How to Keep Fresh Your Cut Basil

When it comes to keeping your greens fresh in the kitchen, there are several methods to consider.

More often than not, the fridge will be the greatest spot to keep your green vegetables since it provides one of the finest settings for long-term preservation.

It produces an atmosphere in which the temperature is low enough that most mold and other germs cannot grow on the greens, but not cold enough to freeze all of the plant’s water content and leave it unusable.

That being said, there are certainly various methods to care for different types of foods. Many kinds of food benefit from certain storage containers, such as being stored in a crisper drawer rather than the fridge door.

Other times, various types of food need different storage methods than their original, store-bought form. This is especially noticeable with fruits, since once a fruit is chopped, it goes bad quickly.

Well, what about plants? Herbs are still considered a leafy green food in the sense that they must be kept in the fridge at all times when not actively being prepared as an ingredient.

Similarly, herbs are not necessarily like fruits or vegetables in the sense that when you cut into them, you are exposing the food’s weak and sensitive interior, which need extra care to safeguard.

Instead, herbs have their own preservation requirements, and freshly cut basil is no exception.

If you are attempting to find out how to keep basil fresh, whether it is just cut or you intend to cut it soon, you need have a fundamental grasp of how to keep herbs fresh.

While researching the best methods to keep your basil fresh, you won’t have to do anything significantly different once you know what to do with your herbs.

Storing Your Herbs

There are many subgroups of herbs that you will be dealing with under the subject of herbs. Certain herbs will be soft and fragile, and their look will be comparable to that of a bouquet of flowers.

This is the category of herbs that basil belongs to, and basil is a leafy herb. You may also come across hard and wooden herbs such as rosemary, thyme, and chives.

Some herbs are considerably simpler to keep since their tougher exteriors shield them from the natural decay process to some degree.

When it comes to preserving softer herbs, you are first going to want to make sure that they are well cut and handled. If you’re accustomed to managing flower bouquets, these following few steps will be a breeze since you’ll be treating these herbs like a delicate bouquet.

First and foremost, ensure that you have a glass filled with chilled water. The glass should be big enough to hold as many herbs as you have.

After that, you should focus on clipping the ends of the stems of your soft herbs before placing them in the glass. This ensures that the stem ends are fresh and ready to absorb water, allowing the herbs to continue to obtain nutrients and not die out as rapidly.

Most soft herbs may be stored in the refrigerator, lightly wrapped in a plastic bag to help keep as much moisture as possible in the dry environment of the fridge. Yet, this is one area where basil starts to differ from most other plants.

Instead of being able to keep your basil stalks in the fridge with the rest of the soft herbs, the nature of basil means that if you attempt to store it in the fridge, the leaves will darken and die off, which is the exact opposite of what you want to happen.

At this stage in your herb storage, separate the basil from the other herbs so that you can tend to it specifically so that you may get the most out of your basil, whether it is fresh or newly cut.

Keeping Your Basil as Fresh as Possible

Basil, unlike most other soft, green herbs, thrives when left out on the counter. The countertop offers the optimum environment for the basil to thrive, and it also keeps the basil within easy reach as you work in the kitchen.

When considering how to preserve basil, you may start with most of the measures you would take to keep most other delicate herbs.

Again, you’ll want to start with a glass container big enough to accommodate all of your basil. Fill the container with cold water, just as you would for any other bouquet of flowers or bundle of herbs.

This will be one of the most important things in keeping your basil fresh, particularly if it has been just cut, so make sure there is adequate water for all of your basil.

After that, concentrate on pruning the basil stems so that they are all neatly and uniformly cut. This will, in effect, open up the base of the stem, allowing water and nutrients to circulate through the remainder of the plant and keep it alive for as long as possible now that it has been taken from the ground.

This step is also crucial because it ensures that your basil receives enough nutrients to endure the week or two that a properly preserved bushel of basil may last.

After all of the basil is in the container, cover the whole basil plant with a light, loose plastic covering. This may vary from a typical produce bag to something considerably bigger, depending on how much basil you have.

Basically, you’ll want a cover that permits any evaporated water to condense on the surface of the bag rather than elsewhere in the home.

With the jar of water you used to plant the basil in and the bag that prohibits water from exiting the space, this insures that any and all water your basil plant need will not be too far away from the basil plant.

By ensuring that your basil is correctly stored, you can be assured that you will be able to make the most of your newly cut basil for the following two weeks without having to worry about replacing wilted or dead basil leaves.