The fall harvest this year produced a particularly large quantity of basil.  We decided to freeze it so that we could use it in soups, stews, and sauces for the winter.

First we blanched the leaves by dipping them in boiling water for 30 seconds

,..then plunging them into ice water to keep them from wilting.

Later, we decided that it would be easier to do this once we separated the
leaves from the stems.  With the quantity we had, this process took
Julia and Catherine 8 hours!

Once blanched, the leaves were left to dry for a few hours on paper towels.
We were all getting pretty hungry at this point, so we used a fan to
speed up the drying process.

Once the leaves were dry, we put them into seal-able bags and squeezed the air out.
Some was also made into delicious pesto!