Did you know that herbs can bruised? When herbs are bruised their flavors tend to turn slightly bitter and not taste the way you expect them, especially when using them as fresh herbs in recipes.
There are a few different ways that herbs can be bruised. The most common way is when you are cutting your herbs, you are chopping them with a knife that isn’t sharp enough, or cutting with scissors that are not meant for cutting herbs. A dull blade can bruise the herbs on the edges of where you’re cutting them, affecting flavours.
The other way is when you are washing the herbs too vigorously before using them. Instead, you want to gently wash your herbs so that you’re not damaging them, as you are washing them and removing any dirt or debris.
Depending on the herbs you are using, especially something that’s delicate such as basil, you can actually see the bruising on the edges where the basil has been damaged, so you will know if your knife is too dull or not, or if you washed your herbs too harshly.
