# How to prepare fresh herbs

## The essentials

Parsley, cilantro, basil, chives and mint are soft herbs: they go in at the end, chopped at the last moment. Thyme, rosemary and bay are hard herbs: they go in at the start and cook with the dish.

## Choosing it

Fresh, upright leaves, with no black or wet parts.

## Preparing it

Wash the bunch in cold water and dry it in a tea towel. For parsley and cilantro, keep the thin stems, they have flavour. For thyme and rosemary, hold the stem and slide your fingers against the grain, the leaves come off.

## Cutting it for the dish

- Chopped with a knife, in a tight ball, without crushing, to sprinkle over a dish at the end.
- Snipped with scissors for chives.
- Whole, basil or mint leaves, on a salad or a pizza.

## How long it takes

Two minutes.

## Storing it

In the fridge, the bunch in a glass of water, or rolled in damp paper, a week. Basil stays at room temperature, the cold blackens it. Chopped, they freeze in an ice cube tray with a little water or oil.

## Make it tonight

The goat cheese, honey and rosemary loaf: the rosemary stripped from its stem.

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Source : disheazy, https://disheazy.com/bases/how-to-prepare-fresh-herbs