Chopping Parsley

Max Hauser said:

"Mark Thorson" in news:[email hidden]:
| ...
| Megadoses of C raise the risk of kidney stones.
| I've already had one stone, which is enough.

That's a good point (for instance, urinary oxalate is a major metabolic
byproduct of the vitamin C not excreted directly, according to "Vitamin C"
chapter in Goodman and Gilman, the standard medical pharmo text).

J Nutr. 2005 Jul;135(7):1673-7.
Ascorbate increases human oxaluria and kidney stone risk.
Massey LK, Liebman M, Kynast-Gales SA.
Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition,
Washington State University, Spokane,WA.

Currently, the recommended upper limit for
ascorbic acid (AA) intake is 2000 mg/d. However,
because AA is endogenously converted to oxalate
and appears to increase the absorption of
dietary oxalate, supplementation may increase
the risk of kidney stones. The effect of AA
supplementation on urinary oxalate was studied
in a randomized, crossover, controlled design in
which subjects consumed a controlled diet in a
university metabolic unit. Stoneformers (n = 29;
SF) and age- and gender-matched non-stoneformers
(n = 19; NSF) consumed 1000 mg AA
twice each day with each morning and evening
meal for 6 d (treatment A), and no AA for 6 d
(treatment N) in random order. After 5 d of
adaptation to a low-oxalate diet, participants lived
for 24 h in a metabolic unit, during which they
were given 136 mg oxalate, including 18 mg
(13)C(2) oxalic acid, 2 h before breakfast;
they then consumed a controlled very low-oxalate
diet for 24 h. Of the 48 participants, 19
(12 stoneformers, 7 non-stoneformers) were identified
as responders, defined by an increase in 24-h
total oxalate excretion > 10% after treatment A
compared with N. Responders had a greater 24-h
Tiselius Risk Index (TRI) with AA
supplementation (1.10 +/- 0.66 treatment A vs.
0.76 +/- 0.42 treatment N) because of a 31%
increase in the percentage of oxalate absorption
(10.5 +/- 3.2% treatment A vs. 8.0 +/- 2.4%
treatment N) and a 39% increase in endogenous
oxalate synthesis with treatment A than during
treatment N (544 +/- 131 A vs. 391 +/- 71 umol/d N).
The 1000 mg AA twice each day
increased urinary oxalate and TRI for calcium
oxalate kidney stones in 40% of participants,
both stoneformers and non-stoneformers.

"Ophelia" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"jake" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Does anyone have an efficient technique for chopping large amounts of
parsley? Lately I've been cooking with it a lot and have found that I
get the best results when it's chopped almost to the consistency of a
fine, moist grain. This, however takes a lot of time. I tried using
my small electric chopper, but cleaning that takes almost as long as
chopping the parsley by hand. Any thoughs?

Also, is there a difference (other than texture) between the leaves of
parsley and the stems? How about for Italian parsley?

I have a rocking knife on my wish list for this purpose, but I've never
actually used one.

If you mean a mezzaluna I never did get the hang of using mine🙁

Ophelia

Well, if getting the hang of it is anything similar to what I saw the other
day on America's Test Kitchen, I'd never do it. He was doing some green
parsley; he was actually slamming/pounding/raising up/slamming down the mezz
and giving it a split second rock when it came down. It looked like he was
pulverizing the herbs; and must've had arms of steel. I'm still laughing at
the action.
Dee Dee

"Wayne Boatwright" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Well, yes, sorry... For myself, I would not stop eating meat unless
it was
ordered for a life-threatening situation. I don't care that much for
fish.

I won't bother you again.

You have enough friends here not to bother yourself at all darling🙂)

O

"Dee Randall" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Ophelia" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"jake" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] wrote:
> Does anyone have an efficient technique for chopping large amounts
> of
> parsley? Lately I've been cooking with it a lot and have found
> that I
> get the best results when it's chopped almost to the consistency of
> a
> fine, moist grain. This, however takes a lot of time. I tried
> using
> my small electric chopper, but cleaning that takes almost as long
> as
> chopping the parsley by hand. Any thoughs?
>
> Also, is there a difference (other than texture) between the leaves
> of
> parsley and the stems? How about for Italian parsley?
>

I have a rocking knife on my wish list for this purpose, but I've
never actually used one.

If you mean a mezzaluna I never did get the hang of using mine🙁

Ophelia

Well, if getting the hang of it is anything similar to what I saw the
other day on America's Test Kitchen, I'd never do it. He was doing
some green parsley; he was actually slamming/pounding/raising
up/slamming down the mezz and giving it a split second rock when it
came down. It looked like he was pulverizing the herbs; and must've
had arms of steel. I'm still laughing at the action.

LOL well I can't do it🙂

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

~patches~ said:

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

I'm not Jill, but I also dry my own and it actually gets darker...
And I use no preservatives.

I dry or freeze the parsley using no preservatives. I find the frozen
parsley keeps a greener appearance than and a closer to fresh taste the
dried.

Do you freeze it in ice cubes?
I'd read that hint somewhere.
To freeze it in actual ice cubes
to keep it fresher?

No, I use the vacuum sealer and feeze it in those bags. I have used the
ice cubes for basil but not parsley. It works well.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Drying my own is less expensive and fresher! Who knows how old some of
that stuff on the shelf is? ;-)

I know that my home dried herbs are better than anything I can buy.

Isn't that the truth!

Indeed.....

Dee Randall said:

"Ophelia" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"jake" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] wrote:
> Does anyone have an efficient technique for chopping large amounts of
> parsley? Lately I've been cooking with it a lot and have found that I
> get the best results when it's chopped almost to the consistency of a
> fine, moist grain. This, however takes a lot of time. I tried using
> my small electric chopper, but cleaning that takes almost as long as
> chopping the parsley by hand. Any thoughs?
>
> Also, is there a difference (other than texture) between the leaves of
> parsley and the stems? How about for Italian parsley?
>

I have a rocking knife on my wish list for this purpose, but I've never
actually used one.

If you mean a mezzaluna I never did get the hang of using mine🙁

Ophelia

Well, if getting the hang of it is anything similar to what I saw the other
day on America's Test Kitchen, I'd never do it. He was doing some green
parsley; he was actually slamming/pounding/raising up/slamming down the mezz
and giving it a split second rock when it came down. It looked like he was
pulverizing the herbs; and must've had arms of steel. I'm still laughing at
the action.
Dee Dee

Just rock it back and forth quickly, "walking" it slowly away from you
in the meantime. Then, use it to gather the material in a pile, and
start over. It minces very fine with a few passes As I mentioned a
day or so ago, I use a plastic cutting board rather than a bowl. I
have to say my mezzaluna could be sharper, but still, it does the job
very well.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

Sheldon said:

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

Does anyone have an efficient technique for chopping large amounts of
parsley? Lately I've been cooking with it a lot and have found that I
get the best results when it's chopped almost to the consistency of a
fine, moist grain. This, however takes a lot of time. I tried using
my small electric chopper, but cleaning that takes almost as long as
chopping the parsley by hand. Any thoughs?

Also, is there a difference (other than texture) between the leaves of
parsley and the stems? How about for Italian parsley?

I just dry it in the dehydrator and crush it well with my fingers.
Works for me and I do really like the flavor and color!

I don't see where Harry asked about dehydrating parsley... that wasn't
one of his concerns... and in any event it would make more sense to
freeze any extra fresh parsley for future use. Dehy parsley has it's
place but only as a last resort, a very last resort, as fresh parsley
is readily available at the stupidmarket all year and it's relatively
inexpensive. I grow my own and at the end of the growing season freeze
a big bagful, usually takes me through until I can grow more next
season. I can't remember the last time I bought parsley and even
though I do have a jar of dehy about the only time I use any is as an
occasional quickie garnish, to dust a bowl of tuna salad or the tops of
defiled eggs.

Unless one didn't own a freezer why would any normal brained person
want to dehydrate perfectly good parsley???

If they are anything like me, they tend to use their freezer space for
the more expensive items like meats, fish, and poultry. I use a lot of
parsley. My preferred method is vacuum sealing then freezing. I also
dry enough to ensure I have a sufficient amount of parsley until the
next growing season. That way if for some reason the freezers stopped,
I still have a stash of parsley 😉

Quoted message said:

Sheldon

Mark Thorson said:

~patches~ said:

Perhaps something else is going on that makes it appear these foods are
at fault when they really aren't. I love broccoli and often eat a bowl
of steamed broccoli for a snack.

Steamed would be fine. It's only raw that causes the
problem. I've experimented with this -- I often now
will eat a large bowl of Brussels sprouts or broccoli
without any problem, fully cooked.

Quoted message said:

I generally eat broccoli and parsley
daily, brussel sprouts when I can get them. All are rich in vit c and
anti-oxidants. You said you quit eating beef so that may be part of the
problem. Are you eating enough protein daily?

I only quit eating beef this year, replaced by pork
and chicken. The problem caused by my massive parsley
consumption goes back over 20 years.

How much is massive consumption? I can't imagine massive parsley
consumption. I've made green drinks using raw parsley, use parsley in
salads, use it in soups, eat it raw on a daily basis. I've never had a
problem.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I agree with OmMani on
the vit b-complex. You may want to try adding more fibre that acts as a
cleanser for toxins in the body.

Oh, yeah. Toxins.
Isn't that what coffee enemas are for?

Major shudder!!!!!!! Why waste good coffee on an enema? Fibre will
remove or help to remove all the toxins you need too as will water. I
would suggest a nice bran muffin daily. Females will benefit from
cranberry jucice in addition to a bran muffin.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

You may also want to check with your
doctor to rule out any other problems.

I'm not vegetarian and I eat beef. I take a high potency multivitamin
as well as *mega* doses of vit c and b-complex daily.

Megadoses of C raise the risk of kidney stones.
I've already had one stone, which is enough.

If you read the actual clinical data, mega doses of vit c do not raise
the risk of kidney stones. I've followed all the data from Linus
Pauling a strong proponent of mega doses of vit c.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

As well as the
anti-oxidants in the b-complex

B vitamins are not antioxidants.
You're confusing them with vitamins C and E.

I don't think so. Try going to the actual scientific studies, read
those, then come back and tell me I'm wrong.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

it helps protect your body from daily stressors and
the thiamine in it is particularily good for memory.
It works for me and my doctor is aware of what I take.
This is very important.

It works for me! Heh. Those words are usually followed
by a sales pitch for Herbalife or Scientology. :-)

Since I do neither I wouldn't know. I said the mega doses of certain
vitamins worked for me. Nothing more, nothing less.

Quoted message said:

You forgot to mention the ear candles! :-)

Sorry I'm not into that type of alternative medications.

OTOH, you asked for help then don't like the advise you get. So good
luck. I have better things to do like cooking healthy meals. I wish
you the best.

Mr Libido Incognito said:

~patches~ wrote on 28 Aug 2005 in rec.food.cooking

Quoted message said:

I dry or freeze the parsley using no preservatives. I find the
frozen parsley keeps a greener appearance than and a closer to fresh
taste the dried.

Quoted message said:

Drying my own is less expensive and fresher! Who knows how old
some of that stuff on the shelf is? ;-)

I know that my home dried herbs are better than anything I can
buy.

Isn't that the truth!

I used to dry a mess of stuff from lime zest to celery leaves in a
ceramic plate on top of my toaster oven. The toaster oven's surplus heat
did the drying. And the ceramic plate stopped me from putting stuff that
would melt or burn on top of the taster oven. So it was a win win dealie.
Alas I no longer have a toater oven. Hopefully the dehydrator I ordered
in May will get here soon. Curse you Ron Popeil!

I hope it works out ok for you. Home dried always tastes better. While
waiting you can dry herbs the old fashioned way by tying them in a
bundle then hanging to dry in a cool, dark place.

Max Hauser said:

"Mark Thorson" in news:[email hidden]:
| ...
| Megadoses of C raise the risk of kidney stones.
| I've already had one stone, which is enough.

That's a good point (for instance, urinary oxalate is a major metabolic
byproduct of the vitamin C not excreted directly, according to "Vitamin C"
chapter in Goodman and Gilman, the standard medical pharmo text). I
remember also a "bowel tolerance limit" circa 500mg/day (causes gas, if I
remember) and there was that study a couple years ago showing correlation
with surprisingly impaired arterial health above some moderate level of
daily longterm megadose -- 500 mg/day? -- again from offhand memory. I
don't know the larger story on that, or sequel studies. Someone with access
to medline could cite them accurately.

I have full access to medline but have not seen the study and I have
kept up on the research. I would be interested in viewing their protocol
and their final results. I know most of Linus Pauling's reseach. IME a
megadose is greater than 500 mg/day. I'm at the 2000 mg/day dosage with
no side effects. I've been at this level for several year now.

Quoted message said:

Also, I hope anyone taking 1000 or 2000 mg daily knows to break it into two
or three divided doses, because the stuff passes through the body in a few
hours and a single huge dose will temporarily lower urine pH as it
accumulates there, and much of it then will pass out, wasted.

Anyone on megadoses of vit c knows how to break up the doses 😉

Wayne Boatwright said:

On Sun 28 Aug 2005 12:58:40p, Mark Thorson wrote in rec.food.cooking:

Quoted message said:

Wayne Boatwright said:

On Sun 28 Aug 2005 11:17:41a, Mark Thorson wrote in rec.food.cooking:

>I only quit eating beef this year, replaced by pork
>and chicken. The problem caused by my massive parsley consumption
>goes back over 20 years.

I missed something here. What kind of problem did eating parsley cause?

I gave my skin a slightly greenish hue. Even after
three years of not eating any parsley it still
hasn't gone away.

Wow, I love parsley, but don't think I've ever eaten that large a quantity
except, perhaps, in tabouli. Is there no type of treatment for this?
Perhaps just time. Must be similar to having an orange tinged skin from
eating too many carrots.

If this effect has ever happened, I've never heard of it. Not that the
OP hasn't experienced it, only I've never heard of it. Nor have I seen
it reported in the scientific literature.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I could be happy with eating only the very occasional good burger or
steak, and eat maily pork and chicken.

You really did miss something, didn't you?
We were talking about quitting pork and
chicken in addition to beef, and how this
would help tsunami victims in Asia.
Please try to keep up. Thank you. :-)

Well, yes, sorry... For myself, I would not stop eating meat unless it was
ordered for a life-threatening situation. I don't care that much for fish.

I won't bother you again.

Wayne, my thoughts exactly. I certainly won't be bothering the OP again.

Quoted message said:

On Sun 28 Aug 2005 03:43:50p, Ophelia wrote in rec.food.cooking:

Quoted message said:

"Wayne Boatwright" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Well, yes, sorry... For myself, I would not stop eating meat unless
it was
ordered for a life-threatening situation. I don't care that much for
fish.

I won't bother you again.

You have enough friends here not to bother yourself at all darling🙂)

O

Thanks, Ophelia, you're a sweetheart!

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
____________________________________________

My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four,
unless there are three other people.

On Sun 28 Aug 2005 04:37:21p, ~patches~ wrote in rec.food.cooking:

Quoted message said:

Wayne Boatwright said:

Wow, I love parsley, but don't think I've ever eaten that large a
quantity except, perhaps, in tabouli. Is there no type of treatment
for this? Perhaps just time. Must be similar to having an orange
tinged skin from eating too many carrots.

If this effect has ever happened, I've never heard of it. Not that the
OP hasn't experienced it, only I've never heard of it. Nor have I seen
it reported in the scientific literature.

I have no scientific data, and I've never seen this with parsley, but I
actually did see this occur in an individual with carrots. Seems they had
been drinking quarts of freshly produced carrot juice every day for an
extended period of time. It was almost as if they looked jaundiced, but
more orange than yellow.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>I could be happy with eating only the very occasional good burger or
>steak, and eat maily pork and chicken.

You really did miss something, didn't you?
We were talking about quitting pork and
chicken in addition to beef, and how this
would help tsunami victims in Asia.
Please try to keep up. Thank you. :-)

Well, yes, sorry... For myself, I would not stop eating meat unless it
was ordered for a life-threatening situation. I don't care that much
for fish.

I won't bother you again.

Wayne, my thoughts exactly. I certainly won't be bothering the OP
again.

Thanks, ~patches~

Cheers!

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
____________________________________________

My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four,
unless there are three other people.

"OmManiPadmeOmelet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

~patches~ said:

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

I'm not Jill, but I also dry my own and it actually gets darker...
And I use no preservatives.

I dry or freeze the parsley using no preservatives. I find the
frozen
parsley keeps a greener appearance than and a closer to fresh taste
the
dried.

Do you freeze it in ice cubes?
I'd read that hint somewhere.
To freeze it in actual ice cubes
to keep it fresher?

Quoted message said:

I was recently flipping through La Varenne Pratique, and the author
recommends cramming parsley(stems and all) tightly into a conatiner and
freezing it. Then, she says you can grate the hunk as needed right out
of the freezer. The grated bits will melt quickly. I haven't tried this
yet.

-T

"~patches~" in news:[email hidden]:
| Max Hauser wrote:
|| . . .
|| there was that study a couple years ago showing correlation
|| with surprisingly impaired arterial health above some moderate
|| level of daily longterm megadose -- 500 mg/day? -- again
|| from offhand memory. I don't know the larger story on that,
|| or sequel studies. Someone with access to medline could cite
|| them accurately.
|
| I have full access to medline but have not seen the study
| and I have kept up on the research. I would be interested in
| viewing their protocol and their final results.

Yes exactly. It was mainstream media news at the time, and I've spoken with
a couple of physicians who knew about it, but I cannot cite pinpoint.

|| Also, I hope anyone taking 1000 or 2000 mg daily knows
|| to break it into two or three divided doses, because the stuff
|| passes through the body in a few hours and a single huge
|| dose will temporarily lower urine pH as it accumulates there,
|| and much of it then will pass out, wasted.

| Anyone on megadoses of vit c knows how to break up
| the doses 😉

Didn't get the 😉, patches (alas). One might hope that anyone would know to
break up these megadoses, but I've met ones who didn't (Mathematician:
"Disproof of general theory by counterexample. Quod erat inveniendum."😉 It
is the kind of thing that the general public may do, given only a little
technical information. Which as you know is a dangerous thing. ("Drink
deep, or taste not the Pierian spring ..."😉

Cheers -- Max

In article <[email hidden]>,

~patches~ said:

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

~patches~ said:

OmManiPadmeOmelet wrote:

>I'm not Jill, but I also dry my own and it actually gets darker...
>And I use no preservatives.

I dry or freeze the parsley using no preservatives. I find the frozen
parsley keeps a greener appearance than and a closer to fresh taste the
dried.

Do you freeze it in ice cubes?
I'd read that hint somewhere.
To freeze it in actual ice cubes
to keep it fresher?

No, I use the vacuum sealer and feeze it in those bags. I have used the
ice cubes for basil but not parsley. It works well.

Ooh! I have a tilia and had not thought of that application for it,
thanks! :-)
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

In article <[email hidden]>,

skoonj said:

"OmManiPadmeOmelet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

~patches~ said:

OmManiPadmeOmelet wrote:

> I'm not Jill, but I also dry my own and it actually gets darker...
> And I use no preservatives.

I dry or freeze the parsley using no preservatives. I find the
frozen
parsley keeps a greener appearance than and a closer to fresh taste
the
dried.

Do you freeze it in ice cubes?
I'd read that hint somewhere.
To freeze it in actual ice cubes
to keep it fresher?

Quoted message said:

I was recently flipping through La Varenne Pratique, and the author
recommends cramming parsley(stems and all) tightly into a conatiner and
freezing it. Then, she says you can grate the hunk as needed right out
of the freezer. The grated bits will melt quickly. I haven't tried this
yet.

-T

Hmmmmm... Sounds like a real PITA. ;-)
Parsley is actually available at the grocery pretty much year round if I
need fresh. Dried works for me most of the time, but I like the idea of
vacuum freezing other fresh herbs that I grow, such as basil and dill.
I might do some Dittany as well since, when it goes to bloom, the plant
is almost worthless for flavoring foods!
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Does anyone have an efficient technique for chopping large amounts of
parsley? Lately I've been cooking with it a lot and have found that I
get the best results when it's chopped almost to the consistency of a
fine, moist grain. This, however takes a lot of time. I tried using
my small electric chopper, but cleaning that takes almost as long as
chopping the parsley by hand. Any thoughs?

Also, is there a difference (other than texture) between the leaves of
parsley and the stems? How about for Italian parsley?

There is an old "trick"

After washing the parsley start at the top (leaf end) and begin chopping do not
remove the string/rubber band. When you get to mostly stem stop and discard the
rest or save for soups/stocks.

Grab a handful with several fingers and drop back onto the surface of the
cutting board. Do this several times. You'll find the stems drop first to the
bottom of the pile and the leafs are on the top.

Separate the stems from the leafs and continue to chop to the desired size.

Dimitri

~patches~ said:

Sheldon said:

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] wrote:

>Does anyone have an efficient technique for chopping large amounts of
>parsley? Lately I've been cooking with it a lot and have found that I
>get the best results when it's chopped almost to the consistency of a
>fine, moist grain. This, however takes a lot of time. I tried using
>my small electric chopper, but cleaning that takes almost as long as
>chopping the parsley by hand. Any thoughs?
>
>Also, is there a difference (other than texture) between the leaves of
>parsley and the stems? How about for Italian parsley?
>

I just dry it in the dehydrator and crush it well with my fingers.
Works for me and I do really like the flavor and color!

I don't see where Harry asked about dehydrating parsley... that wasn't
one of his concerns... and in any event it would make more sense to
freeze any extra fresh parsley for future use. Dehy parsley has it's
place but only as a last resort, a very last resort, as fresh parsley
is readily available at the stupidmarket all year and it's relatively
inexpensive. I grow my own and at the end of the growing season freeze
a big bagful, usually takes me through until I can grow more next
season. I can't remember the last time I bought parsley and even
though I do have a jar of dehy about the only time I use any is as an
occasional quickie garnish, to dust a bowl of tuna salad or the tops of
defiled eggs.

Unless one didn't own a freezer why would any normal brained person
want to dehydrate perfectly good parsley???

If they are anything like me, they tend to use their freezer space for
the more expensive items like meats, fish, and poultry.

Pound for pound parsley costs about the same at the market as
porterhouse... that's primarilly why I grow my own... these days fruit
and veggies are outrageously pricey... a teeny bunch of parsley costs
over a buck, weighs about an ounce and is mostly stems, and usually was
just snatched outta the ground weeds and all... you're lucky to salvage
a few grams of leaves. I freeze just leaves, choice leaves at that...
and a zip-loc of parsley leaves flattened out takes very little freezer
space. And btw, it costs more in electrical energy to run a home
dehydrator than the parsley is worth, only a REALLY DUMB [censored] would
dehydrate parsley... if it's dehy parsley you want it's cheaper and
easier to just buy dehy.

I used to grow herbs in pots on the windowsill but it's not really
worth the trouble, it's much easier to simply grow extra and freeze
enough to get through the winter. A cell-pac of six parsley plants
costs a buck, will produce enough for any large family for the entire
year.

Sheldon

~patches~ said:

Sheldon said:

OmManiPadmeOmelet said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] wrote:

>Does anyone have an efficient technique for chopping large amounts of
>parsley? Lately I've been cooking with it a lot and have found that I
>get the best results when it's chopped almost to the consistency of a
>fine, moist grain. This, however takes a lot of time. I tried using
>my small electric chopper, but cleaning that takes almost as long as
>chopping the parsley by hand. Any thoughs?
>
>Also, is there a difference (other than texture) between the leaves of
>parsley and the stems? How about for Italian parsley?
>

I just dry it in the dehydrator and crush it well with my fingers.
Works for me and I do really like the flavor and color!

I don't see where Harry asked about dehydrating parsley... that wasn't
one of his concerns... and in any event it would make more sense to
freeze any extra fresh parsley for future use. Dehy parsley has it's
place but only as a last resort, a very last resort, as fresh parsley
is readily available at the stupidmarket all year and it's relatively
inexpensive. I grow my own and at the end of the growing season freeze
a big bagful, usually takes me through until I can grow more next
season. I can't remember the last time I bought parsley and even
though I do have a jar of dehy about the only time I use any is as an
occasional quickie garnish, to dust a bowl of tuna salad or the tops of
defiled eggs.

Unless one didn't own a freezer why would any normal brained person
want to dehydrate perfectly good parsley???

If they are anything like me, they tend to use their freezer space for
the more expensive items like meats, fish, and poultry.

Pound for pound parsley costs about the same at the market as
porterhouse... that's primarilly why I grow my own... these days fruit
and veggies are outrageously pricey... a teeny bunch of parsley costs
over a buck, weighs about an ounce and is mostly stems, and usually was
just snatched outta the ground weeds and all... you're lucky to salvage
a few grams of leaves. I freeze just leaves, choice leaves at that...
and a zip-loc of parsley leaves flattened out takes very little freezer
space. And btw, it costs more in electrical energy to run a home
dehydrator than the parsley is worth, only a REALLY DUMB [censored] would
dehydrate parsley... if it's dehy parsley you want it's cheaper and
easier to just buy dehy.

I used to grow herbs in pots on the windowsill but it's not really
worth the trouble, it's much easier to simply grow extra and freeze
enough to get through the winter. A cell-pac of six parsley plants
costs a buck, will produce enough for any large family for the entire
year.

Sheldon