Everyone has heard of chives but did you know that you can also eat the flowers of the chive plant? Now you have a reason to harvest these flowers whenever you get a batch you might wonder next how do you store them?
Can You Freeze Chive Flowers?
Yes, you can freeze chive flowers for up to 2 months. But you shouldn’t freeze the flowers on their own. Instead, you need to freeze them in water, oil or as butter to ensure you retain their delicate flavour.
Do Do Chive Flowers freeze well? Sometimes
Can you refreeze Chive Flowers? No
How To Freeze Chive Flowers
Well, we wouldnāt recommend that you attempt to freeze chive flowers straight from the plant without any preparation work.
One method you can use to store them, which does make them possible to freeze is by making up a batch of chive flower butter. You can also substitute the butter with oil or even water for different methods of freezing.
All of these methods are outlined below:
How to Freeze Chive Flower Butter
This is a great way to freeze chive flowers if you want to cook a dish in butter and garlic. You just need to grab one of these butter cubes, throw it into the pan and then cook your dish as you normally would.
- Chop and Mix: Chop up the chive flowers finely and mix them in with the butter.
- Portion into Ice Cubes: Grab yourself a couple of ice cube trays and spoon a portion of the chive flower butter into each section.
- Flash Freeze: Pop the tray into the freezer and freeze.
- Bag Up: When the chive butter has frozen you can take them out of the tray and put them into a freezer bag.
- Refreeze: Label the freezer bag with the date and contents and pop it back into the freezer.
How to Freeze Chive Flower Oil
For this, you need some olive oil and some ice cube trays. Their use is much like how you would use chive butter but is for those who prefer olive oil over butter in their diet.
- Chop Up: Firstly, you need to chop up the flowers finely.
- Portion into Ice Cubes: Pop the chopped chive flowers into the sections of the ice cube trays. Pour some oil into each section. Leave a little space at the top for the oil to freeze.
- Flash Freeze: Place the ice cube trays into the freezer carefully and freeze.
- Bag Up: Once the oil has frozen then, you can transfer the chive oil cubes into a large freezer bag.
- Refreeze: Seal the bag, label it with the date and contents and then pop it back into the freezer.
How to Freeze Chive Flowers In Water
This is an alternative way to freeze chive flowers. You will want to pop these cubes into liquid dishes such as stews or soups:
- Chop and Portion: As with the previous methods, you need to chop up your chive flowers finely and pop them into the sections of an ice cube tray.
- Cover with Water: Instead of butter or oil, this time, you simply pour water over the chive flowers. You still need to make sure you leave a gap at the top of each section to allow the liquid to expand as it freezes.
- Flash Freeze: Place the ice cube trays gently into the freezer and allow to freeze until the water is solid.
- Bag Up: Next, take the chive flower ice cubes out of the trays and put them into a freezer bag.
- Refreeze: Label the freezer back, so you know what is in the bag and add the date too. Then seal and put the chive flower ice cubes back into the freezer.
The good news is that all three of these methods can actually be used for chives themselves but also other soft herbs such as parsley, mint and coriander.
And yes, you could mix the herbs together to create instant flavour cubes that can be stirred into soups, stews, stocks and sauces.
3 Tips for Freezing Chive Flowers
Now you know how to freeze them, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing chive flowers to have the best results:
Freeze Into Butter
By freezing chive flowers into butter (or oil) you can use them directly in your cooking to impart a subtle onion flavour. It also ensures the chives flowers retain their flavour for the longest time possible.
Don’t Defrost
If you’ve frozen cubes of chive flower then you don’t need to defrost them. Grab a cube from the freezer and pop it straight into your cooking.
Label Clearly
If you have frozen lots of cubes of herbs and spices then make sure you write a clear label so you know which cube you’re grabbing.
How Long Can You Freeze Chive Flowers?
Whichever method you chose to freeze chive flowers you should only freeze them for up to two months. After this time the flowers may degrade in quality which will affect the taste of them.
Chive flowers will not last for very long in the fridge before they begin to lose their flavour and appearance. You should only keep them in the fridge for 5 days.
How Do You Defrost Chive Flowers?
If you have chosen any of the methods outlined in this article then you donāt need to defrost the chive flowers at all. The best way to use them is from frozen:
The oil or butter chive flower cubes can be popped into a pan as it is heating up to add a great base for cooking your meal.
The chive flowers frozen in water can be used from frozen by popping them into a sauce, stew or soup and allowing to thaw out into it as you are cooking it – easy and delicious.
Can You Refreeze Chive Flowers?
On the whole, no, you shouldnāt refreeze chive flowers.
However, if you have used the chive flowers in your cooking then as long as the meal you have made can be frozen then you should have no problems freezing them with chive flowers in.
Do Chive Flowers Freeze Well?
As a raw ingredient, chive flowers donāt freeze well at all. The flowers are delicate and wouldnāt survive without a little processing.
However, if you chop them up and add them to a base such as butter, oil or water then they do freeze well and are perfect to pop into you cooking for extra flavour and nutrition.
Related FAQs
If you’ve still got questions about freezing chive flowers or chives in general, then these may help:
Chive flowers don’t just look pretty, but they are full of chive-like flavour. They have a slightly sweeter more subtle flavour than the chive itself so work great in salads and other raw dishes.
