Should i use parsley stems

The best way to chop parsley is to use the rock-chop method where you begin rocking the knife up and down while keeping the tip of the blade always on the surface of the cutting board.

This helps maintain cutting control and uses the knife leverage to your advantage to cut cleanly down and through ingredients. Step 5: Finish chopping. To get finer parsley pieces, rotate the cutting board after your first pass through with the knife. Moving the cutting board rather than the parsley itself will keep your herbs grouped together and eliminates some of that mess that can be caused when you being to pick up the delicate pieces in the middle of cutting.

Continue chopping in this way until the desired parsley size is achieved. Bonus Tip: Do more than just garnish. Parsley doesn't always need to play the supporting role.

Try a parsley-centered recipe, like tabbouleh, for your next dinner party to see just how much flavor you can get from a small little herb! By subscribing, you agree to the terms and conditions and our privacy policy. Tools used Summit 5" Chef Knife. Products Tools used Summit 5" Chef Knife.

That quintessential "I bought this for a specific recipe and will now bury it in my fridge because I have no other use for it " kind of ingredient. But you know what makes me even more sad? Knowing that most people probably just toss the tough stems in their bunches of herbs.

This keeps me up at night. I understand the confusion — most recipes tell you to pick off the leaves but give you no clear direction as to what to do with the stems.

I can see why most would assume that they're straight-up useless and gross. However, this couldn't be further from the truth. Worry not, there are plenty of clever ways that you can put these ignored gems to great use. First off, let me clarify the types of herb stems to which this applies. In the case of "hard" or "woody" herbs like oregano, thyme, or rosemary , unfortunately, there's not a whole lot to do with those stems — send those straight to your compost pile.

The beauty of soft herbs is that their leaves and their stems are nearly identical in flavor. The stems might taste slightly more bitter than the leaves, but when prepared in the right application, you'd never know the difference. Where the stems and leaves differ is their texture — the stems are much crunchier and more… stem-like, so they're not an ideal garnish.

Herbs in salad? Very good. Herb stems in salad? Also very good. You probably don't want to make a whole salad out of herb stems, but incorporating finely chopped stems into your salad—whether it's a simple green salad or a more elaborate, veggie-packed situation—is a pro move.

Herby complexity: always welcome. And while you can certainly just toss them with the other vegetables in the mix, you can also chop them up and stir them into the vinaigrette you're using to dress that salad with. Listen, we don't care how those herb stems end up in your salad. We just care that they do.