If I were an herbivore I wouldn’t care about how long I could keep herbs fresh in the fridge. But since greens are not all I eat, I want to make sure that next time I take cilantro, parsley, mint or any other herb out of the fridge is going to be good to use for my cooking. Unfortunately that is not always the case.

The store makes you buy big bundles of herbs, but all you usually need for your cooking is just a few leaves. You put the rest away in the fridge but when you need them again you take the bag out of the fridge just to find out that it has gone bad after just a couple of days. How do you avoid that?

In my parents restaurant they made sure that all produce was dry before being stored in the fridge. Moist accelerates the decomposition process in herbs and vegetables so make sure to check they are dry before putting them away in your fridge. Grocery stores usually keep vegetables and herbs moist in the display fridges (you’ve seen those sprinkles that spray water over them every couple of minutes) However, those displays are open and the produce is periodically replaced. Your fridge is different because it doesn’t have the same flow of air. That’s why you want to make sure there is not an excess of moist on what you store.

If you buy cilantro, parsley or any other kind of herb that has been sprayed with water in the grocery store, just let it dry over paper towels for a couple of hours. Storing them in containers that allow a flow of air also helps to maintain herbs fresher for a longer period of time. Consider Tupperware FridgeSmart containers. Just following this easy step will keep your produce longer and will save you money.