I wash mine and dry in a salad spinner (be sure to unbunch it), then put in a roomy tupperware container. If i don't need the spinner, I leave it that and it will keep for almost a couple of weeks. Don't pick the leaves off the stems until you are using it.

Now I have a reason to replace the broken salad spinner I tossed long ago. Thanks!

E

I only wash what I am using at the time. I found keeping it in the pkg from the store sealed tight with additional Glad Press n Seal and stored in the crisper keeps it the best. It is turning yellow before it is getting slimy, and keeping for about 2 weeks. I have to be selective, but it is useable. I found cutting the leaves and stems from the top of the bunch are the freshest.

maybe keep it and transfer the dried cilantro to it so your good one will be freed up. Or look for a tiny spinner, just for cilantro.

Here is a link that might be useful: herb spinner

Magothyrivergirl, mine doesn't come in a package, but in a loose bunch from the farmer's market or food coop.

My salad spinner is long gone. I haven't replaced it because they are such space hogs. The small spinner may be the solution. My goodness, it isn't cheap is it! I think I paid a whole 3 dollars for my spinner. It wasn't an especially fine one but it worked if awkwardly, even when unbroken. I got rid of it in a purge one day.

I have a cilantro plant growing in one of my herb pots but it's still pretty skimpy.

Eileen

Another reason to grow your own.... ;-) The link below has some good information.

Have you checked the temperature of your refrigerator? It should be colder than 40-degrees F.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to Store Parsley, Cilantro, and Other Fresh Herbs

I think the temperature is fine. I am not experiencing spoilage of milk or other things. In fact unless I watch it, things in the bottom most bin (meat storage) will freeze solid. It has its own control but even on the warmest setting things still get ice on them.

As Oly suggests I think it's the wetness left on the leaves from the grocery store misting the open bins. Then I'm stuffing it in a plastic bag and leaving it there. The leaves aren't yellowing before turning to slime.

I'll try the stems in water thing next time as I don't know when I'll get a spinner. I did that recently with some wilted kale I'd just purchased from the farmer's market. It lost its crispness between picking, sitting at the warm outdoor market, and being carted home in a tote bag by bicycle. With kale all the rage I thought I'd give it another try. Nope, still don't care for it. I mixed it with beet greens in a saute with some herbs. It was passable. I like other greens so much more I think I'll leave kale and collards for other folks.

All good ideas. Thanks!

Eileen

Eileen, when I buy a new bunch of cilantro or parsley at the grocery, as soon as I get home, I just shake it over the sink to remove the water from the misters. Then I cut the stems evenly across the bottom and place in a jar of water. Into the fridge it goes and it usually lasts for a couple of weeks at least. I change the water every few days, the same as I would if it was flowers. I have parsley in there right now that is still good after at least 3 weeks.

Nancy

I usually take half, and chop and freeze it, as I never seem to use the full amount before it goes bad. The rest I wrap in a paper towel.

I wrap my bunch of cilantro in a DRY paper towel it is the moisture that makes it slimy and rot. the dry towel absorbs the moisture, then in a bag. with green onions same thing with the paper towel then i wrap the bunch in a sheet of newspaper

I rinse it, cut a little off the bottom of the bunch, put the stems in a jar of water...then I put a plastic bag over the leaves. Keep the bag loose and put it in the frig. It will last a least a week if I change the water every couple of days.

ML

Go to the plant nursery and buy a little pot of it for about a buck fifty. Put it in a bigger pot with some rich potting soil made up for veggies not flowers. Place it on the patio, deck, front porch, yard by the carport, sunny window - someplace you will see it every day. It likes 6-8 hours of full sun or more; wet the soil every couple days with a glass of water; chop off the sideways stems/leaves for use; the rest of the plant will continue to grow. Feed it once a month or so with some vegetable fertilizer (not flower fertilizer). For the little amount of money and some time over the summer, you can have fresh cilantro whenever.

Nancy

I do the water in a glass thing for both cilantro & parsley. I actually wash them before clipping off the stems a bit and placing them in a jar with clean, fresh water. Cover loosely with a plastic bag. They keep for quite a while in the fridge. When I change the water, I snip a bit off the stems and mist the leaves.

I really can't grow cilantro. I don't have the space like commercial farms to stagger plantings. It gets way too hot during the summer and it bolts almost immediately.

I'm with nancedar...I just read recently that even in a warmer climate (cilantro isn't happy when it's hot) it can be potted up and harvested in the same manner of lettuce and will continue to replenish itself.

I'm going to try it!

I'm in central Wisconsin and I haven't had much luck growing it either, that is, growing without bolting almost instantly. And, yes, I've tried the slo-bolt varieties of it, too.

Seems to keep best for me, as others have mentioned, by trimming the bottom stems & keeping in the refrig in a glass of water. Remembering to change the water every few days is a pain, though. I also will freeze an entire bunch & just chop off what I need from the frozen bunch. That works really good for when appearance doesn't matter.

Drying it is a waste of effort because it just does not retain its flavor.

For me, cilantro grows best in the winter, but you can grow it indoors in the summer when there is too much heat and sun. I can grow it outdoors in the summer if I put it in a place that doesn't get too much sun, as it is not hot here in the summer. If you have a room with a skylight, that should be ideal for summer growing - otherwise place it in a window with southern exposure.

When I buy cilantro, I dry it in a salad spinner and then wrap it in paper towels, put it in a plastic bag, and store in the bottom of the fridge. I used to keep it in water, and that works also, but I stored it in the kitchen window instead of the fridge. If you can find some at the farmers' market that still has roots, it will do even better in a glass of water.

Lars

I do what Ynnej does. I chop it and press it flat in a freezer bag, then just break off what I need for salsa. Not as good as fresh, but much better than dried.

If your cilantro bolts, let the seeds dry and plant them! Voila' more cilantro! BTW - the seeds are called coriander - a spice that you can eat that tastes nothing like cilantro. You might even try planting some coriander seeds from your spice cabinet. A little 1 gallon pot can support 5 or 6 cilantro plants.

Nancy

Nancy, I let my cilantro go to seed and then save the seeds as coriander - much better to have fresh coriander than what you can buy in the store. I do plant some of it, but it often just reseeds itself.

When I get to feeling better, I plan to make an herb garden between my blue ginger and the avocado tree. I have some oregano there now that is doing well, but I would like to add cilantro and dill, as it gets partial shade in the afternoon (full sun in the mornings), and I think they would do well there in the summer. I normally keep herbs in pots because it is easier to keep the weeds/grass out, but when I get my energy back, I think I will be able to handle that with the small part of the back yard that I want to use. The ground is very hard and non-porous there, and so a lot of things are difficult to grow there, and even weeds don't like it! I'll have to amend the soil to get the cilantro to grow, I think.

Lars

Problem is Nancy, is that all I can seem to grow is cilantro seeds. Never much of anything in the way of foliage. Like, it sprouts, I get a couple of leaves and then it bolts. The cilantro that I have growing now is from last summers' plants having self seeded. Yesterday, I scratched a couple of different varieties of store bought seed in around the now bolting plants, so I keep trying! I'd have to plant a quarter acre to get enough leaves to equal a grocery store 'bunch'.

Does anyone know where the store-bought cilantro is grown?

Can't help you with your request. Never buy the stuff.
In fact, I got 3 large boxes of old produce from the grocery store for my worms a couple years ago.

There were a lot of bunches of various herbs, cilantro being one of them. Couldn't stand the smell of it, even chopping it. I even wondered if the worms would like it.

Since most people either love or hate cilantro, I'm in the "hate camp" :D

I have my little plant of slow-bolting cilantro and a bunch of cilantro seeds I need to plant. I'm thing I should keep that pot in the shade of my patio roof if it doesn't like the sun/heat.

I've found a salad combination of flavors that I have been eating every other day or so and it relies on a healthy contribution of mango, cilantro, and mint along with whatever greens and veggies I have along with red or yellow bell pepper. I also have three kinds of mint growing. I will add more mint varieties as I find them. I am eating more raw fruits and vegetables these days. Partly out of laziness - I don't feel like cooking and I want to eat a healthful diet. And partly because I really like raw fruits and vegetables.

I'm out of cilantro after today's salad which I am eating as I type. I'll go shopping later for more and will try the cilantro in water in my refrigerator.

I also like coriander and I will toast the seeds with cumin seeds and crush them together to use. My new salad fave also has these as part of the seasoning blend I toss on top with a light dressing of low sodium soy sauce, rice vinegar, lime juice, and a few drops of toasted sesame oil.

I will also look for a salad spinner in my travels. I think it's time to get a new one.

Thanks,
Eileen

Here is a good guide for growing cilantro - you can find a lot of bad info on the web as well, but this one looks accurate. Note that letting the soil dry out can cause the plant to bolt, and so perhaps some people are not watering their plants enough - I water every day in warm weather and every other day in the winter. Winters in my back yard are ideal for both cilantro and dill, but I still keep them in partial shade.

After my surgery, I am going to try a diet that is mainly fresh fruit and vegetables, even though I do not grow that many of them. Unfortunately, my local vegetable/fruit stand is going out of business, but there is another one on Centinella that is even better - just a bit further away, and unfortunately closed temporarily due to a recent fire. Oh well, I guess that leaves Bristol Farms, which is fairly close and there is almost no traffic between my house and there. I used to dread shopping in Venice (especially in summer) because the traffic was horrendous. I didn't realize how bad it really was until I left! Of course, there was a bike trail straight to the market from my house in Venice, but that limited what I could carry. I used to do a lot of shopping on my bike in Venice, but Westchester is not conducive to that, and we do have some slight hills.

Lars

I bought cilantro last night and trimmed it and have it in a jar in the refrigerator. I also found cress with the roots still on, dirt too. (Maybe I'll plant some of it.) I used it to make a salad with tomato, baby greens, red bell pepper, and some cooked shrimp. It reminded me a lot of arugula with a nice mild peppery taste. I also have nasturtiums growing. I like that flavor in salads, too.

Lars, I bike to buy all of my groceries. As I only feed myself, this works okay. I buy more frequently which is fine as it gives me an excuse for my daily ride. Sometimes it's just two miles, other times I will make a 10 round trip. I won't be growing any real produce, no place for it. I do have a nice selection of herbs and I want to plant lettuces as well. I have 5 tomato plants, 4 cherry types and one Early Girl. The Early Girl was a buck so I thought it should come home with me. I have never grown tomatoes but have fond childhood memories of eating tomatoes warm from the sun in my grandparents' garden. Oh, and those two infertile zucchini plants. I will never be a proper farmer but I am amused by my efforts. I have a friend who loathes raw tomatoes but grows bushels of them for sport. He gives them all away.

According the cilantro growing guide, it's will be too hot here very soon. I'll try a pot in the shade of the patio. It will get bright southern light but no direct sun.

Eileen

Thank you, Lars, for posting that link. Very helpful. I'm sure that a large part of my problem with bolting is due to the soil drying out. Will try it in a pot in the shade of my front porch and, since I'm in & out the front door a jillion times a day, I'll have much better luck seeing that it doesn't get dry.

Jasdip, I feel that way about anise. I'm almost certain that I'd hurl if I was forced to eat it. Curry, too.