Parsley – More than a garnish

Parsley is more than a garnish. It’s an herb used fresh or dried in soups, stews, sauces, marinades, meats, fish, and vegetables. It’s found in a wide variety of cuisines and provides many health benefits.

Parsley is one of my favorite herbs. It adds a nice freshness and vibrance to foods when used as a garnish but it can be used for so much more. Many recipes reserve it for late in the cooking process or to garnish finished dishes. Rightfully so since it looses much of it’s flavor when cooked. The exception is Persian cuisine boasting soups and stews which feature parsley as a key ingredient early on in the recipe. It adds earthiness and texture to many of the staple dishes from Persian culture.

Another application of the herb is in bouquet garni or a sachet d’Épices (spice sachet). Both refer to a grouping of herbs (and sometimes spices) used as a base for broths and stocks, or in sauces and soups. The two culinary terms only differ in the way in which the herbs are bundled. In the case of a bouguet garni, the herbs are tied together with twine or other material. Whereas a sache d’Épices is enclosed in cheesecloth. The recipe will call for removal of the herbs in both applications.

Varieties of Parsley – More than a Garnish

Parsley comes in around thirty varieties, two of which find common culinary uses in the United States. Cooks use the third to flavor Central and Eastern European food.

French or curly leaf parsley is a typical garnish because of its tightly curled, more decorative looking leaves. Chefs use Flat-leaf, or Italian, variety as a cooking ingredient because of its supposedly more robust flavor.

The herb is also grown as a root vegetable. Sometimes known as Hamburg root or turnip-root parsley, it is a common ingredient in Eastern European food. People eat the root as a snack food, like carrots, and it is a close relative of the parsnip.

A minor variety of parsley grows in Southern Italy. It has much thicker stems and may be responsible for its original Greek name, Petroselinum, or “rock-celery.”

Health Talk for Parsley – More than a Garnish

Please take my advice as you would from a friend. I am not a doctor, dietitian, or nutritionist. I have a passion for health and cooking. My hope is to bring you information that will help you live a health-filled life.

All varieties of the herb are rich in several beneficial flavonoids and antioxidants. Excellent source of vitamins K, C, A, Folate and Iron. Parsley is known for its carcinogenic balancing effect which protects against heart disease, certain cancers, and rheumatoid arthritis. It also promotes bone growth, reinforces the immune system, and aids in blood clotting. The parsley plant also contains potassium and folate. These are essential for regulating blood pressure while maintaining a healthy heart and kidneys.

The only drawback to the herb is that it can cause adverse effects in pregnant women. While standard food quantities aren’t a threat, excessive consumption can induce contractions.

Parsley seed essential oil is used as part of a treatment for Kidney stones. These oils are also a diuretic because of the presence of apiole and myristicin. For more information about the health benefits of this herb, view the sources at the bottom of this post.

Cultural Significance

While modern chefs use parsley as a food ingredient, the ancient Greeks and Romans made it the subject of a range of superstitions and religious beliefs. They awarded parsley wreaths to victors of religious games at the Isthmian and Nenena festivals. Furthermore, the Romans used the distinctive sharp smell of parsley to cover a corpse’s smell. They also used it to cover the smell of alcohol on their breath.

It appears in the Passover festival as a symbol of spring and rebirth. Likewise, it is used during Nowruz, Persian New Year, festivities along with other fresh herbs called “sabzi” (sab-zee) as a whole. It too is a symbol of rebirth and new beginnings, aligning with the first day of spring. Furthermore, Christians associate parsley with St Peter in his role as the guardian at heaven’s gates.

Harvest, Storage, and Substitutes

Parsley has a surprisingly long germination period, sometimes as long as six weeks. The plants are generally ready for harvest within 70 to 90 days after planting. When you are cutting a parsley plant that you plan to harvest continually, cut from leaf stems with three segments to encourage regrowth.

The best way to store the herb is to place stems in water, cover loosely, and keep in the refrigerator. Fresh parsley is best used immediately after cutting. However, it can be frozen and dried for storage. I prep parsley along with other herbs every week. I start by washing, drying, and chopping. Then I place the cut stems and leaves in an airtight container with a damp paper towel and store in the refrigerator. This way I always have fresh cut herbs to throw into salads, or whatever I’m cooking during the week. At the end of the week if there are any stems or leaves leftover, I add to a bag I keep in my freezer for later use.

If you’re struggling to find parsley, then its close relative chervil, makes an excellent alternative. In a pinch, you can also use celery leaves or cilantro.

How-to Use Parsley and Recipes:

Parsley provides an earthy, slightly peppery flavor in sauces and stews. When used as a garnish, the herb gives a fresh, vibrant taste to foods. It loses its potency when cooked so it is used in the last step in the cooking process. The exception is Persian cuisine which uses the herb as a primary ingredient in many cooked dishes. It’s an excellent addition to salads, soups, sauces, marinades, meats, fish, and vegetables. Parsley is used in addition to other herbs in a bouquet garni or sachet d’Épices which flavors soups, stocks, broths, and sauces.

To make a simple bouquet garni, take 1/2 a bunch of parsley, a few twigs of thyme, 1 bay leaf, 2 twigs rosemary. Bundle the herbs together and tie with cooking string or twine. It is now ready to be used for whatever application you choose. Depending on what you’re making, feel free to make adjustments to the herbs such as swapping parsley and rosemary with cilantro and oregano when making a base for Mexican dishes.

The process for making a sachet d’Épices is similar. However the bouquet is contained in cheesecloth, enabling cooks to add spices such as peppercorns, star anise, and the like. Gather herbs and spices such as 1/2 a bunch of parsley, a few twigs of thyme, 1 bay leaf, 2 twigs rosemary, plus 10 peppercorns. Place the herb-spice mixture onto a clean piece of cheesecloth large enough to envelope the herbs. Tie the sachet with a piece of cooking twine or string and it’s ready for use.

Below are some great recipes to incorporate more parsley into your cooking.

Vegan Gormeh Sabzi
Kuku Sabzi
Mushroom Soup with Barley and Chestnuts

Additionally, for more interesting reads on this delicious herb visit:

Wikihow – How to harvest parsley
Sciencedirect – Parsley – an overview
World’s Healthiest Foods – Parsley
Medical News Today – Why is parsley so healthy?