For the best results, pour your water out after your first wash and refill the bowl. Dunk and swish your parsley again, swapping out the water every time it starts looking dirty. When you can dunk the parsley in and the water remains clean, you’ll have perfectly clean parsley. You can also just run your parsley under a cold tap to wash it. Hold the parsley under the water and rotate it to make sure you wash every area. Don’t use hot or boiling water when cleaning parsley, as this will blanch it and remove some of the freshness that makes parsley delicious.
You can also dry your parsley in a salad spinner if you have one. If your parsley is still damp after shaking it off, use a few paper towels to pat it dry.
The leftover parsley stems can be used in stocks and soups for a little extra flavor but will be too tough for most other dishes. If you won’t use them, put them in a compost bin or throw them away. If you’re not looking for very finely cut parsley, you can avoid picking the leaves off by carefully cutting them away from the thicker stems. With the parsley in a bunch, hold the stems so the leaves face away from your body. Use a sharp kitchen knife at a 30-degree angle to cut from the top of the stems through the leaves. Rotate the parsley and cut at the same angle again to strip away the leaves only. [4] X Research source
Try and hold your hand in a claw-like position, with your fingers facing directly down into the parsley. This will keep your fingers safe from the knife blade as you cut through the parsley.
Always be careful when working with sharp knives, especially when cutting something that you need to be holding. Work slowly as you get a handle on the right grip and the right motions to avoid cutting yourself.
You should always use a gentle slicing motion when cutting parsley, as opposed to more harshly chopping it. Parsley will bruise quite easily, which could alter the flavor. In addition, the parsley won’t look as good when you use it as a garnish. [8] X Research source
The knife should roll back and forth across the mid-point of the blade, letting you rotate and move it around while chopping the parsley. Keep doing this motion until the parsley is finely chopped or minced.
As when cutting parsley by hand, make sure you cut only the parsley leaves and don’t get too much of the harder stems mixed in with your chopped parsley. Herb scissors should be available from your local cooking or homeware stores or can also be found online.
This will bruise the parsley and release more moisture from it than when cutting with a knife. Use this method to very quickly chop parsley to be mixed into dishes, rather than preparing it for use as a garnish.
If you want to cut your parsley even finer, simply pour it out onto a cutting board and rock your knife back and forth through it to cut it further.
