Parsley Question

[Callisto in NC]

Okay, so I have a recipe that calls for a 1/4 cup of parsley and since it's my mother's recipe I know it's the dried bottle stuff, not fresh. But I grabbed some fresh tonight at Wal-Mart. Now, I'm worried about using fresh in the recipe because of the quantity issue. Can I dry out the fresh to get the right quantity? I'm slow cooking the sauce and I worry big fresh leaves will burn or make it taste different.

 

[AMSeccia]

1/4 cup? That's a LOT of dried parsley for a recipe. Don't worry about using the fresh in the recipe, it'll be all that much better. Tear them at the stem and rinse well ... the salad spinner is great for fresh herbs. Blot with paper toweling if still damp. Then chop finely for use in your recipe -- they shouldn't burn in a sauce.

So whatcha makin?

 

[Callisto in NC]

Well, in all fairness it's a 1/4 cup offset by 2 pounds of tomatoes and one pound of ground beef among other ingredients.

 

[AMSeccia]

Wow ... then I might use the whole bunch of parsley. I still don't think it will burn.

 

[kadesma]

It won't burn and I'd use the whole bunch of parsley..You will have a fantastic sauce using the fresh.. Go for it.. Let us know how it turned out...

kadesma

 

[VeraBlue]

My guess is that your mother substituted dry for fresh from the recipe years ago when it was all de rigour to have a cabinet full of unusual, dry herbs.

Unless the recipe is for 75 people, I cannot imagine anything that would call for a quarter cup of dried parsely.

 

[VeraBlue]

Well, in all fairness it's a 1/4 cup offset by 2 pounds of tomatoes and one pound of ground beef among other ingredients.

Two pounds of tomatoes really isn't that much....nor is a pound of meat. If it's her own recipe, it's possible she intended other people would use fresh while she, herself, preferred dried...and probably used much less.

 

[bethzaring]

i buy dried parsley by the pound! I have an herbed dinner roll recipe, makes 12 rolls, that uses 2 T. of dried parsley, so I use a lot of dried parsley.

One question for fresh use. Since parsley is a relative of celery, when I use fresh parsley, I use the whole plant, stem and all. I end up using a lot of small celery like parts. They taste just like parsley. No more throwing away those bare tree branch looking parts. Do any one else use the copious amount of parsley branches?

 

[bowlingshirt]

Just use the fresh and taste as you go so you don't overpower the sauce with the parsley.

 

[GotGarlic]

One question for fresh use. Since parsley is a relative of celery, when I use fresh parsley, I use the whole plant, stem and all. I end up using a lot of small celery like parts. They taste just like parsley. No more throwing away those bare tree branch looking parts. Do any one else use the copious amount of parsley branches?

I do - I use the stems of most herbs with soft stems, such as cilantro. I don't use the stems of woody herbs, like rosemary and thyme. Depending on what I'm making, I sometimes just toss the sprigs of woody herbs into the dish as it's cooking, especially if it has a sauce. This way, I don't have to strip the leaves off, and trying to chop fresh thyme leaves is a PITA.

re: dry vs. fresh herbs, the rule of thumb is to use 3 times as much fresh as dried. HTH.

 

[Andy M.]

I use the smaller parsley stems with the leaves. I save the larger stems for flavoring dishes or stock.

 

[BreezyCooking]

As GotGarlic just mentioned, 1/4 cup of dried parsley = 3/4 cup fresh chopped or minced. That really is NOT a lot of parsley, especially since parsley is a very mild-flavored herb. If I were you, I'd definitely chop up 3/4 cup of your fresh parsley & use it.

 

[kitchenelf]

The thing is - with fresh parsley you don't want it to cook for a really long time. You can add some of that in as you are cooking but save some to add at the end for that extra dose of brightness - say 30 minutes before the dish is done - I am assuming this is your slow cooker recipe.

1/4 cup of parsley isn't too much, IMHO, for your ingredients.

 

[Uncle Bob]

3/4 cup fresh total.......1/2 Cup 30 minutes before....1/4 cup 5 minutes before....Let's eat!!!!!!

 

[Callisto in NC]

I ended up being too overwhelmed to chop parsley. My crock pot wasn't big enough so I had to go with big pot in the oven one more step and I'd have had to shoot myself. I've had it cooking in the oven at 225 all day so the parsley, used fresh, would not have survived.

I'm going to dry what I bought and crumble it back in the empty jar.

 

[BreezyCooking]

Why dry what you bought? Fresh parsley lasts a long time in the crisper drawer of a fridge. And dry parsley is just so so sad - doesn't even come close to fresh. If I were you & didn't want to save it, I'd throw it away before I bothered drying it.

 

[Callisto in NC]

Well, I would rather dry it then toss it. I use parsley very rarely and I don't foresee a need anytime soon. At least if I dry it I'll have it around.

 

[jpinmaryland]

yeah I dont get the dried parsely thing. The stuff we get in stores is useless. dont know if it's better being homemade.

One alternate idea would be to chop it and put in icecubes in the freezer. That might keep longer.

A few weeks ago I did an experiment with storing parsley in the fridge w/ wet napkin and covered in a bag. It lasted 3 week easy, probably made four. If you cant use parsley in fourweeks then..I dunno..

 

[LadyCook61]

I like fresh parsley, I eat them raw , freshens breath too.

 

[expatgirl]

i buy dried parsley by the pound! I have an herbed dinner roll recipe, makes 12 rolls, that uses 2 T. of dried parsley, so I use a lot of dried parsley.

One question for fresh use. Since parsley is a relative of celery, when I use fresh parsley, I use the whole plant, stem and all. I end up using a lot of small celery like parts. They taste just like parsley. No more throwing away those bare tree branch looking parts. Do any one else use the copious amount of parsley branches?

I do, and will keep them in a separate ziploc bag and add them to soups, etc. Celery is in such short supply now and very expensive over here. The Kazakhs make the most wonderful soups---I wonder what they're using to substitute.........