Storing Parsley

Are you wondering, “Kristin, why are you photographing boring, old parsley?” Aside from the fact that I think parsley is so underrated (flat leaf parsley, that is), I have been trying to figure out the best way to store this versatile herb.

As y’all may recall from earlier posts, I am a big advocate of using fresh herbs in lieu of the dried kind. They provide a much better flavor and instantly make dishes taste and look better. However, I will not deny that they are more of a nuisance to store. How frustrating is it to bring home fresh herbs, and when you reach for them a few days later, that are wilted or dried out?

With this frustration, I am trying to figure out the best way to store herbs to maximize their life in my refrigerator. Rachael Ray always says to store herbs wrapped in a moist paper towel in a zip-lock bag. Although this method works for some of my herbs with tougher leaves (such as rosemary), my parsley leaves were just getting gross!

So I finally found how to best store my parsley that allows the leaves to breathe yet not dry out. I placed them in a tall glass of water, which I then placed in the refrigerator. See the picture above? That is my parsley after sitting in my refrigerator for two weeks! Unbelievable! I did pick out some yellow leaves before taking the photo, but as you can see, overall the parsley is doing quite well.

This method of storing will also work with other similar herbs such as cilantro and watercress. Also, you might be surprised to see how fast your parsley “drinks” the water so check it every few days to see if you need to add more water. Do not add more than 2-3 inches of water because if the water reaches the leaves, this will just cause them to go bad. Lastly, use a tall glass which will help keep the parsley from tilting (if it tilts too much, the glass will tip over!).

Here’s to long lasting parsley!