How to Store Herbs So They Stay Fresher, Longer
Do yourself a favor: Rinse off your herbs as soon as you get home from the market or store. Don't wait until three minutes before starting dinner. Not only will they be ready to deploy whenever you need to add brightness and a finishing garnish, but giving the whole bundle a proper wash rehydrates the tender leaves so they stay fresher longer, meaning no questionably brown parsley or cilantro. Being able to eyeball the difference between parsley and cilantro? That's a lesson for another time.
But the reason washing your herbs in advance is truly a pro move is that it makes you about 100 times more likely to reach for them when you’re in the kitchen. Clean any herbs that are visibly dirty or feel gritty in your mouth (dill, too) beforehand, so you can add them by the handful to a dish in an instant. Here’s how we do it in three easy steps. All right, maybe not stop, drop, and roll easy, but still, super super easy.
1. Trim the ends of your herbs with a knife or shears. Freshly cut stems help herbs absorb water better so they’ll perk up. The better your herbs look, the better your finished dish will look. If the stems are thick and you’re going to discard them later, you might as well pick the leaves now, too.
2. Place the herbs in a salad spinner and fill it with cold water. Agitate the herbs with your hands to loosen dirt from the stems and leaves. Then drain the spinner. Repeat this process until the water is clear, and spin those herbs dry.
3. Transfer the herbs to paper towels, then roll them up in the damp towels and store them in a plastic bag. You want to keep some moisture in there, so they stay fresh. You can refrigerate them for up to a week, pulling a few leaves whenever you need.
And you're done. You'll be slinging herbs so fast, you'll get some kind of Wild West bandit nickname. Quick Draw Susie. Leafy Luther. Quality Parsley Patrick. The Good. The Bad. The Herbaceous.
Do you have to pick your herbs though?
Well, that depends. Are they hardy? Are they tender? And how lazy are you?
Originally Appeared on Bon Appétit
