Preparing cilantro for the winter at home: the best recipes for preserving greens

In summer, you can enjoy fresh herbs at least every day. But what if you want to cook dishes with aromatic herbs all year round. For example, you can organize the preparation of cilantro for the winter at home.

Features of harvesting cilantro for the winter

All spices contain a large amount of vitamins and other useful substances, but, unfortunately, only fresh. To prepare coriander for the winter and at the same time retain most of the nutrients, you need to do it right.

Cutting fresh herbs is recommended on a dry sunny day. If you cut cilantro in the rain, the greens will not last long, even if they are well dried. But it is not recommended to collect coriander in the heat. It is best to cut the herbs early in the morning when the dew has dried a bit.

Product selection rules

Cilant greens should be cut before flowering, when they are still young and juicy. If you miss this moment, the spice will taste bitter. Cut the coriander when the stems reach a height of 10-13 centimeters.

Succulent, bright green plants are suitable for harvesting for the winter. Leaves should not be yellowed or eaten by insects. Only from such spicy grass will you get delicious preparations for the winter.

Preparation of containers

There are many ways to prepare herbs for the winter, so the containers for storing it can be different. Most often, plastic bags or glass jars are used. Before laying the workpiece in the container, they should be thoroughly rinsed and dried.

How to store cilantro for the winter?

In order to preserve any greens for the winter, most often it is chopped and put in the freezer. But there are other better recipes to help you save cilantro for the winter.

Drying herbs

You can prepare coriander if you just dry it. Dry herbs naturally or in the oven.

The natural way

A common way to prepare cilantro for the winter is to dry it. Greens are chopped, laid out on a newspaper. Dry cilantro in a dark and well-ventilated area. It is necessary that the coriander dries well and is free-flowing. This usually takes several days. But it is better to overdry the workpiece than not dry it out. If it is not dried out, it will quickly become moldy. It is advisable to store the dried spice in glass jars away from sunlight.

In the oven

The second drying method is in the oven.This usually takes several hours. The coriander is finely chopped. The oven is heated to 70 degrees. The workpiece is transferred to a baking sheet and put into the oven. You need to dry cilantro at a temperature of 50 degrees. The stock is checked regularly. Ready dried cilantro should be free-flowing. When drying in the oven, you need to constantly watch the greens and not miss the moment when it is ready.

Freezing cilantro

The easiest way to prepare any greens for the winter, not just cilantro, is freezing in the freezer. With proper freezing, most of the nutrients in the greens are preserved.

In a bag

Cilantro is thoroughly washed in running water and laid out on a newspaper or towel so that the water on the greens dries. Then it is finely chopped and transferred to plastic bags. The blanks are removed in the freezer. Remove cilantro for cooking only after it is completely frozen.

In vegetable oil

For this recipe, the coriander is also washed and dried, then finely chopped. It is better to freeze the spice in an ice mold. So it will be more convenient to get it and do not have to defrost the entire workpiece. Chopped greens are poured with sunflower or olive oil, then poured into molds. Removed to the freezer. On such a blank, it is good to fry various dishes. Coriander gives an unusual aroma to the oil.

In butter

Butter needs to be melted, greens washed, dried and finely chopped. Pour it into the oil and pour into a special form or plate. You can also use ice cube trays.

Cilantro chutney with garlic and nuts

Ingredients for making chutney sauce:

• 100g shelled walnuts;
• 40ml vinegar;
• bunch of fresh cilantro and dill;
• a few garlic cloves;
• add s alt to taste.

How to cook:

1. Chop the nuts in a blender along with cilantro, dill and garlic.
2. S alt the sauce and add vinegar to it.
3. Stir thoroughly.

Chimichurri sauce

What you need to make the sauce:

• fresh oregano;
• cilantro;
• parsley;
• basil;
• olive oil;
• vinegar;
• lime juice;
• sugar;
• garlic.

How to make chimichurri:

1. Chop greens and garlic in a blender.
2. Add sugar, s alt, vinegar and lime juice.
3. Stir thoroughly.
4. You should get a homogeneous thick mixture. The sauce is perfect for meat dishes and poultry.

Snack Butter with Cilantro and Vegetables

Melt the butter. Chop cilantro. To prepare snack oil, you can use pepper, onion, lemon zest and other spices to taste. Pour the vegetable-spicy mixture with oil and place in the freezer to freeze.

Cilantro in marinade

An unusual cilantro recipe for the winter - marinated.

How to pickle spice for the winter:

• First you need to prepare the marinade. To do this, bring water to a boil (350 ml), pour s alt and pour 1 tbsp. l. vinegar.
• Wash the coriander, cut it up and transfer it to jars (you need to leave some space).
• Pour the marinade into jars, it should completely cover the greens.
• Let the jars cool, then add 1 tbsp. l. vegetable oil.

Jars need to be sterilized for 20 minutes, let them cool and put away after that in the cellar.

S alting greens

S alting cilantro in jars is easy.

How to pickle spicy greens in a jar:

• Rinse coriander in water, dry and chop.
• For 1 kg of spices, 250 g of ordinary table s alt will be required.
• Rinse and dry the jars before laying, spread cilantro and s alt in layers.
• Each layer needs to be pressed so that the greens give juice.

When the jar is full, cover it with a lid and put it in the refrigerator on the bottom shelf. You can also remove the workpiece in the cellar.

Canning

What you need for preservation:

• cilantro;
• 2-3 garlic cloves;
• 1-3 tbsp l. any oil;
• s alt.

Cooking process:

• Rinse and cut greens.
• Peel the garlic and chop in a blender.
• Before laying the workpiece, sterilize the jars, grease with oil in advance.
• Cilantro mixed with s alt and garlic.
• Put the blank into jars, cover with metal lids.
• Roll up the cans.

Ready preservation should be stored in a cool place. It can be a refrigerator, a cellar or a loggia (if it is not insulated). The workpiece is suitable for preparing various dishes, as well as for salad dressing.

Storage in oil

Another way to keep the spice fragrant all winter is to use sunflower or olive oil.

Cooking process:

• Rinse cilantro thoroughly, let dry a little and chop finely.
• Pour in oil and mix until smooth.
• Sterilize the jars, then transfer the workpiece into them.
• A layer of oil on top should be about 1 cm.
• Close the lids and roll up.

Ready cilantro should be stored in the basement or refrigerator. It can be used to dress various salads.

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