How to defrost coriander / cilantro?
My local supermarket has cheap frozen coriander/cilantro.
But when I defrost it by leaving it in a bowl for an hour, it turns into a slimy mess.
How can I defrost it so that I get nice fresh leaves?
Best Answer
Frozen supermarket coriander/cilantro is perfectly good to use whilst cooking. Very similar to adding stems for flavour. You'll never get fresh looking leaves to finish the dish from the ice blocks, but stir it in and you will get that background flavour. Delicate leaves, Basil is similar, are either fresh or they aren't.
Don't worry too much about the look and you'll be fine. Bear in mind that you're adding water to the recipe, and put a pot plant on your windowsill for the finishing touches.
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How do you defrost frozen cilantro?
How To Thaw Frozen Cilantro. Frozen cilantro or cilantro cubes can be added straight from the freezer to the dish you are cooking on the stovetop without thawing. If you are using cilantro cubes to make a salad dressing, place the cube in a mixing bowl to defrost for 20 to 30 minutes.Does cilantro lose its flavor when frozen?
You will get the best flavor from your frozen cilantro if you use it within six months. However, using a vacuumed sealed bag or the ice cube method should keep it fresh for even longer than that.Can you cook coriander from frozen?
If you have frozen it as full leaves, you need to stir the leaves into your hot dish. If you have frozen your coriander as an ice cube, toss the ice cube into your stew, curry, stir fry or soup and give it a minute or two to completely melt. That's all you need to do.How do you unfreeze herbs?
Thaw the herb cubes in a strainer; use minted ice cubes in cold drinks. You can substitute frozen herbs for fresh in most recipes. With hot foods, you don't even have to thaw the herbs.Cilantro Saving Tip. How to keep Coriander Fresh for long in Fridge by Chawla's Kitchen
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Answer 2
In most cases, if frozen food has unsatisfactory texture after thawing, the damage has either already been done while freezing (which might depend on the freezing process used - shock frosting vs normal slow freezing, blanching vs no blanching...), or has happened when the product thawed (eg due to bad cooling chain management on the vendor's side, or an auto-defrosting freezer, or due to the product getting to warm when transporting it from the grocer) and slowly refroze.
What you bought was probably a bag of frozen slimy mess already while in the grocer's freezer. The brand might be cheap because they use less than optimal freezing technique.
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