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Have you ever had trouble keeping fresh herbs fresh? Do your cilantro and parsley go wilty, limpy, or dry after a few days?
Several years ago my mother taught me this super easy trick, which really works, and keeps fresh herbs fresh and useable for up to a couple of weeks. The trick involves the clever use of a plastic bag.
Now, I don’t know why this works. It just does.
How to Store Parsley, Cilantro, and Other Fresh Herbs
Method
1 Snip off the bottom of the stems.
2 Make sure the leaves are completely dry. Better to hold off rinsing them until you're about to use them.
3 Fill a jar or a water glass partially with water and place the stem ends of the herbs into the water in the jar.
4 If you are storing the herbs in the refrigerator, cover loosely with a plastic bag. Cilantro loves cool temperatures and should be stored in the refrigerator. Parsley can be stored at room temperature or in the refrigerator. According to Harold McGee
5 Change the water after several days if the water starts to discolor.
Fresh parsley, cilantro, basil, and other fresh herbs can last up to 2 weeks or longer when stored this way.
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Elise Bauer is the founder of Simply Recipes. Elise launched Simply Recipes in 2003 as a way to keep track of her family's recipes, and along the way grew it into one of the most popular cooking websites in the world. Elise is dedicated to helping home cooks be successful in the kitchen. Elise is a graduate of Stanford University, and lives in Sacramento, California.
How to Store Parsley, Cilantro, and Other Fresh Herbs
When storing herbs in my fridge, should I use city water, distilled water or bottled drinking water?
Hi Marilyn,
City water should be just fine.
Great help and knowledge!
xxxxxyyyyy
For years I have kept lettuce, silverbeet, parsely, etc. fresh for many days by rinsing out a plastic bag with water, shaking out all the excess then simply placing the produce into the bag and putting it in the refrigerator. You can even revive limp green vegetables and herbs this way.
My Cuban friend told me about this via the abuelita network of wise grandma tricks. Thank you for reviewing this tip re: my cilantro! I can picture Ma Elena’s abuelita en Cuba, back in the day, when all things culinary were crafted from scratch & a prayer.
xxxxxyyyyy
I snipped the bottom of the stems of my parsley and placed in a canning jar filled halfway with water and kept at room temperature. The parsley did not last a week… started to yellow in 3 days and by 5 most had wilted, browned or dried up
Did you put a bag over it?
Obviously! You needed to refrigerate it. And did you cover it with a plastic bag?
Hello Dana and C,
I’ve had decent luck keeping parsley at room temperature in a jar of water. Changing out the water daily helps a lot. Why don’t I keep it in the fridge? Because I like seeing the parsley! It’s cheerful and it reminds me to use it more. To each their own.
Hi Dana, oh that’s a shame. The parsley could just have been too old by the time it was put into water. Also the dryness of the air could have something to do with it. Here in Sacramento, I can just put the parsley in water and leave it on the kitchen counter (not in the sun). The safest bet though is to put a bag over it and store it in water in the fridge.