I never seem to use an entire bunch of cilantro. I use a handful, throw it back into the fridge, then a week later run across a recipe that calls for it--and by then there's just a big black soggy mess in my veggie drawer. Does anyone know a good way to preserve it that retains the flavor?
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My latest cilantro ah ha, for using the bunch in the plastic bag in the fridge, held like the florist holds cut flowers -- take out whole stems rather than cutting off that beautiful leafy top. It's those beheaded stems that start the slime on your pristine bunch. (In the fridge, damp bottoms, open on top -- we've tried many techniques and this works best; also, buy from a source with plenty of turnover and don't buy a weak bunch -- don't start with slime!)
The best way to get the leaves of is to hold the still-rubber banded base in your non-dominant hand and run the blade of your chef's knife along the bunch, towards the top. Think of it as giving the herbs a "haircut". For parsley, since the stems aren't so great, you'l still need to pick out the larger stems. For cilantro I usually don't bother.
Then rinse the leaves and dry them WELL. A salad spinner works, or rolling them up in a clean kitchen towel and letting them stay for a bit. They must be very dry. Then, and this seems counter-intuitive, but it works, at least for me, take a couple of sheets of paper towels, and lay them double. Dampen your hands, and sprinkle some water over the paper towels. You do *NOT* want them sopping wet, just barely damp. Put the herbs in the middle of the square of towels, and package them, almost like you're rolling a burrito or an egg roll. Then slip that into a zipper bag, and put it in the veggie drawer.
Depending upon how fresh the herbs were at the start (a big variable....), I've had them last up to 2 weeks this way.