The Grocery Bag Hack To Keep Your Herbs Fresh For Way Longer
Many people struggle to find an effective way to keep herbs fresher longer. Even more harrowing is, on countless occasions, the delicate herb varieties deteriorate in your fridge or on your counter within a day of purchase. But there are ways to keep your herbs green and vibrant without guidance from mind-blowing revelations. This hack is easily achieved by anyone that owns a plastic bag.
Buying fresh herbs will undoubtedly open the debate of fresh herbs versus dry herbs. Isn't it better value for money to buy dried? In some scenarios, yes, but if you're willing to put a little effort into storing your fresh herbs, then there's no reason to buy dry herbs instead. Fresh herbs reign supreme when layered into salads, muddled into cocktails, sprinkled onto pasta, and even ground into a pesto.
This hack only requires a large plastic bag (either a grocery bag or extra-large storage bag will do) and a little patience. Placing the herbs into a glass with a little water and covering the herbs and the glass with a plastic bag allows fresh herbs to last much longer than they would within their store-bought wrappings. It's too easy not to give this a try.
Mastering the art of storing fresh herbs
There are several ways to store fresh herbs. The first method uses a plastic grocery bag. Take your freshly bought herbs, rinse them clean, gently dry them, and then trim the stems. Place the herbs — stems side down — into a cup or glass with water, keeping the leaves above water. You want the herbs to be able to stand up in the cup. Then place a clean grocery bag over the top of the herbs and secure it to the glass with a piece of string.
This can then be stored in the refrigerator or on the kitchen counter. Herbs are best stored in the refrigerator as storing them outside can expose them to more light, oxygen, and moisture than in the cold depths of a refrigerator. The one exception is basil, which is best stored using this method, but in a cool part of the kitchen without indirect sunlight.
This grocery bag method, however, can take up a lot of space. In practice, this hack would work a charm if everyone possessed a walk-in refrigerator. This is not a reality. Luckily, when it comes to hardier herbs like rosemary, thyme, chives, and oregano, you can store these in an airtight container, loosely surrounded by moist paper towels. These methods will all work well to an extent, but it's best to use fresh herbs as quickly as possible for the best flavor and color.
To dry or to freeze?
If keeping your fresh herbs in the refrigerator is not a viable option, then you can also consider drying or freezing them. Drying hardy herbs is not the lengthy process you might imagine; it can be achieved in a flash using a microwave. The home-dried herbs will still have to be used quickly, but they will last longer than fresh ones. If you have the patience, drying herbs by hanging them takes on an aesthetically pleasing look too.
Fresh herbs can also be frozen, but they will lose some of their vibrant colors. With delicate herbs like basil and mint, freezing them into ice cube trays is an efficient way to produce a little herby square that'll brighten any sauce, eggs, or cooking rice. Just give them a quick spin in a blender with olive oil and portion the blended herb into the ice cube tray.
If you have it available, vacuum-sealing fresh herbs is another handy way to keep herbs tasty, tender, and colorful. This will require blanching the herbs quickly beforehand. Before decisively selecting dried herbs over fresh, recall this simple grocery bag hack and other methods of prolonging the life of these small leafy greens. It'll lead to less waste and overall a more satisfying kitchen experience.