How do you store fresh herbs so they do not go slimy?
By RIPE, checked against a produce manager's cues. Published .
Treat them as two different groups. Soft herbs with tender stems, parsley, cilantro, mint and dill, get trimmed and stood in a jar of water like cut flowers, loosely covered, in the fridge. Woody herbs, rosemary, thyme and sage, get wrapped in a barely damp cloth and refrigerated.
What to check
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At home onlychange the water in the jar every couple of days and the soft herbs will hold for well over a week.
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Avoidrefrigerating basil. Basil is chilling-sensitive and the leaves blacken in the cold, so it belongs in water on the counter, out of direct sun.
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Do not wash herbs before storing. Wash the sprigs you are about to use.
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Noteif a bunch is already too far gone to serve fresh, chop it and freeze it in an ice cube tray with a little water or oil. That is a real save for cooking, though it will not come back as a garnish.
Common mistakebuying the big bunch because it is better value. Herbs are the highest-waste thing in most kitchens. Half a bunch you actually use beats a whole bunch you compost.
Written by the team behind RIPE, a free app that reads a photo of the whole produce pile and rings the ripest ones. Every cue above is one you can check with your own hands, and it all works with no app at all.
Where this comes from
These cues match the public guidance from university extension services. Read them yourself:
You just read the cue for one piece. RIPE reads a photo of the entire display, draws numbered rings on the ones worth taking, and tells you why in the same plain words these guides use. Then it remembers what you brought home and nudges you before it turns.
It claims only what a camera can actually see. Every verdict ends by handing the last check back to your hands, which is the part these guides just taught you.
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