When I buy cilantro at my store, I have to buy it in a big bunch. Does anyone know how long it should last in my fridge? Can it be frozen or dried to make it last longer? If I can freeze it, should I chop it up and freeze it ice cube trays with a little water? What would be the best way to freeze it or dry it?

Thanks!

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Honestly? Fresh is best. Figure on it lasting about a week if you leave it in the baggie from the grocery store. Two weeks at best. I keep mine in the vegetable crisper.

If you but a bunch in a plastic bag in the produce section at the store, and you leave it in that baggie, the Cilantro will sweat in the bag and go bad quicker. Best to transfer it to a gallon zip lock and poke little holes in the zip lock (or buy the ones already with holes in them specifically for veggies -- I just do it myself). This will let the herbs breathe and they'll stay fresher, crisper, longer!

You could probably dry it but I think it loses most of its flavor or else we would see it dried. If you freeze it, it will be like mush after its thawed, but the flavor would probably still be there. If its going into a cooked meal that wouldn't make any difference.

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Hmmm, where's Moggy when I need her? A thought just came to my head (rare, I know). But I just thought about her seal a meal thingie. Perhaps I could seal it and put it in the freezer. Yeah, I'd just use it for cooking. I put some in a meatloaf last night that was pretty good.

Thanks for the tip on removing it from the store bag. I didn't know that and I did wonder why there was water in the bottom of the bag when I went to use it. I wish they didn't make you buy a whole giant bunch at one time.

Thanks for the replies!

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I haven't tried any herbs in my seal a meal thingy P-bird. I love cilantro so when I have extra from cooking I just use it in my salads until its gone. I also grow my own in the summer so I just snip off what I need as I need it, I use a ton when I can my salsa so its cheaper for me to grow it!

Cilantro and lime anything, ROCKS!!!!!

You grow it! :joy: Where can I find seeds to grow my own? Is it easy peasy?

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Its very easy to grow p-bird, in fact, you can grow it in a little pot on your windowsill if you want to, you just have to keep using it or pinching it back or it will "bolt" and go to seed, if it does that, just pull it up and plant some more-- or you can let it go to seed and you'll have some home grown cilantro to cook with! here's a link where you can buy "a pinch" of seeds for only 75 cents, I don't know what the shipping cost is, but you could also pick some up in the garden center at someplace like Home Depot or Lowe's home improvement I'm sure

http://www.gardenguides.com/seedcata...antro-bulk.htm

I'm going to do that! Tom plants tomatoes every year. He's made salsa before, but we always buy the cilantro. It would be cool to get some from the window sill!

Thanks for the idea!

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Mmmm my mother in law is Italian and loves to grow all her own herbs. They live in a city, but she grows them in pots on the porch or in the window with no problems. I like it, because she pinches things off for my kids to sniff, taste etc. and in that way she's teaching them about the herbs and I know they'll always associate that with their "nonnie".