Dry your own Parsley! America's favorite kitchen herb #GardenCuizine

Dried Parsley

More than just a garnish, garden parsley tops the list of America's favorite kitchen herbs used in green juices, soups, salad dressings, eggs and entrees. Green parsley is one of my favorite biennial herbs to grow - Italian flat leaf or curly leaf. In the winter if we don't have any growing at the time we need some, we'll pick up a bunch at the store. 

You can always count on parsley being readily available. The best bet is to purchase parsley by the bunch and not just a sprig or two sold in little plastic containers. Extra parsley can be easily preserved by air drying.

Many recipes just need some parsley, not all of the bunch. When we have extra parsley sitting in the refrigerator, before it goes bad, we dry it. You don't have to tie it up or do anything time consuming, simply:

• Give parsley a rinse, shake off excess water
• pat dry, spread out in a single layer and let air dry on plates or cookie sheets for several days
• Once it is crispy dry, simply crumble leaves with clean hands
• store in an airtight spice jar 
• discard stems in compost

GardenCuizine Nutrition Data Parsley: based on USDA Nutrient Reference Data
Excellent Source: Vitamin C and Vitamin K
Good Source: Vitamin A

10 Parsley sprigs (10g = about 2 Tablespoons): Calories: 4; Vitamin A: 842 IU (17% DV); Vitamin C: 13 mg (22% DV); Vitamin K: 164 mcg (205% DV); and other vitamins, minerals and compounds such as flavonols and apigenins, which may be helpful in fighting cancer.

Related Links
Health Benefits of Parsley
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