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I bought this bunch of coriander at my local fruit shop. What is the best way to keep it fresh as long as possible? I usually cut off about 1 cm of the stems and then put them into a glass of water, at room temperature. I wonder if I would be better off putting them into the fridge, with or without the water. Or if there is another option I'm unaware of.

A bunch of coriander

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  • As far as I know many (most?) asian grocery stores in Germany have the coriander (with roots!) in plastic bags (without water). The coriander is stored in the fridge.
    – Ching Chong
    Mar 14, 2015 at 20:35
  • Coriander (cilantro) is similar to parsley... I wonder if one can keep it in water like a flower... that's how my dad stores parsley.
    – Catija ♦
    Mar 15, 2015 at 0:11
  • I keep them in a glass of water as well, but also in a fridge. Sounds like it would a useful experiment to see whether one method is more effective than another :)
    – Erica
    Mar 15, 2015 at 0:45
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    @Erica : with the exception being that this is cilantro ... so the best way to store it is in a plastic bag, then place in the trash can.
    – Joe
    Mar 15, 2015 at 1:24
  • @Joe I think you must have the "cilantro gene"... npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/09/14/161057954/…
    – Catija ♦
    Mar 15, 2015 at 1:47

2 Answers 2

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For almost all delicate green herbs, the best thing to do is

  1. Hold them by the bottom of the bunch and gently swirl in plenty of cool water to remove all the dirt
  2. Gently shake to remove excess water
  3. Wrap loosely in a damp paper towel
  4. Place in a plastic bag and store in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator

This will keep most herbs fresh for many days.

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Taking off the twist tie (or whatever is holding the bunch together) is the first step--cilantro always seems to rot most when tightly packed. After that, I've had good luck with an occasional trip in the salad spinner. It can be used to help separate out (remove) any cilantro already completely turned to mush (which seems to happen to me even when most of the cilantro is completely fine) and should leave the remaining cilantro mostly dry. Then I wrap what remains in a dry paper towel (which usually gets a little damp as it wicks moisture from the cilantro) and put in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer.

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