8 Tips for Using Parsley

It's time to get to know parsley as something more than a colorful sprig garnishing your plate. Not only is parsley a popular table garnish, but it's a nutritional storehouse of vitamins and minerals. What's more, parsley contains volatile oils with medicinal qualities. This versatile herb has all kinds of health benefits--but the trouble is, some folks just don't know how to shop for, how to store, or how to use parsley in their cooking. Read these 8 parsley tips to learn how to make parsley more than just a garnish on your plate.

Tip #1: Which Parsley to Use

Two types of parsley are popular with cooks: Italian flat leaf parsley and curly leaf parsley. Curly leaf parsley is the one mostly used as garnish, and flat leaf parsley is more often used in cooking. Flat leaf parsley has a higher amount of essential oils that give it more flavor.

Tip #2: How to Select Parsley

Maybe you have parsley growing in a container on your windowsill or patio? If not, it's available year round at the supermarket. When you select parsley, look for bright green sprigs with structure and no yellow leaves.

Tip #3: How to Store Parsley

Cut parsley needs to be refrigerated. Some people rinse parsley, wrap it in a paper towel, and place it in a plastic bag for refrigeration. But parsley is rather fragile. It's probably better to wash it before using, and only lightly spray it before refrigeration. When you're ready to cook with the herb, submerge the parsley in cold water, swish it gently to remove sand and dirt, and then rinse with clean water and drain.

Tip #4: How to Cook with Parsley

Parsley is great as an ingredient in many dishes. Here are some of the ways cooks use parsley: soup or stew, tomato sauce, pasta, pesto sauce, green salad, grain salad, seafood, potatoes, rice, poultry, beef, lamb, eggplant, and cheese dishes. Be a creative cook and discover many more ways to incorporate this herb into your meals.

Tip #5: When to Add Parsley

When cooking with parsley, it's important to remember to add parsley to cooked foods at the very end to retain taste, nutrition, and color. It perks up the flavor of foods and adds texture when done this way.

Tip #6: What to Do With Parsley Stalks

You will want to use the leaves for most dishes, but don't discard the stalks. You can toss the stalks into soup stock for flavor--especially when you want to avoid a green broth color.

Tip #7: How to Use Frozen Parsley

You can also freeze parsley in a plastic bag or in foil. Some people freeze parsley in an ice cube tray, chopped and ready to add to a hot liquid. The ice melts and frees the parsley.

Tip #8: How to Use Dried Parsley

You can buy parsley dried or you can dehydrate your own. There's not much flavor in dried parsley, although it's convenient when you don't have fresh parsley. The equivalent of dry to fresh is 1:3. That means if the recipe calls for a tablespoon of fresh chopped parsley, you can get by with a teaspoon of dried parsley. Always try to buy organic herbs when you buy dried herbs.

Parsley packs a nutritional punch. It has power to perk-up a wide variety of dishes, since it can be used fresh, frozen, or dried. But rather than reaching for the familiar dried parsley from the cupboard or tossing a sprig of parsley on your plate, why not experiment with fresh parsley in new ways in your cooking? Parsley is more than dry flakes and garnish.