Home >> All Categories >> Food 101 >> Herb-a-Day: Parsley
Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) is a green biennial herb native to Iran and commonly used in Middle Eastern, European and American cuisines alike. In fact, parsley may very well be the most popular herb in cooks' pantries around the world.
Like cilantro, parsley is used for its mildly flavored leaves. The two culinary varieties of parsley are Italian (aka flat leaf parsley) and curly leaf parsley.
Some argue that flat leaf parsley has a more pungent flavor, and it would appear that this variety does indeed have a stronger concentration of essential oils.
Curly leaf parsley is most frequently used as a garnish, and some may also favor this variety over the flat leaf variety because flat leaf parsley bears a striking resemblance to poison hemlock (although this probably isn't a problem if you shop at your local market instead of foraging for herbs in wooded areas).
Fresh parsley is available virtually year-round and is preferable to dried parsley in just about every cooking application.
Parsley is mild and delicate enough to pair well with many other herbs, including basil, chives, mint, oregano, thyme and so on.
Recipes on the Web Using Parsley
Hearty Turkey Soup with Parsley Dumplings
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