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I am making my Grandma's parsley soup - it's chicken stock, onions, potatoes, garlic and parsley. Since the whole combination is blended, can I use the parsley stems or might not removing them have an adverse affect on taste?

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  • Yes, it's good to use it, also in raw sauces it's good :-))
    – Tomas
    Commented Jan 19, 2021 at 13:22
  • Just be sure to blend enough chunky texture, also good to roughly chop a few times for easier blending. Commented Jan 19, 2021 at 16:45
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    Grab a stalk, taste it. Decide 👍 Commented Jan 20, 2021 at 9:16
  • One (probably unrelated) sidenote: My grandma told me that adding parsley during the cooking process might increase the risk of the soup turning sour, so be sure to cool it quickly (lid off, fridge etc.) when storing to prevent that.
    – Dschoni
    Commented Jan 20, 2021 at 10:45

2 Answers 2

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There is a lot of flavor in parsley stems, as is true of most "soft" herbs. In my kitchen, if it is soft/palatable, I use it.

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    Is it the same flavor, or will you taste the difference? Is "use less but with stems" an alternative option, or is it not going to work?
    – Erik
    Commented Jan 19, 2021 at 9:01
  • I don't differentiate, unless it is for presentation or garnish, then I use leaves mainly...but finely chopped stems can be fine as well. I don't notice a flavor difference, but there is more mass there, so...more parsley, for example...but, perceptibly different...I don't know...don't think it matters much.
    – moscafj
    Commented Jan 19, 2021 at 13:51
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    It's pretty much the same except for texture. You might want to avoid stems for garnish (so you don't get "chunks"), but if you're blending/cooking it wont matter much, if at all.
    – JS Lavertu
    Commented Jan 19, 2021 at 14:27
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    To add to this: there's also parsley root, which you could consider the ultimate stem, which is also very tasty and very parsley-y (though with a hint of root vegetable as well)
    – Hobbamok
    Commented Jan 20, 2021 at 12:04
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Put them in some cheesecloth and remove them at the end of cooking.

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    But the soup is blended? Commented Jan 19, 2021 at 17:24
  • Presumably remove before blending but after cooking Commented Jan 20, 2021 at 20:08

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