“An honest laborious Country-man, with good Bread, Salt and a little Parsley, will make a contented Meal with a roasted Onion.”
John Evelyn (1620-1706)
When I was pregnant with Jubilee, there was one meal that I ate for lunch almost five months of the pregnancy. It was one baked yellow gold potato, with Celtic sea salt, Kerrygold butter, and fresh parsley from our herb box. I still enjoy such a simple lunch on occasion.
One of the most underrated and poorly used herbs is parsley. Parsley has gotten a bad rap for being served with a pickle at diners. People don’t know what to do with it, but it looks pretty, so HEY! Let’s slap it on a plate and call it good.
Parsley has so many things to offer beyond the visual appeal. It aids in digestion, and it enhances flavors of savory dishes.
But, what do you do with fresh parsley? Most recipes only call for one tablespoon or so, and the rest can just sit there and rot in the refrigerator. So you probably should just give up buying fresh herbs right now.
Or not.
Let me teach you the proper way to store fresh parsley for the optimum length of freshness.
How to Store Fresh Parsley
- Snip ends of parsley to get a clean cut.
- Place parsley in a glass jar that is about half-full of water.
- Put a plastic bag over the top of the jar of parsley.
- Refrigerate.
We’ve been working on the same bunch of parsley (it was a very large one from the farmers market) for two weeks. I’ve replaced the water once. And the leaves still look this green and taste just like I snipped it from our herb box outside.
I know that I said we wouldn’t be talking solely about the visual effect of fresh herbs, but sometimes appearances improve attitudes. Sometimes the way I show love to my kids and my husband is in the little things like adding a garnish of fresh herbs on top of what would have been a perfectly fine dinner. It leans my heart toward an attitude of service to my family. One of my kids has repeatedly called our meals “feasts” probably because on my good days I try to show my family love in the little details. Parsley is the easiest way to do that to make a meal look “fancy.” I used it tonight on our chicken and biscuits, and it added just a little special touch.
What’s your favorite way to use parsley?