What to do with leftover parsley
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Hopz
Senior Cook
Lay it out on a clean cutting board- let it dry- may take a day or two depending on your humidity- try to get it down to a single layer so it will all be exposed to the air... put in a container- use as regular parsley, only add a little more since it is dry...
BreezyCooking
Washing Up
Actually, I always keep a bunch of fresh Italian parsley in the vegetable bin of the fridge & use it in virtually everything!! Salads, sauces, soups - the list is endless. It actually lasts quite well in a plastic bag that isn't closed shut.
I don't find dried parsley worth the trouble. The flavor dissipates VERY quickly to the point where it tastes like little more than lawn grass clippings. The fresh isn't very expensive, & you get more bang for your buck.
I don't find dried parsley worth the trouble. The flavor dissipates VERY quickly to the point where it tastes like little more than lawn grass clippings. The fresh isn't very expensive, & you get more bang for your buck.
shannon in KS
Cooking Links Contest Winner
I just put up a bunch of parsley yesterday! I wash it real well, and lay it on wax paper, throw in the freezer, then pack loosely in freezer bags, and keep it in the freezer. When I need some, I grab a few sprigs, and chop while it is still frozen.
Piccolina
Executive Chef
I love using parsely in stuffings, chicken soup, with seafood, sprinkled over stews, in dumplings, stirred into mashed veggies, in cream sauces - it's so versitile and that scent just screams fresh from the gardne
karadekoolaid
Head Chef
Chimichurri - it'll last for ages in the fridge!
Steve A
Senior Cook
There's always the compost pile
Ciao,
Ciao,
Lynan
Sous Chef
Clive is right.,...parsley will last ages in the fridge. Keep it in a closed plastic bag, or...covered in water that you change each day. Just add it too all of your dinner dishes! And all those good vitamins are yours...not the compost heaps!! 
I only use curly parsley as a reluctant wee garnish and Italian Parsley for flavour. Both are VERY easy to grow, whatever your climate and I certainly could not live without my Italian/Continental Parsley.
Oh no sireeeeee
Edited to add: Ummmm, I did not take in Clives post properly. Nasty stuff that Korean Cabbage thing, so no......I would not hang on to my parsley for that particular dish!!! Yucko. Etc....etc. In fact, its ghastly but I do eat Durian. . Panna Cotta...yummmmmmm
I only use curly parsley as a reluctant wee garnish and Italian Parsley for flavour. Both are VERY easy to grow, whatever your climate and I certainly could not live without my Italian/Continental Parsley.
Oh no sireeeeee
Edited to add: Ummmm, I did not take in Clives post properly. Nasty stuff that Korean Cabbage thing, so no......I would not hang on to my parsley for that particular dish!!! Yucko. Etc....etc. In fact, its ghastly but I do eat Durian.
. Panna Cotta...yummmmmmm
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buckytom
Chef Extraordinaire
i don't get it.
korean chimichurri (garlic-parsley sauce)?
lynan, i think you thought of kimchi. you could eat the parsley after the kimchee to help stinky breath.
korean chimichurri (garlic-parsley sauce)?
lynan, i think you thought of kimchi. you could eat the parsley after the kimchee to help stinky breath.
silvercliff_46
Cook
Parsley pesto works well with a lot of things just make it like basil pesto. I am not sure how long it will last or how to preserve it though.
Pressure canning?????
Pressure canning?????
If you want to keep it for about a week:
(1) Stick it in a glass of water (like you would for flowers) and keep it on the counter for about a week.
(2) Take about 4-5 sheets of lightly dampened paper towels (don't seperate them) and lay the parsley out on them ... then loosely roll them up and place in a plastic bag that is NOT sealed (sealing it will promote the growth of mold) and store in the vegetable bin in your refrigerator.
For longer storage:
(3) Freeze - lay out on a sheet pan in the freezer until frozen and then bag.
(4) Dry - spread out on something like a cooling rack - NOT directly on a counter top (the surface on the counter top will not get air circulation and it will prolong the drying time) - or use a food dehydrator - or use string to tie the stems together and then hang from a location that will get good air circulation.
Amount to use - dry VS fresh: The general rule is 1/2 the amount of dry for the quantity of fresh called for in a recipe (for example: 1 Tsp dry to 2 tsp fresh) - drying concentrates flavor (you lose the volume from the water in drying). BUT - different herbs loose their flavor at different rates when dried - so start with 1/2 the amount and then TASTE and adjust as needed. The older - the less flavor.
(1) Stick it in a glass of water (like you would for flowers) and keep it on the counter for about a week.
(2) Take about 4-5 sheets of lightly dampened paper towels (don't seperate them) and lay the parsley out on them ... then loosely roll them up and place in a plastic bag that is NOT sealed (sealing it will promote the growth of mold) and store in the vegetable bin in your refrigerator.
For longer storage:
(3) Freeze - lay out on a sheet pan in the freezer until frozen and then bag.
(4) Dry - spread out on something like a cooling rack - NOT directly on a counter top (the surface on the counter top will not get air circulation and it will prolong the drying time) - or use a food dehydrator - or use string to tie the stems together and then hang from a location that will get good air circulation.
Amount to use - dry VS fresh: The general rule is 1/2 the amount of dry for the quantity of fresh called for in a recipe (for example: 1 Tsp dry to 2 tsp fresh) - drying concentrates flavor (you lose the volume from the water in drying). BUT - different herbs loose their flavor at different rates when dried - so start with 1/2 the amount and then TASTE and adjust as needed. The older - the less flavor.
Michael, I didnt see your post until today. I was going to mention that I was watching a show on foodnetwork and happened to notice when they opened the refrigerator, there was a bunch of parsley in a vase of water. I tried that idea, and here it is, two weeks later and the parsley is nearly as fresh as the day I bought it. I know it's just parsley, but why waste food right? I've used it many times since I bought it. I also trimmed bottom of the stems so it keeps drinking water, same as you would do with a vase of cut flowers.
Constance
Master Chef
The vase method is great. I do that with asparagus as well as herbs.
Right now, I have a "bouquet" of cinnamon basil in a dark spot on my kitchen counter. Basil seems to prefer not to be in the fridge. My whole kitchen and living area smell great.
If I have an extra amount of parsley or basil, as I do when I have it growing in my vegetable garden, I put it in the food processor and give it a spin. I then put the pureed herbs in a ziplock, mash it out real thin, seal and freeze. You can then break little pieces off when you need it, and the aroma and taste is as fresh as if you just picked it!
I haven't had a decent parsley crop for two years. Last year, it got washed out, and this year, I couldn't find any plants. It's easy to start from seed, but that must be done earlier, so I'm doing without except when Kim buys me a bunch.
Right now, I have a "bouquet" of cinnamon basil in a dark spot on my kitchen counter. Basil seems to prefer not to be in the fridge. My whole kitchen and living area smell great.
If I have an extra amount of parsley or basil, as I do when I have it growing in my vegetable garden, I put it in the food processor and give it a spin. I then put the pureed herbs in a ziplock, mash it out real thin, seal and freeze. You can then break little pieces off when you need it, and the aroma and taste is as fresh as if you just picked it!
I haven't had a decent parsley crop for two years. Last year, it got washed out, and this year, I couldn't find any plants. It's easy to start from seed, but that must be done earlier, so I'm doing without except when Kim buys me a bunch.
I got a big surprise today when I pulled the basil I picked up last weekend out of the glass of water, Roots!!!! So, I took part of it and transplanted in the shade in a large pot and this evening gave it a drink and sprinkle and it's doing fine...In the morning I'll put it in the morning sun and then set it back in the shade in the hot afternoon, til it gets use to being outside,I'm curious to see how long I can keep it going
kadesma
kadesma
Yes Amber I am..I've started many plants from cuttings, but, didn't even think about it when I stuck the basil in the water, so I was surprised when I pulled it out to use some today.amber said:
kadesma
Sephora
Washing Up
I bought some Wednesday of last week and it was dead by yesterday. Is it because NC is humid as the devil's spa?
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