Sunday, December 30, 2012

Happy Herbs

This afternoon I was shopping at a small Middle Eastern market near my house.  After I gathered the things on my list I wandered over to the produce section to see what was there.  The only thing that caught my eye today was the cilantro.  This store always have the best price on the herb; the bunches are cheaper and twice as large as the ones at the grocery store down the block.  Even though I didn't have a specific use for it, two bunches jumped into my shopping bag...a whole dollar's worth!

 There's no way I'll use up all that cilantro before it goes bad, and I hate to waste food.  I chopped and froze one of the bunches to use in cooked dishes, but that still left one bunch.

Like most herbs, cilantro's really best when it's fresh.  I used to have a problem with fresh herbs going bad before someone told me they'd last much longer if I'd treat them like cut flowers. It sounded crazy, but I tried it and it really works!

It's easy to do. The first step is to snip off the bottom of the stems. (I throw them in my freezer stock bag.) Next, fill a glass with a couple of inches of water and place the stem ends of the herbs into the water in the jar. Cover them loosely with a plastic bag and store in the refrigerator. Change the water after every couple of days or if the water starts to discolor.

Using this method, I've had fresh herbs last for more than a week.  That's plenty of time to make a Mexican dinner.  Or Indian.  Or maybe Vietnamese.  I wonder if I'll be making another trip to an ethnic grocery store?

6 comments:

  1. Basil doesn't do well in the fridge but does fine on the counter. Sometimes I'll even put it out in a vase since the leaves are so pretty.

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    1. I've never bought fresh basil (cut it from the pot on my deck in the summer, and use dried in the winter) but that makes sense, since it's a warm weather plant.

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    2. I always keep my basil in a glass of water. It will last for three weeks if it comes in my CSA box where it was harvested the day it was delivered.

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  2. I do the same thing with my cilantro...it last so much longer. I do asparagus like that, too! You got a great deal on that, too! Nice!

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    1. I don't think I've ever had asparagus in the house long enough to worry about it staying fresh :-)

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  3. I've done the same thing with my parsley and cilantro and by golly it does work. I do the same thing with asparagus also, but I haven't covered it yet. Like you, we usually eat them before it gets too old.

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