Storing Fresh Cilantro
You just went shopping and found a great bundle of fresh Cilantro. You get it home, and you are wondering how you can store it so that it will last the longest.
First grab a large bowl and fill it up with cool water. Break the bundle into the bowl and rinse well. Pick through the bunch and discard any pieces that are starting to die or look decayed.
Remove from the water and gently shake off any excess water. (You are not going to want to use a salad spinner as it will bruise the leaves)
Grab a vase, jar or glass and fill with water. You will want a container that will hold the herb snugly with the leaves just above the rim. Place your herbs in the container of water making sure that all of the stems are in the water.
Grab the produce bag that you brought your herbs home in and gently place over the top.
Place the jar in your refrigerator and monitor it. Every couple of days you will want to check the water, if it starts to look murky, dump the water and replace the water. Trim off any stems that might look like they are going bad.
Cilantro should stay fresh for about 2 weeks if stored in this manner.
I'M GROWING SOME CILANTRO. IT'S GOTTEN TALL AND STALK-LIKE and has flowers on the top of each stalk (AS OPPOSED TO THE USUAL BUSHINESS). It still smells like cilantro when I crush the leaves. The flowers smell like cilantro too. Are the flowers edible? Thanks, Steve
You can eat the flowers from Cilantro. They have the same taste as cilantro, but may be a little milder and sweeter than the leaves. They will add fabulous flavor and make beautiful garnishments.
The flowers of cilantro are not good to eat, they have toxins. Cilantro that has gone to flower is usually not the best to harvest for it's leaves, pinch off flower stalks to get bushy leafy cilantro. Dried seeds of cilantro have their own wonderful flavor. Flowers are flavorful but NOT good to eat. Best way to store cilantro: Do not wet the leaves at all. Pinch off any roots an long stalks, put then bunch loosely packed in an airtight hard containter and refirdgerate. It should last upto a month. Wash directly before using in the dish.
I was also curious and did some looking, but I could not find anywhere that the flowers are toxic. All the websites that I found said that they were edible. Some people might be allergic?
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