When good herbs go bad. We almost always have some leftover fresh herb hanging around, in their clam shell packs or bound in rubber bands from the market. There's mint that didn't make it into our iced tea, chives we forgot to add to the buttermilk salad dressing, an extra bunch of parsley from the farmer's market.
As The Washington Post explains:
One moment we're tossing heaps of beautiful fresh basil on pasta, and the next the refrigerator drawer (that alleged "crisper") has a large bag of unappetizing blackened slosh, which goes into the trash.
The article shares some suggestions for storing and using fresh herbs ...
Tips for Storing Fresh Herbs from The Washington Post
• Rinse excess sand and soil off herbs as soon as you get them home.
• Store herbs in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. Puncture some air holes in the back and keep the leaves away from the interior surface of the bag. Wrap the stems in a moist paper towel.
• As an alternative to storing herbs in a plastic bag, try placing the herbs like cilantro and parsley in a glass of water in the refrigerator
• Use leftover herbs to create pesto-style sauces.
For more herb storage suggestions and a recipe for Save The Herbs Pesto, check out the full article.
(Nick and Blake from The Paupered Chef wrote this piece for The Post. Check out their blog to see how really ugly green beans changed their lives and more.)
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Thanks for this! I'm often left disappointed by my fresh herbs' untimely demise ... will have to try some of these tips.
Hmmm...rinse them off? Only if you dry them very, very well, right? Because I would assume any excess moisture on the leaves, etc would ensure that they went bad more quickly?
I haven't been rinsing mine off when I get them home from the farmers market, but I do get a paper towel a wee bit damp wrap them in that and then put them into plastic baggies and the into the drawer. If when I take them out they have some dirt on them I will run them under the faucet.
Storing the herbs this way I have managed to have parsley last for two weeks and look just as good as it did the day I brought it home, other herbs usually start to die off after week one.
Stick 'em in the freezer. I didn't think you could, but the chef at the restaurant where I work showed me and it works fine, just wrap them in foil. They look/taste pretty much the same as fresh, and much better than dried. Although with something like dill or parsley I would freeze small amounts wrapped separately, cos I have a big ol' parsley iceberg in my freezer now!
I agree with tin_angel - freezing works great! I buy the little packages of frozen cubes of chopped herbs at Trader Joe's (1 cube equals one teaspoon) but you could easily do the same thing yourself with a mini ice cube tray.
The above is why I have a grow-light and some clay pots in my kitchen window . . .
I freeze my herbs in a glass jar. Why use more plastic?
Guido - I'm interested in doing the grow light thing, too. Do you have any tips on suppliers or books?
I'm also interested in the grow light thing. Is there a way to make it attractive? Where exactly do you buy your grow lights?
For cilantro, I put it in a glass of water with plastic wrap or the trimmed down produce bag sitting loosely on top--I've had some last for over a week! And for basil, I just sit it in a glass of water on the counter as you might with fresh flowers, this also lasts quite long. If I have an abundance of herbs, I also like processing them with a bit of olive oil and then freezing them in ice cube trays, so I can just toss them in a pan if I need to cook with them at a later time. And with mint, I will sometimes squish it with some water into an ice cube tray and later toss it into my water bottle on the go.
I recently tried putting cilantro and parsley in glasses of water in the fridge. The parsley is doing fine, but I was very disappointed to see the cilantro turn brown and wilty within a few hours! :( Perhaps I will try it again using Phu's plastic bag technique.
grow-lights: I bought cute pendant lamps at IKEA
Just make sure they are rated for a high enough wattage - so buy the grow-light bulb first (not available at IKEA)
I find the glass of water w/ a produce bag loosely on top is the best method. I trim the herbs and just put 1 or 2 inches of water in the glass. It’s just enough to keep the stems moist with no leaves under the water level. I have had parsley and cilantro last for something like 2 weeks.
I set left-over herbs to dry on the windowsill after using, and then throw them into omelettes, on baked potatoes, etc.
I can never get cilantro to grow either. I have fresh porch basil all summer, but have tried cilantro twice and it always withers away. I suspect it would do the same in the fridge.
my mother bought me one of these -- amazing -- really works.
http://www.solutions.com/jump.jsp?itemID=3139&itemType=PRODUCT&path=1%2C2%2C5%2C495%2C544&iProductID=3139
Can't remember where I saw this trick, but I find that it really works.
Put fresh herbs in a ziploc bag and fill it up with your breath (i.e., exhale into the bag) before sealing it. The CO2 helps them stay fresh. Basil lasts me between 5-7 days.
You can always reuse the ziploc bag, too.
I just got some fresh basil from a friend's garden and did not know how to store it so I put it in a jar, seems like the worst way to store?
I have parsley in my frig that's almost a month old. It looks as fresh as the day I purchased it. I bring it home, trim the ends, stick in a glass with a small amt of water and cover with a clear grocery produce bag. At the end of each week, I take it out cut again and flip the bag since it may have collected come water. I do this with all mt herbs, even dill.