How to Store Fresh Herbs So They Last Two Weeks

You buy a bunch of coriander for one curry, use a quarter of it, and four days later the rest is a dark, slimy clump stuck to the bottom of the salad drawer. Herbs are among the most wasted fresh foods in home kitchens, mostly because a single recipe rarely uses a whole bunch.

The fix is not a gadget. It is knowing how to store fresh herbs by type, because parsley, basil and rosemary want completely different conditions. Get that right and soft herbs like parsley and coriander will often last two weeks, woody herbs even longer, and basil stops turning black overnight.

Soft Herbs and Hard Herbs Need Different Treatment

Before anything else, sort your herbs into two groups. This one decision does most of the work.

Soft herbs lose water fast through thin leaves, so they need a water supply. Woody herbs hold their moisture better and mostly need protection from drying air.

How to Store Fresh Herbs Like a Bouquet

This is the method for parsley, coriander, mint and dill, and it beats every other option I have tested.

1. Remove the rubber band or tie. Squeezed stems bruise and rot first.
2. Pick out any yellow or slimy sprigs. One rotting stem speeds up the rest.
3. Trim about a centimetre off the stem ends with a sharp knife.
4. Stand the bunch in a jar with 3 to 4 centimetres of cold water, enough to cover the stems but not the leaves.
5. Cover the top loosely with a reused produce bag or a clean freezer bag. Do not seal it tight.
6. Put the jar on a fridge door shelf or upper shelf, away from the back wall.
7. Change the water every two or three days, or as soon as it looks cloudy.

The loose bag keeps humidity around the leaves while letting excess moisture escape. Seal it completely and condensation drips back onto the leaves, which is exactly what causes slime.

Why Basil Belongs on the Counter

Basil is a warm weather plant, and temperatures below roughly 10 degrees Celsius damage its leaf cells. In a fridge, the leaves develop black patches within a day or two, even when the bunch looks perfect going in.

Use the same jar method, but keep it on the kitchen counter, out of direct sun and away from the hob. A loose bag over the top is optional; in a dry, heated kitchen it helps. Pinch off the top leaves first when you cook, which is how the plant prefers to be harvested anyway.

If your basil came as a living plant in a pot, keep it on a bright windowsill and water it from below. Those supermarket pots are crowded with seedlings, so splitting the root ball into two or three smaller pots can keep them going for weeks.

The Damp Towel Method for Woody Herbs

Rosemary, thyme, sage and oregano do not need standing water. Too much moisture actually makes thyme go musty.

• Wet a sheet of paper towel and wring it out until it is only just damp.
• Lay the herbs on it in a single layer and roll it up loosely.
• Put the roll in an airtight container or a zip bag with most of the air pressed out.
• Store in the salad drawer and check the towel every few days. Re dampen it if it has dried.

Chives get the same treatment. Their hollow stems collapse in water, so the towel method keeps them crisp longer.

The Washing Advice I Would Ignore

Plenty of guides tell you to wash all your herbs as soon as you get home so they are ready to use. For most kitchens that shortens their life.

Water clinging to leaves in a cold, enclosed space is the fastest route to rot. Unless you have a salad spinner and the patience to dry every leaf until it is properly dry to the touch, wash herbs just before you use them. If they arrive gritty, as coriander and dill often do, rinse, spin twice, then lay them on a clean tea towel for 20 minutes before storing.

The second piece of advice worth dropping is keeping herbs in the plastic clamshell they came in. Those boxes trap moisture against the leaves and squash the bunch. Move herbs into a jar or a towel on day one.

Freezing and Drying When You Have Too Much

Freezing in Oil

Chop parsley, coriander, dill or sage, pack the chopped herbs into an ice cube tray about two thirds full, and top up with olive oil. Freeze, then pop the cubes into a labelled bag. Drop one straight into a pan for soups, stews and sauces. They keep for around six months, though the texture is only good for cooked dishes.

Air Drying

Woody herbs dry well. Tie small bunches, hang them upside down somewhere warm and airy, and they are usually ready in one to two weeks when the leaves crumble. Soft herbs lose most of their flavour when dried, so freeze those instead.

Signs a Herb Has Gone Too Far

A little wilting is not a problem. A limp bunch of parsley often perks up after 30 minutes in cold water. But throw out any herb that is slimy, smells sour or musty, or shows fuzzy white or grey mould. Remove the bad sprigs fast and wipe the container, the same way you would clear a fruit bowl before it draws fruit flies in the kitchen.

Herbs mixed into a cooked dish follow normal leftover rules rather than fresh herb timing. Our guide on how long cooked rice lasts in the fridge explains the same cool quickly, eat within a few days approach.

FAQ

Should I store herbs in the fridge door or the salad drawer?

Jars of soft herbs fit best on the door or an upper shelf, where it is cold but not freezing. Towel wrapped woody herbs are happy in the salad drawer, which holds steady humidity.

Can I store coriander with the roots on?

Yes, and it often lasts longer that way. Rinse the soil off the roots, stand the bunch in water roots down, and cover loosely with a bag.

Why does my mint turn brown in the fridge?

Usually it is too cold or too wet. Move the jar away from the back wall of the fridge, make sure the bag is loose, and change the water more often.

A Simple Rule to Remember

Treat soft herbs like flowers, basil like a houseplant, and woody herbs like something to keep just slightly damp. Spend two minutes unpacking a bunch the day you buy it and you will throw away far fewer herbs. You will find more everyday kitchen know how in our food section.