beXnlog

Cilantro Storage Test

The cilantro storage test officially began on Saturday, October 1. I left each cilantro package stored in its own method alone, and checked on the freshness/spoilage content after a full 12 days. While not a 100% scientific test*, i did try to accurately measure the success of these 8 different storage methods and used be as a second opinion.

The storage test methods:

1) With the roots on, in a glass of water, covered loosely in plastic in the fridge
2) Only the leaves in water, frozen in a ziplock bag
3) Roots on, wrapped in a paper towel, in a green produce bag in the fridge
4) Roots on, loosely in a plastic bag in the fridge
5) Roots on, wrapped in a paper towel, in a ziplock in the fridge
6) Roots off, wrapped in a paper towel, in a ziplock in the fridge
7) Roots on, wrapped in aluminum foil in the fridge
8) Roots off, wrapped in aluminum foil in the fridge

The results:

The worst method was #4: cilantro just loosely wrapped in a plastic bag. As evidenced in the photo above, this method allowed for a good amount of spoiling. The best out of the 8 storage methods was #7: with the roots on, rolled medium-tightly in aluminum foil. Most of the sprigs were still quite fresh and only a small percentage had started to yellow. I was quite surprised this method worked so well. be's mom mentioned it to me after she learned it from her mother, who learned it from a friend or something like that!

Most people recommend using #1: in a glass of water, loosely covered. I found this method caused the sprigs to droop over the side of the glass, although most of the leaves stayed green and overall it was a decent method. #2: frozen in water, while it sure looked cool, unless the layer of water is thin it's gonna be a long time waiting for enough water to melt enough to break off a piece to use. I read about this method in a cookbook and the bottom line is, it's not easy to use. I was disappointed that #3: in a green produce bag in a paper towel, didn't do so well. It ended up being the second worst method. #5, #6 and #8 essentially produced the same level of freshness. The differences were negligible and really not so much worse than #7 (the best method). I also couldn't really see any difference in the "roots on/roots off" debate. If i had to pick, i'd say just leave them on: it's neater and the sprigs don't roll all over the place.

In sum, after almost 2 weeks i was glad to see that successful cilantro storage methods did exist. As many of you know, cilantro is apt to self-slime quite easily and it's a battle to keep it around without an herb garden. I transferred the still-good sprigs to aluminum foil and will see how much longer it lasts. And if anyone's experienced another storage method or has any tips do pass them on!

*For instance: 1) Besides methods #1 and #2, everything was stacked on the lowest shelf of our ultra-humid refridgerator. Methods on the bottom were most likely "protected" from the cold more than methods stacked on top. 2) Due to natural variances with each cilantro sprig (size, health, freshness, moisture content) some cilantro might have stayed fresher or gone bad faster regardless of storage method. 3) be and i used our subjective opinion to gage the freshness amongst the top 4 methods, all which were essentially similar in success. Someone else may have chosen different results. 4) Because i only checked on the freshness/spoilage once and only after 12 days, checking at a 2, 5, 8 or 20 day interval may have produced different results. 5) I did not periodically remove spoiling leaves; if i had, it may have slowed the overall spoilage of certain methods. 6) To clarify, all the cilantro used in this test was bought at the same time, from the same vendor from the same bunch. The cilantro was very fresh and not water-logged like most supermarket-cilantro. Using cilantro in a different state might lead to different results or an overall faster spoiling time.

posted by beXn @ 11:58 PM