Botanical name: Petroselinum crispum
Pharmacopeial name: Petroselini herba/radix
Parts Used: Taproot, leaf, seed
Wrongly relegated to a garnish alone by many herbalists and cooks, parsley actually has a wonderfully savoury and herbaceous flavour, making it a fabulous culinary and healing foundation. Parsley is perhaps the most underestimated herb in Nature’s Apothecary.
Culinary Uses
Parsley is so well known and common that its contribution to cooking is often overlooked. It comes to the palate very cleanly, without the distraction of complexity.
The high concentrations of chlorophyll in the fresh leaves does wonders for any dish that needs to taste herbal without obscuring other flavours in the dish. It is also the reason why we study Parsley first as no other herb will give you a better understanding of how a herb can harmonize a dish and how to use copious amounts of fresh herbs.
A good theater production always has one good understudy who can play any role. Parsley has this role in your kitchen apothecary and cooking. Under your guidance it can fill the leading role or it can be a supporting actor. It is also the perfect teacher of the savoir faire (know-how) of using fresh herbs liberally, and of using herbs to complement the other ingredients in a dish. Not to mention its contribution to a healthy diet. No family herbalist can do without parsley.
Many cuisines have discovered parsley’s cooking virtues. Creole cuisines use it liberally to add a herbal lift to otherwise heavy recipes. Married to celery, onion, and bell pepper in fairly hefty amounts, it comprises the vegetable base of many gumbos. Italians too use its virtues in rich tomato sauces and even in more delicate seafood preparations.
Aroma: Fresh leaves raw – a clean green aroma. Fresh leaves cooked – incognito. Dried leaves – I thought we cleared that one up.
Taste: A versatile fresh green taste. Slightly peppery. At times a little like celery. An aftertaste of green apple. Fresh leaves cooked – faintly fresh, still slightly peppery.
Strength: A mild herb that does not stand up well to long cooking periods.
Menu Ideas
When to Add: Unless the recipe states otherwise, parsley is best stirred in at the last minute in cooked dishes. Brief heating brings out the flavour and aroma but as it cooks longer it becomes limp and loses colour as well as flavour and vitality. In some dishes copious amounts of Italian parsley are cooked for extended periods – almost like a vegetable.
How Much to Add: Parsley is a well-mannered and polite herb that will compliment and not overpower other herbs and ingredients. In fact, as we’ve noted before, it often brings out the best in other herbs and ingredients. Use it generously, up to a tablespoon of chopped leaves per portion.
Flavour Pals: Being the versatile herb it is parsley is pals with almost any other herb, spice or seasoning you can think of. Having said that, here’s our shortlist of best pals: basil, bay leaf, capers, chervil, chilies, chives, dill, garlic, lemon balm, marjoram and oregano, mint, pepper, rosemary, sorrel, tarragon, thyme, watercress.
Matches Made in Heaven: Parsley’s strength is that it can be used freely with almost anything savoury. If you ignore it because other herbs seem trendier you are depriving your cooking of a powerful flavouring ingredient. When you add a handful of parsley to a dish at the end of cooking the emerald specks make the dish look livelier while adding an elusive layer of flavour that can only be described as herbal and green.
Here’s our ingredients shortlist: cheese (soft cheeses), chicken, eggplant, eggs, fish, game, lentils, mushrooms, mussels, pasta, peas, potatoes, poultry, rice, seafood, snails, tomatoes, and zucchini. The dishes shortlist include: omelettes, salads, sauces, soups, stews, and most vegetables.
Contribution to a Healthy Diet
Nutritional Value: Parsley is perhaps the only herb used in quantities that is sufficient to actually contribute to the nutritional value of your diet. If you’re looking for a natural multivitamin and mineral supplement, look no further than parsley. Of the 23 most essential nutrients our bodies need, parsley offers 20! The three that are lacking are Vitamin D, Vitamin B12 and the mineral Selenium.
Furthermore, parsley contains no saturated fats and no cholesterol.
It is a good source of protein, Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Thiamine, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Pantothenic Acid, Phosphorous and Zinc.
Parsley is also a very good source of Fibre, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Folate, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium, Copper and Manganese.
One cup of fresh parsley will give you:
• Just 22 calories.
• 1% of your daily requirement of fat.
• No cholesterol.
• 34mg Sodium (salt) or 1% of your daily requirement.
• 4g carbohydrates or 1% of your daily requirement.
• 2g fibre or 8% of your daily requirement.
• Less than 1g sugar.
• 2g protein.
• 101% of your daily requirement of vitamin A.
• 133% of your daily requirement of vitamin C.
• 8% of your daily requirement of calcium.
• 21% of your daily requirement of iron.
Note: The above percentages of your daily requirements have been based on a 2000 calorie diet. Your personal needs may be different. The source we used for this data is www.nutritiondata.com.
Medicinal Uses
Therapeutic Actions
Diuretic, emmenagogue, carminative, anti-spasmodic, expectorant, hypotensive.
Therapeutic Indications
• Support your immune system.
• Detoxify your body.
• Relieve water retention.
• Provide relief from premenstrual tension.
• Help to reduce flatulence and colic.
• Improve bad breath.
• Relieve some allergies.
Medicinally, the herb has three main areas of usage. First, it is an effective diuretic that helps the body eliminate excess water, and it may be used whenever such an action is desired. It is also an emmenagogue, used to stimulate the menstrual process. (See the Safety Note below). Finally, it has value as a carminative to ease flatulence and accompanying colic pains.
Medicinal Preparations
Infusion: 1 tablespoon fresh herb, or 1 teaspoon dried herb, in 150 ml water, three times daily
Safety Note: Do not use parsley in medicinal doses during pregnancy – but it is safe to consume parsley in your cooking.
Now it’s Your Turn
What are your favourite uses of parsley? Which uses do you want to try next? Share both of them in a reply below.
To be honest I have never been a fan of parsley, as sacrilegious as that may sound. I do not really like the taste, hence this is a herb that I haven’t used at all in a culinary or medicinal way. I am looking forward to exploring its diuretic, emmenagogic and anti spasmodic properties.
As a diuretic. Having learned about its high nutritional value I want to start adding it more often to my dishes.
I use parsley in soups, as a snack, or in salads.
Parsley is my favourite snack while weeding my little garden. I have just harvested and hung a bunch to dry in my kitchen!
I may use it more in medicine than in cooking now!
I like to chop it up and mix with fresh garlic and olive oil on a prego roll.
I use as a garnish….I plan to incorporate more into my diet for the added nutrients.
I like to use it for cooking as an added flavor on my fish and my potato dishes.
Using it more often and experimenting with other foods and herbs
Absolutely LOVE parsley. I use it in my everyday cooking. Never thought of using it as a medicine. Love this knowledge.
Mostly as carnish and in stew. Want to use it as a medicine for healing..
I use parsley in my everyday cooking. It has been a staple for awhile.
Now I want to work on using it as medicine. Not only for myself, family but others as well.
I add parsley to all my salads and soups. I also eat it raw straight from the plant. I add sometimes detox with it by heating parsely in water and then drinking it like tea.
My mom used to heat butter and pour over potatoes or fish and then add loads of cut parsely over the top. I have not done that for a long time so that will be my next dish with parsley.
I have only previously used parsley as a culinary herb. I enjoy herbal teas and will experiment with adding parsley.
I only knew of Parsley’s benefit for bad breath, as I’ve seen it before in a combination with garlic capsules.
I use it when making bone broth and have added it to soups before.
Keen on trying it for premenstrual tension and flatulence/colic!
I never knew parsley offered so many medicinal benefits.
Wow, I would say that I am a little bit surprise to see that parsley offer a lot of therapeutic benefits! My training in culinary made sure that I appreciated parsley for its versatility in the the world of cooking, but reading its monograph put it in a new light. Not that I will be using it more, since I already do use it a lot in soups, in meat and fish dishes and in garnishes. Now whenever I will be including it on my food, I would be consoled that I am getting a lot of nutrients out from the humble herb. Also, I will try out the suggested infusion above since I never tried a parsley tea before.
wow, this is about to sound like blasphemy but I hate parsley 🙁 the taste is just so ‘ugh’ to me.
But in the spirit of trying new things, I will go ahead and add this to my evening ‘immune support tea’ since it says it goes well with mint and I use tulsi (which tastes/smells ‘minty’ to me) 🙂
My earliest recollection of Parsley was my grandparents drinking Parsley tea to cleanse the Kidneys, so amazing to see how wise the previous generations were.
I’m super new to herbs and didn’t realize that parsley had so many potential benefits! I’ve used parsley while cooking and will continue to do so in the future, more regularly perhaps.
used it to treat my daughter’s colic, it works….
Generally like to use parsley as a garnish on cheese dishes. Going to use it as a garnish on baked vegetable dish.
To detoxify my body
I love using fresh Parsley to make tabbouleh. I am going to aim to find recipes that call for more parsley, or just start adding it in and see what happens.
Detoxify the body,improve bad breath,boost immune system,relieve some allergies.
I don’t use parsley near as much as I should. I going to find ways to start incorporating it into my cooking!
Normally I do not eat it, can’t stand the flavor at all! But since reading about it’s iron content (I’m extremely iron deficient) I may, since it’s fall, start making some soups and adding it!
I would like to see a RDA breakdown of the vitamins and minerals as well. Would also check to see what vitamin A it has as vit retina A is very beneficial for lung repair. Things like niacin important for people with poor blood circulation, respiratory, cold sores % would be important to know how much is needed to correct those issues. Yes it is a lot of information included but at the end of the day you are certain what it works for.
well i love cooking so its awesome to know how to use it and the amount you can use, and i am going to try is a a diuretic for my partner , nice to know it eases colic pains,
question ?- can u give it to babies ?
I typically don’t use parsley much in my cooking. I do love the way it looks in my yard growing.
I use it to counter garlic breath, but will use it more now that I know it is so rich in iron
In all honesty, I’ve largely ignored parsley. It always tasted “too green” to me, but also I think for the most part I’ve been exposed to old, dry parsley. I guess I’ll be planting those seeds after all! Being constitutionally dry, I won’t be using it for its diuretic effects, but realistically should introduce it into my cooking, much of which is Mediterranean-based
This page has just opened up a world of consideration for parsley and I’ll be planting some this afternoon. I haven’t been using it in my home cooking but I’m going to change that now.
When I do use parsley, it’s always used fresh, I don’t think I’ve ever cooked it!
Good to know to add in the end when using it in cooking, much like I do when I cook with fresh coriander, which I use a lot.
I’m certainly going to include parsley into my daily diet and try cooking with it.
I follow a plant based diet and I am impressed with the nutritional value.
Viva Parsley!
I have to confess that I have ignored parsley in my cooking, even skipping it as redundant. I have grown it in my garden for the first time this year as a pest repellent. I have some catching up to do. I plan to make a shrimp pasta dish for dinner tonight. The recipe calls for dill which I am also growing. I will add a generous amount of parsley and see what I think.