Saturday, October 24, 2009

Storing your curry leaves

Curry leaves were never so precious. Back in India, almost everyone has a curry leaf plant or your vegetable vendor gives them for free when you buy other veggies. I realized the importance of curry leaves only after coming to US. I practically use them every single day and it is frustrating to know that your grocery store doesn't have it the day you want. The store I buy all my Indian groceries and veggies carries real big packets of curry leaves and I must say they are expensive. So when they start going black in about a week's time, you obviously feel bad.

Two weeks back I got a huge packet of curry leaves and was wondering how to save this precious commodity. My friend S told me that she just dumps them in a freezer and they stay really fresh. Long back I was searching for some recipe and I came across what I believe was some kind of food forum. There somebody mentioned that storing your curry leaves and herbs in an aluminum foil keeps them fresh. So I said let's try keeping them in an aluminum foil in the freezer, and believe me they are just as fresh as I bought them.

I put a sheet of foil inside a zip bag, put the leaves in it and just dumped it into the freezer. Thankfully, it worked. It's been over two weeks now and I am so glad, I never need to throw them away.

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