Storing and Preserving Fresh Herbs
Happy New Years, friends. Who has their Christmas stuff taken down and gifts all put away? I usually get one or two gifts for the kitchen each year, and this year my husband found a very practical gift to store our fresh herbs in.
But first, years ago, my mama taught me the “herb in the jar trick” for storing fresh herbs in the fridge. (Elise from Simple Recipes shares the same concept, here.)
Way back when (I’m dating myself), I’d say the most common herb Mom used was parsley.
Fresh parsley was put in and on everything, and used as a heavy garnish for entertaining.
Am I the only one who grew up with parsley? And it wasn’t the Flat-Leaf parsley, either. It was the bushy flowery kind (called Curly-Leaf). It’s funny, when I see it in the grocery store now, I think of my mom. :) What’s the difference between the two? Read about it, here.
Today home cooks are using a lot more fresh herbs. The most popular herbs I use are basil, cilantro, rosemary, chives and parsley. And then probably thyme and sage.
Since we have an herb (trough) bed (here’s how I freeze fresh herbs), and we’ve never been consistent in the way we store fresh herbs in the fridge, my husband went shopping for the perfect gift for me …
He bought the Progressive Fresh Herb Keeper. It’s large enough to store 3 bunches of herbs!
The water reservoir provides hydration for fresh herbs. You fill it with water up to this line.
The lid protects herbs from absorbing refrigerator orders. Yay!
Keeps herbs fresher up to 3 weeks longer.
You can store in fridge door or on the counter. Another Yay!
And there’s no cross flavoring of different herbs. I wondered how this would work. It works perfectly!
Do you use fresh herbs in the wintertime. How do you store or preserve them?
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
I have an herb preserver and I don’t use it! I need to!! Thanks for the tips!
I love this!! I hate nothing more than having to toss rotten herbs!
Love the herb keeper. My fresh herbs always go bad before I can use them up.
Curly parsley makes me think of my mom too. Even now, if there is a sprig of it on her plate, she’ll eat it and say “it’s a natural deodorant”! Have you ever heard that?
I do like Liz and wrap mine in paper towels and put in a plastic bag. I’ve tried putting them in a glass of water but too many hands in the fridge and it usually gets turned over! This little gadget seems much more practical.
Well, I’ve done the water in a jar trick. It works. But I love this. So cute. I see I can get it at Amazon dot CA. Score! You know, I still grow the curly parsley in my garden. It’s just so…..green. ;-) Bunny likes it, too. :sob: I’m probably the only person on the planet who does not have a love for cilantro. I grow the flat parsley, too. Thanks for sharing your herb jar, Sandy!
What a great idea! My herbs always die on me before I get to use all of them so this is the greatest solution! I can see myself ordering a couple of these jars since I always have different kinds of fresh herbs on hand. Thanks for sharing this, Sandy!!
I don’t use fresh herbs, but have always wanted to. This is good incentive to finally buy a little herb plant for my kitchen. :)
Nothing like fresh herbs in the kitchen.
I love cooking with fresh herbs, and use them daily. In the summer, I grow fresh basil, parsley, rosemary, thyme, lemon thyme and chives. I just bought flat leaf parsley and basil yesterday, and love this herb keeper. Thanks for sharing, Sandy! I’m off to check it out!
Ok I love this!! Normally mine are wrapped in paper towel in a plastic bag. It’s not very pretty but it does the trick. This seems much prettier. :)