Cilantro
The Best Way to Store Cilantro to Prevent Sad, Slimy Leaves
Say goodbye to brown, wilted leaves.
Cilantro, parsley, basil, and other leafy herbs can spoil quickly if they’re not stored properly. Brown, wilted, and sometimes even watery leaves are a cook’s worst nightmare (you know, alongside cuts and burns, kitchen fires, and burning the holiday roast). Cilantro is an essential herb in so many dishes such as Báhn mì, and especially in Mexican cuisine, too. So what is the best way to store herbs like cilantro to keep the leafy herbs fresh for weeks? Ahead, find four of our team’s tried-and-true tricks for storing cilantro to ensure that the leaves and stems stay fresh.
Salad Spinner
Everyone’s favorite wedding registry item isn’t just for rinsing greens before making homemade Caesar salad or a colorful WFH lunch. “I recently cleaned a lot of cilantro and stored it in a salad spinner with a bit of water at the bottom and that worked well,” said Food52 food editor Emma Laperruque. Try this method out using our favorite spinner from the Food52shop!
Glass Jars
Assigning editor Rebecca Firkser is a fan of storing a bunch of cilantro in glass jars with a few inches of water and covering them with reusable plastic bags from the grocery store. This method keeps the cilantro fresh for days in the refrigerator. Just be sure to replace and refill the jar with clean water every two to three days.
Ice Cube Trays
A super-easy way to store cilantro so that it stays fresh is by freezing the leaves and stems in ice cube trays. Place one teaspoon of chopped cilantro leaves and stems in each ice cube tray and then fill each section with good-quality olive oil or water. When you want to use cilantro, just pop a cube or two out and let them defrost or melt in a pan. The leaves won’t look as fresh and crisp as if you plucked them straight from the stems but their flavor will be just as pronounced.
Plastic Bags
An easy way to store herbs like cilantro is by wrapping the cilantro stems in a slightly damp paper towel (try our reusable paper towels!)and placing the bundle in a plastic Ziploc bag, which ensures that the cilantro leaves don’t turn brown too quickly. Secure the paper towel with a rubber band to ensure that the herb bundle stays fresh. Admittedly, this is the least eco-friendly method, but it takes up the least amount of space, so if you have a small refrigerator, this may be the best option for you.
It's here: Our game-changing guide to everyone's favorite room in the house. Your Do-Anything Kitchen gathers the smartest ideas and savviest tricks—from our community, test kitchen, and cooks we love—to help transform your space into its best self.
Grab your copy
Written by: Kelly Vaughan
Popular on Food52
15 Comments
So this is what I do now:
As soon as I get it home, I wash it--put it to soak in a couple changes of water if it's really dirty, or just rinse it--and dry it in the salad spinner (my favorite kitchen tool). I leave it to dry while I put the rest of the groceries away.
When it is still a little damp, I chop it whole--the leaves and about halfway down the stem--just as if I were about to use it, pulling out any yellow or slimy leaves. I store it in the fridge in a small airtight container. I can quickly grab a handful whenever I want. (To top Mexican food, or Thai food, or eggs, or baked potatoes...the possibilities are endless.)
It will keep its flavor for about 4 days. If I haven't used it all, I toss it in my freezer compost bin (look for composting facilities in your area!)
No paper towels, no ziplocks, no food waste.
I lived in Mexico for a year, and the mentality there is that cilantro--like avocado --isn't meant to last. You buy it and top every dish with it that same day.
Another thought for using cilantro instead of storing it is putting it in soups. If you haven't tried it, it's an incredible flavor--I mix a chopped full cup into chili and stew as it's cooking.
Second, I sort and trim the cilantro. A stem at a time. Takes about 15 minutes. Anything that is wilty gets tossed. Anything too woody gets trimmed away. I scissor-cut around broken stems so that all the remaining cuts are sharp. Cilantro is cheap enough that I can buy more than I might need and so that I can be picky.
Finally, I put the cilantro in a plastic general purpose baggie (like a bread bag) and keep it unclosed in the vegetable drawer so air can circulate. It will keep over a week.
Last week, I began trying a used but cleaned small plastic spinach box rather than a plastic bag. I keep it in the vegetable drawer with the lid ajar so air can circulate.
When I was a kid and my Dad and I were fishing, my Dad would open beer bottles with a pair of diagonal cutters... Then he would look at me with a wry smile and say, "Steve, you have to know how to handle your tools." To this day, I find myself hearing his voice in my head when I'm doing things like cooking.
US Dept. of Agriculture estimates Americans waste 30-40% of the food produced. That's hard on the planet.
See what other Food52 readers are saying.