Keeping herbs fresh
The best way to have a steady supply of fresh herbs is, of course, to grow them yourself. The advantages of doing so are many: you’ll save money, you’ll be able to pick herbs as you need them, you’ll have some pretty little plants to brighten up your windowsill, patio, or garden. Herbs do very well in containers, and can be grown from seed or purchased as seedlings from any nursery.

Herbs purchased at the supermarket generally come in airtight ziplock baggies, in quantities far too large for you to ever be able to use them in a single meal. Leave them in those bags for more than a day, and it’s a sure bet that by the next day, they’ll all be wilted, the leaves beginning to turn black and rot, and into the trash they’ll promptly go. The best way to keep herbs fresh is to stand them up, bouquet-like, in a glass filled with an inch or so of water. The glass should then be placed in the fridge and covered loosely with a plastic bag. Change the water every couple of days, and the herbs should last for up to a week. Alternatively, if you’re lacking in shelf space in your fridge, wrap your herbs loosely in a barely damp paper towel (wet just a square inch or two of the towel, then squeeze) and place in a plastic bag. The plastic bag can then go in the crisper section of your fridge.