Fresh parsley is almost a staple at my house. I generally have a bundle of parsley in a supermarket plastic produce bag in my refrigerator. For the first few days it looks great, and then it gradually begins to wilt, and looks sadder and sadder. Often, when making a dish that calls for parsley, I select the best stems of parsley, and then eventually end up discarding much of the bunch. So, I was pleased to discover a tip for keeping parsley fresh in a hundred-year-old magazine.
The century-old tip calls for washing the parsley in cold water, then letting it stand in the water for an hour or so if it is slightly wilted. The water is then shaken off, and the parsley is stored in a glass jar with a lid in the icebox (or, in today’s terminology, the refrigerator).
I was curious how modern experts recommend storing parsley, so did an online search. Some of methods are similar to the hundred-year-old recommendation, but not exactly the same. For example, Martha Stewart recommends three different ways to store parsley:
- Wash and dry the parsley, then put an inch or so of water in a glass jar. Place the parsley stems in the water (like a flower bouquet). The parsley in the jar can be covered loosely with a plastic bag. Store in refrigerator and change the water every few days.
- Wrap washed parsley in damp paper towels and put into a resealable plastic bag or other container. Store in refrigerator.
- Chop parsley and freeze in ice cube trays. The parsley in the trays should be covered with olive oil or water before freezing.
So did you try the 100 yr version?
I tried it when preparing this post. The parsley is still in the refrigerator. So far, so good.
We place the parsley in a glass with water on the windowsill and change the water every few days. Depending on the quality of the parsley it will easily keep for a week. No refrigerator needed!
I like how you keep parsley fresh. It makes a lot of sense to put the stems in water, and it’s nice that it doesn’t even need to be refrigerated.
Fortunately for me, I do not use parsley, thus I am saved all this work! I guess some things really do not change all that much, do they?
Yeah, what Suza said!
Ha Ha! Good one!
😁😁😁
You can ignore these tips. 🙂
Thank goodness–I was worried I would need to go buy parsley! I love reading your blog Sheryl, even when it does not address things I do. It might help you to know the only time I ever heard of something called parsley was when I saw it on the shelf in the grocery store after I moved into my first apartment. We just thought it was for cottage cheese and pepper.
Love this tip, and so easy!
Good to hear that you liked this tip. Some old tips, like this one, stand the test of time.
I don’t use parsley, either, but I enjoyed reading about it.
It’s nice to hear that you enjoyed this post even though you don’t use parsley.
Thanks for passing this tip from a hundred years ago! I’ve placed parley in water (yes, like a bouquet) and put it in the fridge – I’ve done the same with asparagus – which I’ve found to be a reasonably successful method for keeping them both fresh but I’ve never tried a closed jar like that.
I’ve also occasionally put celery that is getting droopy into water. I cut the stalks off at the base and then put them in a glass of water for a few hours. It helps make the celery more turgid. My sense is that the closed jar maintains a higher humidity, which helps keep the parsley from wilting.
I zap any leftover parsley in the food processor and shove it into a freezer bag as is; lasts for ages!
sherry
I like it! Great suggestion.
Parsley, like other softer herbs, is rarely sold ready-cut in the UK, but rather growing crowded into pots. It last for weeks on the kitchen window ledge, especially if I go to the trouble of thinning it out to give the plants a bit of breathing space. 2 lots from last year (1 flat-leaved, I curly) are still going strong as pots in the garden!
Parsley in pots sounds like a wonderful idea. I don’t think that I’ve ever seen pots of parsley sold in the U.S., though many stores do sell pots with basil plants.
Business opportunity for you ??😉😉
Oops. I froze my chopped up parsley but didn’t put any oil on it!