#FoodHowTo: Tips to make your fresh herbs last longer

Fresh herbs can add a real punch of flavour to your cooking

Fresh herbs can add a real punch of flavour to your cooking

Published May 16, 2017

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Fresh herbs can add a real punch of flavour to your cooking - but their extremely short lifespan means they've often wilted and died when you come to use them. But there are a couple of useful tricks you can try that are said to make fresh herbs last twice as long. And hard herbs with woody stalks, such as rosemary and thyme, need to be stored in a different way to soft herbs, such as tarragon and parsley. The lifespan of fresh cut herbs is just two days, while a mini plant will last about three. But there are ways to extend this lifespan, according to Good Housekeeping.

The magazine experts say that soft herbs, which includes basil and coriander, should be taken out of their packaging as soon as you buy them and stored upright in a glass in the fridge, filled with 2.5cm of water.

Meanwhile woody herbs will keep much better if you take them out of their plastic packaging, wrap them in a sheet of damp kitchen towel and then place them in a sealed sandwich bag.  Another trick you can try is freezing any leftover herbs in water in an ice cube tray.

You can then pop an ice cube into your cooking and it will add a burst of herby flavour to your dish. You can also freeze them in melted butter or olive oil if you don't want to water down your food. The tips are not the only storage hacks popular among cooks.

The blog This Grandma Is Fun tested three different ways to store lettuce to see which kept leaves freshest the longest.

It was revealed that keeping leaves in an airtight mason jar will keep them fresh for twice as long as just storing them in the bag they came in at the supermarket. - Daily Mail

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