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I stumbled across a fantastic food tip recently while surfing the food blogosphere. Marc over at Mental Masala (the very same Marc who was responsible for the solar cooker I posted about a couple of weeks ago) offers a terrific way to keep fresh basil perky and lush for weeks (if you happen not to use it up before that). When you bring it home from the grocery store/farmers market/backyard, clip the ends off and stand the basil stems in a glass/yogurt container/old jelly jar that has a few inches of water at the bottom. Then take a plastic bag and cut some holes into it. If you have a plastic bag that was precut, all the better. Then put the bag over the glass full of basil and place it someplace that gets light but is not in direct sunlight.
I've been astounded how well this works. I've never been able to keep basil fresh more than a few days and the basil you see in the picture above has been going strong for over 10 days. I used it last night and there was no absence of flavor. The secret is the plastic bag, because I've certainly tried to keep basil sitting in a container of water for a few days, but within a few hours it is limp and sad. Thanks for the tip, Marc!
photo by Marisa McClellan
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8-28-2007 @11:42AM Meghan said... The jar of water thing worked so well for us, the basil grew roots! So, of course, we planted it. Now there's a ton of basil all over the garden, still growing after we bought the original bunch in the springtime. Not bad for a buck fifty at the grocery store! We didn't even need the plastic bag.
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8-28-2007 @1:53PM RobynT said... My aunty taught me this about a month ago. She didn't use the bag though. What's the bag for? Maybe for drier climates?
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8-28-2007 @1:23PM Tara said... What kind of basil is pictured there? Isn't basil supposed to be green? :) I've never seen it reddish like that before. But thats a great tip, I'll have to keep that in mind next time I buy basil! I'd imagine it creates a green house effect. I wonder if that method works for any other herbs?
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8-28-2007 @2:28PM Marisa McClellan said... I think the bag helps to create a sort of greenhouse effect. All I know is that if I just put basil in water without the bag, it gets limp and soggy. The bag helps it keep it's crispness.
That's purple basil, which you can get at my local farmers market. Until this season, I never knew that basil could be any other color than green, but it's been showing up all over the place this year. The flavor isn't really any different from green basil, but it sure is pretty. A tomato salad with purple basil and some fresh mozzarella is a gorgeous thing to behold.
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8-28-2007 @7:01PM Sandy R said... Has anyone tried this with other herbs...parsley or cilantro for example? I can never seem to use an entire bunch before it wilts. This is a great tip!
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8-28-2007 @8:09PM LM said... I have tried this with cilantro (and I'm sure it would work well with parsley) but I was told to keep it in the fridge in water with the plastic bag cover. This definitely makes it last longer but you have to be careful not to knock it over. And that advice is from the voice of experience. What a mess!
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8-29-2007 @12:09PM Patrick said... Of course, the best approach is still to just keep a live plant around. They're pretty easy to maintain and will provide you with herbs for months. My wife and I bought $18 worth of herb plants at the beginning of the summer, which have supplied us with nearly unlimited basil (3 plants), oregano, thyme, mint, and coriander for the last 3 months. They're just in pots on our patio and some of them will come inside for the winter. I kept a basil plant on the kitchen windowsill through last winter and it held up quite well.
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8-29-2007 @10:58AM Marc said... Thanks for the link to my post. I'm gratified that this tip has been found so useful.
In response to RobynT's question about the bag, my theory is that the bag helps the plant retain moisture in my particular climate, which is fairly dry (San Francisco Bay Area). The holes in the bag keep it from being too moist. In a humid area like Washington, D.C. or Houston, you might not need the bag at all (unless you run the A/C all the time, which dries out the air). A potential downside of storing the basil in the refrigerator is that the very dry air in the fridge can be tough on the plant.
I tried this trick with cilantro recently. The results are so-so. The cilantro started to grow delicate, ferny leaves, like it is getting ready to bolt and go to seed. It is not putting out roots like the basil does. Overall, possibly slightly better than keeping it in the refrigerator (where it tends to get slimy).
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