How To Strip Herbs off Their Stems

Prep: 2 mins

Cook: 2 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 4 Servings

Yet’s talk about fresh herbs. They smell great, they make our food taste incredible, and they are a pain in the you-know-what to get off the stem. If you try to tell me you actually enjoy picking off each tiny leaf, methodically working your way to a full tablespoon, I’m going to call shenanigans.

Ingredients

Fresh herbs
Cutting board
Chef's knife

Instructions

How To Strip Leaves from Tough- or Woody-Stemmed Herbs
Pinch the stem near the top with the fingers of one hand.
Swipe down the length of the stem with the fingers of the other hand from top to bottom. The leaves should break off where they meet the stem. If the stem snaps, it's probably tender enough to eat and can be minced along with the leaves.
Mince or roughly chop the stripped herbs.
How To Strip Leaves from Soft-Stemmed Herbs
Pinch individual leaves from the stems. Small clusters of leaves can be pinched off together.
For thin strips (chiffonade): Stack the leaves on top of each other and roll them up. Slice across into thin strips.
For minced herbs: Stack the leaves on top of each other and then roughly chop until minced as small as you like.