Flat vs curly parsley.

Thirty yrs ago, flat-leaf parsley was almost unkown in the US. With
the growth of good home cooking and millions of cooking show hours
beamed to home cooks across tv land, does anyone even remember curly
parsley? I do.

Curly parsley was that ugly sprig of whatever you carefully extracted
off your plate of mashed potatoes at a resto or tossed down by your
feet when no one was looking before you dug into your club sandwich at
the five-and-dime lunch counter. It was bitter and prickley and
offended yer soft palate. No one but weirdos and freaks actually ate
it.

Now, we are a nation of foodies! Connoisseurs. Twenty years of food
tv has dictated flat-leaf parsley to be king, and that prickly stuff a
long forgotten second cousin. Now, flat-leaf is so ubiquitous, along
with the near-identical cilantro, we have to read the usually
non-existent produce dept price signs to know what we are really
buying. But, wait! Have you actually tasted a sprig of curly
parsley, lately. Can you even find it in your produce section,
anymore? Does your store even carry it? If you can, taste it.

WOW! Unlike flat-leaf parsley, which has gone the way of agribiz
tomatoes, and has little if any flavor whatsoever, curly leaf parsley
still has that parsley bitterness and flavor parsley is all about.
Next time you're in the store, taste 'em both. Night and day! One is
a distinct flavorful herb while the other is less than 3-day rain
soaked lawn clippings. The good news, they both look exactly the same
after fine mincing or processing in an FP.

nb

On Sep 27, 4:02*pm, Mr. Bill > wrote:


I love curly parsley. I always have a pot of both curly and flat
leaf on my deck.

Curly parsey has a sprightly taste. Flat leaf a 'deeper' one.
Kinda hard to explain.

On 2010-09-27, ImStillMags > wrote:

> Curly parsey has a sprightly taste. Flat leaf a 'deeper' one.
> Kinda hard to explain.

That's why I want to grow my own. The flat-leaf in the stores is like
eating wet newspaper.

nb

On Mon, 27 Sep 2010 16:28:01 -0700 (PDT), ImStillMags
> wrote:

>Curly parsey has a sprightly taste. Flat leaf a 'deeper' one.
>Kinda hard to explain.

Exactly what I experience when I taste it!

On 2010-09-27, Mr Bill > wrote:

> Exactly what I experience when I taste it!

I'm sure this is true of GOOD flat-leaf parsley. Unfortunately, the
stuff at my store is essentially tasteless.

nb

notbob wrote:
>
>Flat vs curly parsley.
>
>Thirty yrs ago, flat-leaf parsley was almost unkown in the US.

Way more than thirty years ago every green grocer in
Brookklyn sold both types.... actually given free to regular
customers, same as soup greens were free to regulars

With
>the growth of good home cooking and millions of cooking show hours
>beamed to home cooks across tv land, does anyone even remember curly
>parsley? I do.
>
>Curly parsley was that ugly sprig of whatever you carefully extracted
>off your plate of mashed potatoes at a resto or tossed down by your
>feet when no one was looking before you dug into your club sandwich at
>the five-and-dime lunch counter. It was bitter and prickley and
>offended yer soft palate. No one but weirdos and freaks actually ate
>it.
>
>Now, we are a nation of foodies! Connoisseurs. Twenty years of food
>tv has dictated flat-leaf parsley to be king, and that prickly stuff a
>long forgotten second cousin. Now, flat-leaf is so ubiquitous, along
>with the near-identical cilantro, we have to read the usually
>non-existent produce dept price signs to know what we are really
>buying. But, wait! Have you actually tasted a sprig of curly
>parsley, lately. Can you even find it in your produce section,
>anymore? Does your store even carry it? If you can, taste it.
>
>WOW! Unlike flat-leaf parsley, which has gone the way of agribiz
>tomatoes, and has little if any flavor whatsoever, curly leaf parsley
>still has that parsley bitterness and flavor parsley is all about.
>Next time you're in the store, taste 'em both. Night and day! One is
>a distinct flavorful herb while the other is less than 3-day rain
>soaked lawn clippings. The good news, they both look exactly the same
>after fine mincing or processing in an FP.
>
>nb

After fine mincing you'd look the same as finely minced asshole.

Both types of parsley have been around since long before recorded
history. both are equally flavorful but differently flavored. I grow
parsley, both kinds. but for most uses I much prefer curly, it's
sweeter, and more tender leaved. Tender leaved curly is best in
uncooked dishes, like tuna salad, tater salad, mac salad, and better
with chicken and fish, can't make decent chicken soup with flat
leafed, gotta be curly, chicken salad too tuna salad too. Flat is
better with spicy hot and more strongly flavored dishes like tomatoeyy
dishes,. 'specially sauce... which is why flat is often called 'talian
parsley. I see both in all the stores I shop. Trivia: parsley
contains more Vitamin C than citrus.

I'll be harvesting a big bunch of my curly parsley tomorrow, today I
filled in all the ingredients I need for beef barley mushroom soup,
found a beautiful 2.5 lb hunk of boneless chuck, I had the barley and
the 'shrooms, I use dried wild for soup, really just needed the onions
and celery, got plenty of deer carrots, broke down and bought 2 bulbs
of garlic but I don't use garlic with beef barley 'shroom. Coulda
defrosted a hunk of chuck I already had but this reached out and
grabbed me... plan on filling a 16 qt pot. This is the time of year I
try to use up my parsley, before the first hard frost, then it's
pretty much a gonner. Today I noticed that I still have a pint Glad
container of beef barley 'shroom in my freezer from last year,
probably lunch tomorrow. Sometimes I start my soup as though it will
be pot roast, leave the meat whole and add the other ingredients
according to their cooking time, I'll decide tomorrow after Breakfast
Le Andre'.

Sorry, I have no exact recipe, I stop adding ingredients when whatever
size pot I'm using is full... sometimes I cook barley till it's barly
tender, other times till it practically disintergrates, all
creamy-like... sometimes I add half halfway through so it's creamy and
bitey.

On 2010-09-28, Brooklyn1 <Gravesend1> wrote:

> Sorry, I have no exact recipe.....

No need to apologize. We weren't expecting any.

nb

On Mon, 27 Sep 2010 22:30:10 GMT, notbob > wrote:

> WOW! Unlike flat-leaf parsley, which has gone the way of agribiz
> tomatoes, and has little if any flavor whatsoever, curly leaf parsley
> still has that parsley bitterness and flavor parsley is all about.
> Next time you're in the store, taste 'em both. Night and day! One is
> a distinct flavorful herb while the other is less than 3-day rain
> soaked lawn clippings. The good news, they both look exactly the same
> after fine mincing or processing in an FP.

Nodding head in agreement. I grow my own. Flat leaf has all the
flavor of paper and curly has *flavor*.

--

Never trust a dog to watch your food.

On Sep 27, 11:22*pm, sf > wrote:
> On Mon, 27 Sep 2010 22:30:10 GMT, notbob > wrote:
> > WOW! *Unlike flat-leaf parsley, which has gone the way of agribiz
> > tomatoes, and has little if any flavor whatsoever, curly leaf parsley
> > still has that parsley bitterness and flavor parsley is all about.
> > Next time you're in the store, taste 'em both. *Night and day! *One is
> > a distinct flavorful herb while the other is less than 3-day rain
> > soaked lawn clippings. *The good news, they both look exactly the same
> > after fine mincing or processing in an FP.
>
> Nodding head in agreement. *I grow my own. *Flat leaf has all the
> flavor of paper and curly has *flavor*.
>
> --
>
> Never trust a dog to watch your food.

==
I could never see what people see or taste in parsley that would lead
to place it in ANY food. IMHO it ruins the taste of good food.
==

notbob wrote:

> WOW! Unlike flat-leaf parsley, which has gone the way of agribiz
> tomatoes, and has little if any flavor whatsoever, curly leaf parsley
> still has that parsley bitterness and flavor parsley is all about.
> Next time you're in the store, taste 'em both. Night and day! One is
> a distinct flavorful herb while the other is less than 3-day rain
> soaked lawn clippings. The good news, they both look exactly the same
> after fine mincing or processing in an FP.

I use flat leaf from spring to autumn, since it grows well along with thyme,
oregano and basil, then in winter I buy it in shops and sometimes it's curly
sometimes it's flat. I don't find so much difference in terms of flavor
between flat and curly, also when both are store bougth
--
Val d' Enza power - forno pasticceria de tono a San Polo, strolghini e
culatelli di lusso a Ciano e Parmigiano Reggiano da urlo a Scurano...
Che vuoi di piu' da una valle? L'Anna!!!

ImStillMags wrote:

> Curly parsey has a sprightly taste. Flat leaf a 'deeper' one.
> Kinda hard to explain.

One thing I love, and that many are ashamed of, is a tomato sauce where
parsley has been added near the start instead of waiting the last minute.
With lots of garlic and hot peppers, it makes a wonderful "arrabbiata" style
sauce.
--
Val d' Enza power - forno pasticceria de tono a San Polo, strolghini e
culatelli di lusso a Ciano e Parmigiano Reggiano da urlo a Scurano...
Che vuoi di piu' da una valle? L'Anna!!!

Can't say I've ever purchased curly in the store, but I'm guessing homegrown to be much better. I know this is true of the flat leaf. The stuff in the store just sucks; yet I can usually get decent cilantro in the store. I prefer cilantro over all parsleys. The latest batches of cilantro that I've eaten are very close between grown and storebought (though I did purchase them).

On Sep 28, 1:36*am, Roy > wrote:


> I could never see what people see or taste in parsley that would lead
> to place it in ANY food. IMHO it ruins the taste of good food.

Tastes vary. Last week I made some vegetable soup. When it was
finished cooking, I tasted it and proclaimed it lacking. A good
handful
of minced curly parsley added the bright freshness that it needed.

One of my favorite soups is chicken broth (even from a box),
fresh pasta, and parsley.

Cindy Hamilton

"Gorio" ha scritto nel messaggio
...

I prefer cilantro over all parsleys.

That's like saying I prefer parsley over ice cream. Just because they look
alike doesn't mean any other comparison can be drawn.

Curly in soups is excellent. It also goes great with clarified butter, among other things. Last few times I purchased the flat from the store, it was flavorless. I've had that problem with cilantro maybe once.

On Sep 29, 12:45*am, Gorio >
wrote:
> Can't say I've ever purchased curly in the store, but I'm guessing
> homegrown to be much better. I know this is true of the flat leaf. The
> stuff in the store just sucks; yet I can usually get decent cilantro in
> the store. I prefer cilantro over all parsleys. The latest batches of
> cilantro that I've eaten are very close between grown and storebought
> (though I did purchase them).

And the curly parsley that I grow at home is not prickly. Perhaps the
store-bought stuff has been sitting round long enough to dry out a
bit.

LW

Lyndon Watson > wrote:

> And the curly parsley that I grow at home is not prickly. Perhaps the
> store-bought stuff has been sitting round long enough to dry out a
> bit.

Nice to see you posting again.

As I posted last month, for a long time I used to think that flat-leaf
parsley was more flavourful, but no longer think so. The curly-leaf
stuff now available is at the very least as flavourful and mostly more
aromatic.

Victor

Gorio > wrote in
:

>
> 'Cindy Hamilton[_2_ Wrote:
>> ;1532947']On Sep 28, 1:36*am, Roy wrote:
>>
>> -
>> I could never see what people see or taste in parsley that would lead
>> to place it in ANY food. IMHO it ruins the taste of good food.-
>>
>> Tastes vary. Last week I made some vegetable soup. When it was
>> finished cooking, I tasted it and proclaimed it lacking. A good
>> handful
>> of minced curly parsley added the bright freshness that it needed.
>>
>> One of my favorite soups is chicken broth (even from a box),
>> fresh pasta, and parsley.
>>
>> Cindy Hamilton
>
> Curly in soups is excellent. It also goes great with clarified butter,
> among other things. Last few times I purchased the flat from the store,
> it was flavorless. I've had that problem with cilantro maybe once.
>


Curly parsley is also great in garlic butter.

And on the garlic note, if you have a meal with a garlic 'overload' (like
I did once with some garlic prawns at a local Chinese restaurant) and need
to socialise with people soon afterwards, a couple sprigs of fresh curly
parsley chewed up in your mouth neutralises the garlic smell.



--
Peter Lucas
Hobart
Tasmania

The act of feeding someone is an act of beauty,
whether it's a full Sunday roast or a jam sandwich,
but only when done with love.

On Sep 29, 11:43*am, (Victor Sack) wrote:
> Nice to see you posting again.

Thank-you. I don't see any other familiar names, but it has been ten
years. . . .

LW

On Wed, 29 Sep 2010 00:17:01 GMT, Aussie
> wrote:
>
>Curly parsley is also great in garlic butter.
>
>And on the garlic note, if you have a meal with a garlic 'overload' (like
>I did once with some garlic prawns at a local Chinese restaurant) and need
>to socialise with people soon afterwards, a couple sprigs of fresh curly
>parsley chewed up in your mouth neutralises the garlic smell.

Someone can get rich manufacturing parsley TP for Italians. hehe

Lyndon Watson > wrote:

> Thank-you. I don't see any other familiar names, but it has been ten
> years. . . .

There are some posters left from that time, some using new names/nicks.
Of the erstwhile Kiwi contingent, Miche is still with us; Amy Gale, Lin
Nah and Doreen Randal are sadly no longer posting.

Victor