thawed it), add umbrellas with seeds or just coriander grains, pour oil up to the shoulders of the jar, cork and leave to infuse in a dry dark place.

The minimum infusion time is 14 days. If you increase this period, the oil will acquire a reddish tint and a more pronounced piquancy. You can add basil, garlic, cut into quarters to the greens. We will now give the recipe for such oil below.

So, in a jar, put 1 cup of chopped basil and cilantro, add umbrellas with seeds, 2 chopped garlic cloves, half a red or green (less hot) chili pod. Add olive oil, cork and leave for at least two weeks.

After infusion, the oil composition should be filtered and poured into a glass bottle, it is better if it is made of dark glass. You can add a few drops of lemon to the oil or add a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, a pinch of salt.

canned cilantro

Canned cilantro can also be made. Such a seasoning will be successfully combined with simple side dishes, and the brine can be added to soups and sauces.

For preservation, cilantro should be pierced with a blender with 2-3 cloves of garlic. Then you should add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil and distribute in pre-sterilized jars, close with lids.

Coriander can be preserved not only in oil, but also in brine. It is required to take 300 ml of water, 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil, salt on the tip of a knife and a tablespoon of vinegar 9%.

Boil the brine from salt and water, turn off the heat and pour in the vinegar. Pre-sterilize the jars, distribute the washed and chopped cilantro in them, pour over the brine. Cover the container with lids and let the brine cool slightly, then pour a little oil into each and cork with lids.

Turn the jars upside down and wrap them in an old blanket. When the composition has cooled, put the container upside down and move it to the main storage place. Store the workpiece should be in the cellar or refrigerator. Shelf life - 10-12 months.

For cilantro in a marinade or with salt, it is better to use small jars. Having opened such a container, you should use it in 1-3 days.

At the next stage, spices are added to the sauce. These are necessarily coriander seeds, go well with this taste of turmeric, paprika. Salt is added to taste. Prepare a marinade from 50 ml of water and 3 tablespoons of wine vinegar, bring it to a boil and cool.

Add the marinade to the green mixture, stirring constantly. The dish should acquire the consistency of a paste. After that, the chutney is laid out in sterile jars and rolled up with lids.

Before serving, you can add chopped walnuts to the dish. The sauce goes well with rice, pasta, meat.

Cilantro can be used to make another interesting chimichurri sauce, which is native to Latin America. Traditionally, it is served with steaks, and is also used as a liquid ingredient in the preparation of flatbreads, which wrap meat and vegetables.

So, for chimichurri, grind a large bunch of coriander greens, 6-8 cloves of garlic, 70 g of pumpkin seeds with a blender. From 100 ml of olive oil, 3 tablespoons of wine vinegar and the juice of ½ lemon or lime, prepare the sauce. Red ground pepper and salt are added to the green mass, and then dressing.

After that, the chimichurri is kneaded to a homogeneous structure, laid out in jars and closed with nylon lids. It should be stored in the refrigerator.

For information on how to freeze cilantro correctly, see the following video.

Cilantro is a spicy plant with a rather spicy taste. Outwardly, the grass is very similar to leaf parsley, but this is where all the similarities end. Fragrant spice can be added to salads, sauces, main dishes. You will learn how to harvest cilantro for the winter at home from our article.

Harvesting cilantro for the winter at home is an easy way to diversify the taste of your favorite dishes

Ingredients

cilantro 40 grams Vinegar 9% 0 tbsp

Servings: 2
Cooking time: 1 minute

Recipes for harvesting cilantro for the winter

Drying is the most common way to preserve spices.

The cut grass must be thoroughly washed so that no earth and dust remain on the leaves.
Then put the cilantro on a paper towel and let it dry.
Cut the plant with a sharp knife. You don’t need to grind too much, because during the drying process, the pieces of greens will become even smaller.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the prepared cilantro in a thin layer.

For drying, choose a ventilated area, such as a balcony or veranda. Drying can be done in the oven. The heating temperature should not exceed +40. Greens need to be stirred periodically so that the cilantro does not become moldy. The spice prepared in this way can be stored for a year.

The cilantro can be frozen if desired. The scheme is simple:

Greens need to be washed.
Then it can be cut, or you can leave whole branches.
Pack the spice in bags or wrap in foil. After that, cilantro can be laid in the freezer.

In this form, the plant will remain without problems until the next harvest.

Cilantro for the winter with coriander can be pickled. You will need:

water (300 ml);
vinegar 9% (st.l);
salt (pinch).

Technology:

Bring water to a boil and add salt and vinegar to it.
Wash the greens, cut into pieces of the desired size.
Arrange in sterilized jars, but you do not need to tamp the greens too tightly.
Pour the greens with marinade and let it cool slightly.
Then pour a tablespoon of vegetable oil into each jar.

After that, close the cilantro with plastic lids and store in a cold place - a basement or a refrigerator.

And the last option for harvesting is salting. Here you will need:

fresh greens;
salt (20 grams of salt is taken for every 100 grams of chopped cilantro).

Cut the spice and sprinkle with salt. Knead it well with your hands so that the juice stands out. Then spread the grass in clean jars and close with plastic lids. Keep refrigerated.

Harvested cilantro can be added to main dishes. The spice pairs especially well with meat. Seasoning can be added to salads and soups.

What is cilantro?

Essentially, cilantro is coriander greens. It has been actively used in medicine and cooking for many centuries. Cooks and doctors knew about it in the Middle Ages. When the plant has not yet fully matured, it has a characteristic spicy smell. It is because of him that coriander is so loved by gourmets.

As the plant begins to mature, the west changes dramatically. It becomes softer and softer. But, of course, this is not the main advantage of cilantro.

Useful properties of cilantro

It is important to learn how to keep cilantro fresh for the winter because it has a positive effect on the digestive system. This is one of its main advantages. In parallel, the plant can stimulate appetite, is an excellent choleretic agent.

At the same time, greens contain a large amount of useful vitamins and other substances that can favorably affect your well-being and health. In addition to vitamins, these are all kinds of trace elements. With the help of cilantro, you can get rid of scurvy, it actively treats stomach problems. Cilantro is especially appreciated in the Caucasus, adding to various dishes as a seasoning.

When cilantro is cut in the summer, it is customary to store it in the refrigerator. To do this, it is best to wrap in paper or put in a jar of water. However, cilantro is not available all year round, so you have to contrive to benefit from it during the winter months as well. For this, many make preparations of cilantro greens for the winter. Plus, it's easy to do it at home. There are several common methods. You can use the one that is closest to you and seems the easiest.

Where does cilantro grow?

It is believed that the homeland of cilantro are areas of the Eastern Mediterranean. The Romans brought it to Western and Central Europe. In the same way, it ended up in Great Britain after the Roman conquest in the first century AD. It took root well there, and was cultivated for a long time in the counties of the southeast.

Cilantro came to America during the Age of Discovery. She was also brought to New Zealand and Australia.

In Russia, the first mention of cilantro occurs in the 18th century. They write about her as a garden plant. In particular, its detailed description in 1784 is given by the domestic scientist and agronomist Andrey Bolotov. It is also known that in Rus' it was called "kishnets". This clearly indicates that this plant came to our country from the East. The influence of Turkic or Iranian languages is noticeable in its original name.

Methods for harvesting cilantro for the winter

One of the easiest and most common ways to harvest cilantro is drying. It allows you to store greens for a long time and not lose their beneficial properties. After all, after drying, all valuable substances remain in it. Thus, it can be stored for about a year.

So you've decided to eat cilantro all winter long. Harvesting for the winter should begin with the fact that the plant should be thoroughly washed first in a basin, and then under running water. Please note that earth, sand and insects should not remain on the sheets. After that, let the water drain, and the leaves themselves dry a little. Next, the cilantro must be coarsely chopped, because after drying it will significantly decrease in size.

Now take a pallet or any flat dish, cover it with paper and spread the cilantro in a thin layer. Leave it to dry in a dry and well-ventilated place. For example, in the attic or on the veranda of a private house. An oven is also suitable for the drying process, it must be heated minimally - to a temperature of about 40 degrees.

Stir the greens periodically so that mold does not start in it. Whole branches can also be dried for the winter. To do this, they are tied into small bundles and hung upside down. At the same time, cover with a cloth or light paper. This is the oldest drying method that our ancestors used many centuries ago.

When the cilantro is completely dry, pour it into a clean glass jar or into a canvas bag. The main thing is that mold or food moth does not start in this seasoning. Then cilantro can be stored with you for at least a year.

Freezing cilantro

If not only nutritional, but also the external properties of the plant are important to you, use freezing. So you can keep its bright color, which is the decoration of many dishes, and nutrients.

How to freeze cilantro in the freezer? To begin with, it should be sorted out and washed thoroughly. Then dry with paper towels.

Next stage. Cilantro is either cut or frozen whole in sprigs. In both of these cases, it is tightly packed in plastic trays or bags and in this form is already sent to the freezer. There it is stored until the next summer season.

If you are stocking several varieties of greens, then each container is recommended to be signed and dated. So finding the product you need will not be difficult.

Keep in mind that cilantro tastes slightly different after freezing.

cilantro in marinade

For long-term storage, it is advised to place cilantro in the marinade. Harvesting for the winter in this form will provide you with an excellent salad dressing for several months.

For the marinade, you will need 300 milliliters of water, a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of 9% vinegar.

First, boil water, salt it and add vinegar. Wash the cilantro and divide into several small jars. But not to the very end. The marinade should be completely poured over the greens so that it completely covers it. When the jars have cooled, pour in one large spoonful of vegetable oil.

This is one of the effective ways to keep cilantro fresh for the winter.

Cilantro with salt for the winter

To save cilantro for the whole winter in the refrigerator, you can still pickle it. To do this, you will need a lot of glass jars, herbs and salt at the rate of 20 grams per 100 grams of the seasoning itself.

It is necessary to apply only fresh coriander, which has not yet had time to bloom. Carefully sort it out so that there are no dry or yellow twigs left. Then wash thoroughly, dry and cut.

Place already chopped seasoning in jars, tamping and sprinkling with salt. It should be tamped so that juice appears. After that, close the jars with lids and put them in the coldest place in your refrigerator. Best away from doors and as close to the freezer as possible.

In conclusion, it should be noted that cilantro is best combined with meat dishes. Often it is added to fresh salads, soups. The plant is often used in oriental cuisine, for example, in khachapuri or lobio. Often used in pita bread, eaten with cheeses. This gives the dish a pleasant and rich taste.

Fresh can be consumed only in summer. In order to receive a full range of vitamins and minerals in winter, the housewives came up with several ways to harvest herbs. It is pickled, salted, closed in the form of dressings, which are then added to the first and second courses. The recipes will not be difficult even for a beginner, and the result will pleasantly surprise you.

Preparation of cilantro for the freezer

The easiest way to store this plant is to put it in the refrigerator. The leaves are washed and placed in a container. There are two ways: in water or without. The container should be closed with a tight lid or a bag should be pulled on top of it. The shelf life of such a blank is 3 weeks maximum.

The herb will last longer if it is frozen. This method of harvesting cilantro is considered the most effective, since it allows you to save almost all the nutrients. For the procedure, you need a sealed bag. Freezing cilantro without additional ingredients is easy:

wash and select whole healthy twigs;
shake off the water;

leave for 10-20 min. dry on a cotton towel;
cut the branches or leave them as is;
close the bag and place the cilantro in the freezer.

Advice. During storage in the freezer, make sure that other products do not crush the workpiece.

Freezing cilantro in oil

When freezing, spices are often used in combination with other ingredients. For example, with butter. You will need a slightly soft bar weighing 100 g. Recipe:

Chop finely 3 tbsp. l. cilantro. Pour into mixing bowl.
Cut the butter into small pieces and add to the grass too. Stir.
You can add different spices: peppercorns, chopped garlic (1 clove), salt, lime zest and whatever you like. All this should be mixed. Work quickly before the butter melts.
Wrap the soft mass in food parchment or foil. Send to a regular refrigerator.
In about a day, the mass will harden. Now it can be transferred to the freezer, always in an airtight container.

Similarly, you can harvest fresh cilantro with vegetable oil. For every 50 g of finely chopped herbs, you need 80 ml of oil. Combine both ingredients and blend until pureed. Place the slurry in an ice mold. Just do not tamp to the top, because in the process of hardening the mass will increase in volume. After several hours in the mold, ice cubes can be poured into an airtight bag and left in the same chamber.

Advice. Don't forget to write and attach a piece of paper with the freeze date. The resulting seasoning can be used in the same way in cooking, as well as pure frozen cilantro.

Rules for drying cilantro

Best of all, the aroma and taste are preserved by grass plucked from the garden slightly unripe. Branches of cilantro are dried in small bunches, suspended by stems by a thread from suitable surfaces in the kitchen, veranda or other well-ventilated area. An important condition is the absence of direct sunlight and the temperature is not more than 40 ° C. To protect the cilantro blank from dust and soot, wrapping it with a thin layer of paper or cloth helps.

You can dry the plant in another way, in finely chopped form. Prepare and clean a wide tray or baking sheet. Choose exceptionally healthy and whole cilantro sprigs or leaves. Then finely chop and spread the green mass in a thin layer on the surface of the tray.

For effective drying, normal ventilation, lack of sun is necessary. Stir the greens from time to time and level it again. An oven is allowed. Dry for several hours at a temperature of no more than 40 ° C and always with the door open.

Advice. After drying, cilantro is put into glass jars, tightly closed and stored at room temperature. Before use, you can additionally wash the greens. Dried grass is only suitable for seasoning dishes. It is not recommended to eat it by itself.

Marinating and salting

One of the traditional ways of harvesting cilantro is preservation in a marinade. You will need 1 kg of greens and a list of other ingredients:

vegetable oil - 3 tbsp. l.;
table vinegar - 3 tbsp. l.;
salt - 1 tbsp. l.;
water - 300 ml.

The calculation in the recipe is for one jar with a volume of 0.5 liters. Cooking procedure:

Wash and separate cilantro into sprigs. Cut finely.
Sterilize and refrigerate the jar. Capacity - 0.5 l. Lay the chopped greens on the bottom.
Take care of the marinade. Stir salt and vinegar into boiling water. Boil 5 min. and remove from the heat, covered, until the liquid has cooled.
Pour the marinade into the jars without adding 3 cm to the rim. Add oil and roll up.

Advice. This dressing for salads and vegetable dishes should be stored in the refrigerator.

Salting cilantro is also a simple process. For 1 kg of greens, you need 250 g of salt and nothing more. Recipe:

finely chop the grass;
sprinkle with salt, using half of the total;
place in a glass container;
add the remaining salt on top;
close the jar with a tight nylon lid and refrigerate.

Preparing cilantro is very simple. The vitamins and minerals in this herb will come in handy in winter.

Freezing cilantro: video

Cilantro, cilantro, coriander - all these are the names of one spicy culture, widely known and loved in the East, in Europe and on the American continent. Coriander is more often referred to as the whole plant and its round seeds, used to flavor culinary dishes, pickles, marinades and baked goods. And the Caucasian name "cilantro" and the South American "silantro" designate fragrant greens.

No wonder it is in the Caucasus, in the land of centenarians, that meat dishes are seasoned. Regular consumption of greens with a sharp, fresh aroma has a positive effect on blood pressure and blood supply. Substances contained in cilantro leaves stimulate the production of gastric juice, promote the speedy digestion of fatty meat food, and cleanse the body.

Both foliage and seeds of coriander contain a lot of essential oils, vitamins, organic acids and other biologically active substances, due to which the seasoning has a pronounced beneficial effect on the general condition of the body and its defenses.

In the summer, when vitamins literally “grow in the garden”, it doesn’t cost anything to add a couple of sprigs of herbs to a salad or meat stew. But what to do in winter when this type of greenery is not so available? How to save cilantro for the winter, and what can be prepared from this wonderful plant for the future?

How to store cilantro for the winter?

Like other varieties of spicy-tasting greens, fresh cilantro can be stored in the refrigerator for no longer than 3-4 weeks. To do this, cut young stems and petioles of leaves are immersed in a container of water, the bundle is covered with a bag on top and put in the cold in this form. About the same time, cilantro leaves will remain juicy and green if they are folded into bags or containers.

To collect the condensate that forms inside the tank, you can lay a napkin, which will have to be changed from time to time.

But no matter how much you want to prepare cilantro in its original form for the winter, it is unlikely to succeed. But you should not despair. The crop grown in the beds will not be wasted. If you use the numerous recipes for harvesting cilantro for the winter, which include drying, salting, freezing and other processing methods.

Harvesting dried cilantro for the winter

Drying is one of the simplest and most common ways to preserve the beneficial properties and aroma of greens for a long time. If all the rules are followed, the temperature and duration of the process are maintained, then chopped cilantro leaves retain their taste and aroma throughout the year and can be used to add to sauces and hot dishes.

Before preparing cilantro for the winter in this way:

stems and leaves are washed;
remove all rough and damaged parts of the plant;
the greens are carefully dried so that no traces of water remain on the raw materials for drying.

Gourmets claim that the pungent smell of cilantro becomes softer if the greens are crushed before use or processing.

Therefore, the young parts of the shoots and leaf plates are cut, and then laid out in a thin even layer on clean baking sheets. Harvesting cilantro for the winter by drying is carried out in a dry, ventilated room. Plant materials should be located away from direct sunlight and heat sources with temperatures above 40°C. If the greens are dried in an oven or electric dryer, it is important to provide the cilantro with the same temperature regime and monitor the process all the time so that the raw materials do not stick together and the moisture loss goes evenly.

Dried cilantro is poured into clean glass or ceramic dishes with tight-fitting lids. In a cool dark place, spicy greens can be stored for about a year, completely retaining all the active substances, the aroma and taste inherent in cilantro. Coriander seeds are dried in the same way, which in winter will be useful for making fragrant bread, adding to sauces, minced meat and poultry dishes.

Spicy oil based on coriander seeds and herbs

Based on dried cilantro and the seeds of this plant, you can prepare a savory oil for dressing salads, making homemade mayonnaises and marinades. To do this, crushed parts of the plant or whole stems, as well as coriander umbrellas, are poured with any vegetable oil and left in a glass container for 8-10 days in a dark, cool place. Cilantro, rich in aromatic substances and essential oils, already during this period some of them transfer fluids.

If the vegetable raw material is left for a longer period, the oil acquires a rich red-brown hue and a sweetish-spicy aroma.

And from fresh herbs of cilantro, basil and other spices based on olive oil, you can cook and save for the winter a spicy dressing for cereals and potatoes.

For its preparation you will need:

1 cup fresh green basil leaves
1 cup chopped young cilantro stems and leaves
1 peeled and chopped clove;
1/2 seeded jalapeno pepper;
1/2 cup olive oil.

Vegetables for such preparation of cilantro for the winter are pre-cleaned, washed and chopped in a blender, after which olive oil is gradually added to the bowl and the mass is again gently mixed until a homogeneous puree. The dressing, poured into glass containers, will be ready after a month of storage in a dark, cool place.

If desired, a little lemon juice and salt can be added to the fragrant oil. In this case, the sauce can be served with meat, mushrooms and baked vegetables.

Can cilantro be frozen for the winter? Yes, and in this case, vegetable or butter will come in handy, and the greens that have retained all their useful qualities will turn into an excellent seasoning for vegetable and meat dishes, sandwiches, rice and pasta.

Freezing greens: recipes for harvesting cilantro for the winter

Low temperatures allow not only to save cilantro for the winter, but also to save all the vitamins and active substances in its composition. The easiest way to freeze cilantro is:

in pre-bulkhead and washing greenery;
in its thorough drying on a paper or cloth towel;
in crushing and distribution into dense packages.

After that, closed containers with spicy herbs are put into the freezer, where the herbs are to be stored. If, according to this recipe, not only cilantro, but also other herbs are harvested for the winter, it is better to sign the packages in advance in order to further facilitate the recognition of green raw materials.

Portion cubes based on chopped green cilantro are to the taste of an increasing number of housewives. Making them at home is quite easy. The leaves and succulent parts of the petioles are crushed, and the resulting mass is laid out in ice molds or other small containers. Water added to chopped greens holds them together, giving the cilantro prepared for the winter the shape of a cube.

Instead of water, you can add melted butter or olive oil, as well as garlic and lemon juice, with which cilantro goes well.

Snack oil with cilantro and vegetables for the winter

Butter, like vegetable oil, helps greenery and all its beneficial properties to survive almost until next spring.

To use this recipe and save cilantro for the winter, the greens are chopped, thoroughly mixed with softened butter and, laid out on cling film or a sheet of parchment, form a bar convenient for storage and subsequent cutting. In the conditions of the freezer, butter with cilantro is stored for 3 to 6 months, but the product can be used during the preparation of dishes from rice and potatoes, minced meat and pasta.

If desired, in addition to cilantro, green and mild onions, garlic and lemon zest, pieces and other spicy cultures are added to the oil.

A little bit of table salt will help the savory butter last longer, and the vegetables and herbs in it will stay juicy, just like they were harvested from the garden.

How to save cilantro for the winter: marinade recipe

The addition of vinegar contributes to the long-term preservation of products, and cilantro greens are no exception. The simplest recipe for harvesting cilantro for the winter involves pouring chopped greens with a marinade of 300 ml of water, a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of 9% vinegar.

Tightly packed glass jars with spicy foliage:

pour the finished marinade:
let it brew;
then a little vegetable oil is added on top;
close containers with lids.

Prepared according to this recipe for the winter, cilantro will improve the taste of salads, sauces for meat and vegetable stews. Store greens under the marinade should be in the refrigerator or cellar.

Cilantro chutney with garlic and walnuts

Fans of oriental cuisine can use the recipe for harvesting cilantro for the winter, where the seeds of this plant are used along with herbs. Walnut kernels and garlic are chopped, chopped onions, cilantro and parsley are added to the same container. The sharpness of the seasoning will give a small pod of seeded hot peppers.

Dried ground coriander seeds, turmeric, fenugreek, paprika and salt are added to chopped vegetables and herbs to taste. As a marinade, they take water mixed with wine white vinegar. 50 ml of boiled water will require 3 tablespoons of vinegar. Liquids are added to the mixture so much that a thick paste is obtained, while the sauce is gently stirred without stopping.

Ready-made seasoning prepared from cilantro for the winter is laid out in jars and stored in the cold. You can serve chutney with fried slices of zucchini or eggplant, add sauce to rice or couscous.

Cilantro chimichurri sauce

To prepare the famous Latin American chimichurri sauce, which is seasoned with juicy beef steaks, corn and unleavened cakes stuffed with mushrooms and vegetables, you will need:

1 large bunch of cilantro, peeled from coarse petioles and stems;
8 cloves of garlic;
3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar;
juice of one lime;
70 grams of roasted pumpkin seeds;
1/2 cup olive oil;
a little red pepper, ground or finely chopped;
salt to taste.

All components, except for olive oil, are ground and mixed in a blender until pureed, then the oil is carefully poured in, and the sauce is mixed again, achieving a smooth, homogeneous mass. Salt, lemon or lime juice, and wine vinegar are added to taste. The main note to taste of seasoning is set by cilantro and garlic. Such a blank of cilantro for the winter is packed in small glass jars and stored in a refrigerator.