Freeze Lemon Balm: This Is How It Works

Freeze lemon balm in the ice cube tray

If you want to use lemon balm in the kitchen all year round, it is best to freeze the healthy herb in portions such as ice cubes.

• Lemon balm blooms in June. If you harvest shortly before flowering, the lemon balm has the most aroma. This is the best way to process the lemon balm.
• Pluck off the tender leaves one at a time and rinse them under the tap.
• Finely chop the lemon balm and fill each compartment of the ice cube tray two-thirds full with the chopped herb.
• Fill the ice cube tray with cold water and freeze the lemon balm in portions in the freezer.
• Prepared in this way, the lemon balm can be stored in the refrigerator for a year until the next harvest.

Lemon Balm – Freeze the leaves individually

You can also freeze the lemon balm leaves whole.

• To do this, harvest the leaves shortly before flowering and rinse them under running water.
• If you want to freeze the leaves individually, they must be dry. To do this, spread the leaves out on kitchen paper.
• When the leaves have dried, spread them out on a flat plate and put them in the freezer. The individual sheets must not touch each other.
• Once the leaves are frozen, you can also transfer them to a freezer box. Then the leaves of the lemon balm will no longer stick together and you can remove them individually.