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Store-Bought Frozen Herbs

Pam R

By Pam R
in Kitchen Consumer

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Pam R

Pam R

Posted
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I have to tell you - after cooking and working with food all day, when I get home I want to do as little food prep as possible. Recently I started to bring in Toppits frozen herbs to sell, and took some home to try. They are so convenient. I'm always buying fresh herbs to take home then find that I'm too tired to do much with them and they're dead within a couple of days.

My one complaint is that the garlic is mashed a little too much (like when you use a micro-plane versus chopping it yourself). And of the 6 varieties, the garlic is actually my least favorite.

The ginger is fantastic (I hate grating ginger) and the dill, basil, parsley and cilantro are all good.

I'm not a fan of a lot of convenience foods - but this is one that I'll continue to use.

Anybody else using them? Thoughts?

Pam Reiss aka "Pam R"

Author: Soup - A Kosher Collection - Passover - A Kosher Collection - Pam's Cookie Collection - Blog - Demos - Pam's Kitchen FB 

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jsolomon

jsolomon

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You grate ginger? I just cut it into little coins across the grain and smash it with the flat of my knife blade.

Honestly, I've never heard of toppit frozen herbs. Are they a regional thing?

I always attempt to have the ratio of my intelligence to weight ratio be greater than one. But, I am from the midwest. I am sure you can now understand my life's conundrum.

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I_call_the_duck

I_call_the_duck

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I've seen them at Trader Joe's, so I bought a package of parsley. Almost hate to admit it, but I love it, especially since I just need a little bit. I agree that they're chopped too finely for my own liking, but they do come in handy if I don't have fresh herbs. A bunch parsely so often goes bad before I get a chance to use it all. I suppose that I can just chop the rest and freeze it, but I honestly didn't think of doing that until just this second.

Karen C.

"Oh, suddenly life’s fun, suddenly there’s a reason to get up in the morning – it’s called bacon!" - Sookie St. James

Travelogue: Ten days in Tuscany

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Pam R

Pam R

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You grate ginger?  I just cut it into little coins across the grain and smash it with the flat of my knife blade.

Honestly, I've never heard of toppit frozen herbs.  Are they a regional thing?

Sometimes I grate ginger, sometimes I julienne it or slice it - depends on what I'm using it in.

They are a product out of Israel - but maybe they haven't hit the US yet. I've seen them in Toronto and they're available at major supermarkets here.

Pam Reiss aka "Pam R"

Author: Soup - A Kosher Collection - Passover - A Kosher Collection - Pam's Cookie Collection - Blog - Demos - Pam's Kitchen FB 

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Pam R

Pam R

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Almost hate to admit it, but I love it, especially since I just need a little bit.

Exactly. :wink:

The point about freezing extra fresh herbs is good - but if I don't want to bother prepping 1 Tbsp. of fresh parsley, I'm not going to go to the trouble of prepping a whole bunch!

The fact that they come in 1 tsp. cubes is good too.

They just make them too damn easy - it's hard not to use them.

Pam Reiss aka "Pam R"

Author: Soup - A Kosher Collection - Passover - A Kosher Collection - Pam's Cookie Collection - Blog - Demos - Pam's Kitchen FB 

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jsolomon

jsolomon

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Y'know, there's nothing wrong with that. Imagine how much more life would suck if we had to crush our own salt!

I always attempt to have the ratio of my intelligence to weight ratio be greater than one. But, I am from the midwest. I am sure you can now understand my life's conundrum.

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eJulia

eJulia

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I have got to find these.... as someone who cooks for one on a very regular basis, and then spends a couple of days every week sick dealing with some medical issues that kill my appetite, I am constantly throwing out fresh herbs all the time... even when I store them properly, re-wrap them evey time they are opened and such.

This might be the answer!

Thanks, Pam, for the heads up.

ETA: Just searched the "Where to Buy" section of Toppits web page and it doesn't look to promising for us US'ers... I didn't search every page but all of retailers listed that I could see where Canadian... Think I'll drop them a note as it doesn't appear mail order is an option, either... :sad:

Edited by eJulia (log)

"Anybody can make you enjoy the first bite of a dish, but only a real chef can make you enjoy the last.”

Francois Minot

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Luckylies

Luckylies

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I have got to find these.... as someone who cooks for one on a very regular basis, and then spends a couple of days every week sick dealing with some medical issues that kill my appetite, I am constantly throwing out fresh herbs all the time... even when I store them properly, re-wrap them evey time they are opened and such.

This might be the answer!

Thanks, Pam, for the heads up.

ETA:  Just searched the "Where to Buy" section of Toppits web page and it doesn't look to promising for us US'ers... I didn't search every page but all of retailers listed that I could see where Canadian... Think I'll drop them a note as it doesn't appear mail order is an option, either... :sad:

I got mine at Trader Joes. Haven't used them yet (I always forget that I have herbs...in the freezer)

does this come in pork?

My name's Emma Feigenbaum.

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Badiane

Badiane

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It is a good idea, and I have been doing these little cubes with garlic for a while now with tiny ice cube trays from the dollar store. They are really expensive here - $3.99 at the Superstore, more at Safeway - for 20 teaspoons of something that I can get for less than a buck and chop and freeze myself. Last week I got three bunches of parsley for 99 cents. Washed, chopped and in the freezer in less than 10 minutes. Of course I don't work full time, and I don't have kids and I'm not infirm in any way. If I was dealing with issues or had a very busy lifestyle, they would probably be worth the money. Certainly nothing wrong with trying to make life a little easier.

Don't try to win over the haters. You're not the jackass whisperer."

Scott Stratten

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Pam R

Pam R

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ETA:  Just searched the "Where to Buy" section of Toppits web page and it doesn't look to promising for us US'ers... I didn't search every page but all of retailers listed that I could see where Canadian... Think I'll drop them a note as it doesn't appear mail order is an option, either... :sad:

I'm pretty sure that I've seen another brand somewhere ... I just can't think of the name now. I'll post it if I can think of it.

They retail here for under $4 - I sell them for $3.49. (Of course, I pay wholesale - so it makes it more palatable for me). But - around here that's about the price I pay for a bunch of basil, most of which I end up tossing. Since I end up throwing lots of fresh stuff away, the cost isn't too bad.

The garlic is probably the least value for the money - but the convenience is priceless :wink:

Pam Reiss aka "Pam R"

Author: Soup - A Kosher Collection - Passover - A Kosher Collection - Pam's Cookie Collection - Blog - Demos - Pam's Kitchen FB 

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I_call_the_duck

I_call_the_duck

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I'll have to check when I get home, but I think they were about $2.99USD at Trader Joe's. I thought at the time that it was worth the price considering how much parsely I've wasted in the past.

Karen C.

"Oh, suddenly life’s fun, suddenly there’s a reason to get up in the morning – it’s called bacon!" - Sookie St. James

Travelogue: Ten days in Tuscany

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eJulia

eJulia

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Cool, Guys... thanks for the info, I won't stop looking or exploring alternates to trashing fresh herbs!!!

"Anybody can make you enjoy the first bite of a dish, but only a real chef can make you enjoy the last.”

Francois Minot

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Cleo

Cleo

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The brand that I get at Trader Joe's is called Dorot. I love the garlic. I agree that it is mashed up quite a bit, but it beats chopping or mincing by hand any day. And I can't stand the garlic that's in jars -- it always seems to stink up my refrigerator.

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I_call_the_duck

I_call_the_duck

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The brand that I get at Trader Joe's is called Dorot. 

Yeah, that's the one I get. I got thrown off by the little cubes. :laugh:

Karen C.

"Oh, suddenly life’s fun, suddenly there’s a reason to get up in the morning – it’s called bacon!" - Sookie St. James

Travelogue: Ten days in Tuscany

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CaliPoutine

CaliPoutine

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I absolutly love these too.

I bought 10 assorted packs of them for one reason only.

They reduced them to 1.00 each and I couldnt pass them up.

I think after my purchase the grocery store thought they were big sellers and brought them back to 3.49. That is too expensive for me, especially since it is so easy to grate the knobs of ginger I keep frozen. You don't even need to peel them.

Randi

2girlsinthekitchen.blogspot.com

The Senior Dining Thread

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Anna N

Anna N

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They are convenient but SO expensive. Here they sell for $3.69 Cdn each pkg. Still I will buy the occasional pack in the winter when fresh herbs are yucky and expensive!

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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Cynthia from Toppits

Cynthia from Toppits

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I was so delighted to find a posting for our Garlic and Herb cubes. I would love more feedback from those of you that use them and those of you that stopped using them (ie too much money, etc)

We always love feedback. :biggrin:

By the way: In Canada this product is sold under the Toppits brand and in the US it is sold under the Dorot brand. Dorot is the supplier & manufacturer in Isreal. While Toppits would love to sell in the US we are not authorized to yet!

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annachan

annachan

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I really do like them. I get the parsley and basil ones when they're available at Trader Joe's. It's convenient since I don't use herbs all the time and I always end up throwing out half of a fresh bunch because I only needed a little for a recipe.

So far, my biggest complaint is that my local TJs don't always have them in stock. As a matter of fact, I haven't seen the parsley ones for quite a while now.

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Cynthia from Toppits

Cynthia from Toppits

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I love the convenience of the Dorot herb cubes that I found at Trader Joes .. hoping that they are kosher for Passover as well .. does anyone know about that?? :rolleyes:

I know that the products are often hard to find in Trader Joe's - in Canada we have 6 varieties available.

I will check with the Dorot Supplier in Israel and let you know if it is suitable for Passover.

Thanks

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Cynthia from Toppits

Cynthia from Toppits

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I love the convenience of the Dorot herb cubes that I found at Trader Joes .. hoping that they are kosher for Passover as well .. does anyone know about that?? :rolleyes:

I know that the products are often hard to find in Trader Joe's - in Canada we have 6 varieties available.

I will check with the Dorot Supplier in Israel and let you know if it is suitable for Passover.

Thanks

I have recieved confirmation from Dorot in Isreal that the products are suitable and certified for Passover.

Enjoy!

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