1,592 easy and fully explained recipes, with +66K photos and 77 videos

How easy is it to chop herbs?

Whenever you have fresh herbs - parsley, chervil, coriander, mint, etc. - to incorporate into a recipe, we tell you to chop them up.

In this case, "chopping" means separating the leaves from the stems, keeping only the leaves, and chopping them more or less finely.

It's not very complicated, of course, but let's take a look at a few ways of doing it, and how to avoid certain pitfalls.

15 K 5/5 (3 reviews)

Keywords for this post:Tips Tricks How to Herb Chop Cut Mince Parsley

Last modified on: September 12^th 2023

For this post Comments Lasts posts Follow

For this post: Comment Follow Ask me a question Send to a friend

Preparation

In most cases, as mentioned above, the first step is to separate the leaves from the stems, keeping only the leaves, the most tender and fragrant part of the herb.
This is done because, as a general rule, the stems are always a little hard, and not very pleasant raw. But you don't necessarily have to throw them away: parsley stems, for example, are wonderful for cooking in a sauce or dish, even if you have to remove them after cooking.

herbes avec tiges feuilles uniquement

Let's chop!

Basically, just place the leaves on a chopping board, then chop them more or less finely, with a chopper or a knife, and you're done?

Well, it's not quite that simple. First of all, you have to get rid of a common misconception: "The finer the chop, the better the taste".
No, it's a culinary legend, because the finer you chop, the more the herbs oxidize and lose their flavour, and the more some of their flavour is lost on the utensils. Cooks have a phrase for this, they say "taste is on the board".

In any case, as a general rule, herbs age very badly once chopped, so whatever the method, you have to be quick.

So chop them, but don't overdo it, proceed quickly, and incorporate the herbs into your recipe as soon as they've been chopped. Don't let herbs that have already been chopped sit on a corner of your work surface, as they will quickly lose their taste.

How to chop

There are several ways to proceed, but here are 3:

Classic method
hachage traditionnel au couteau

Using a knife or chopper, chop the herbs you've grouped together on the board.
It's very simple, but you'll need to make quite a few strokes of the knife to chop all the herbs, which will need to be grouped together from time to time on the board.

The dumpling
hachage en boulette 1 hachage en boulette 2 hachage en boulette 3 hachage en boulette 4

The herbs are grouped together until they form a small parcel, a "boulette", and then delicately sliced, as you would a shallot, for example.
It's very efficient, and the herbs are chopped very quickly.

By the glass
hachage en boulette 1 hachage en boulette 2 hachage en boulette 3

The herbs are placed in a glass, and a pair of scissors is used to cut directly into the glass, until the desired texture is obtained.
It's even quicker and more efficient, and all you have to do is pour the contents of the glass into the recipe. This is definitely my preferred method.

An electric chopper

As you may have noticed, all these methods are manual, so what about electric choppers?
They're handy, of course, for chopping herbs and other things at the same time (garlic, onions, etc.), but they're admittedly not indispensable, and with them you tend to chop too finely, by pressing the button a little too long. If you use one, remember to chop for a few seconds at most.

To sum up: Chopping herbs is a simple matter, you just have to remember 1) not to chop too finely and 2) not to keep your chopped herbs waiting (incorporate them into your recipe as soon as they have been chopped).

Lasts posts

With vinegar?

When you buy a jar of pickles labeled “in vinegar,” you’re looking for their tangy, crunchy flavor to go with cold cuts, sandwiches, or salads. You expect to find small gherkins preserved in vinegar, with salt and herbs, but is that really the case?
July 15^th 20261,3054.8

Congratulate the chef

You've just finished a meal that you really enjoyed. The server approaches with the usual question: “How was it?” And then, as a natural reflex, you simply reply, “Yes, it was very good.” However, when the meal was truly outstanding, this brief exchange deserves a little more. .
July 7^th 2026906 25

Cut twice as fast

When you need to cut something long into small pieces, for example chopped chives or the stem of a spring onion, there's a simple gesture that doubles your cutting speed. Let's see how.
May 21^th 20262,2385

The other use for bowl scraper

Your kitchen or bakery utensils may include a horn (left) or a pastry cutter (right). These practical utensils are normally used to scoop the contents of a bowl or salad bowl - the horn - or to cut dough - the pastry cutter. But they also have another, very practical use - let's see what it is.
May 9^th 20262,0443

The strange foam of potatoes in milk

As you may have already noticed, when you cook potatoes in milk, especially in small pieces (slices or cubes) for a gratin for example, a surprisingly abundant white foam forms on the surface. Where does it come from?
April 26^th 20262,3935

See all posts Random post RSS feeds

The beautiful story of the croissants

As you may have already noticed, cooking, baking and pastry-making are full of stories or legends, usually very romantic, about this or that product or recipe. This is often the case for named recipes, for example tarte tatin, peach melba, paris-brest and many others, but it also applies to very...
October 10^th 201822 K5

Thermal inertia or "out of the fire"

When you're cooking, you need a lot of heat to cook, and most of the time it's on the fire, literally if you're on gas, more indirectly if you're not. An expression that comes up quite often is "Off the heat", but what does it really mean?
December 12^th 202012 K4.6

What is the difference between bakery and patisserie?

This is a question that you may well have asked yourself and which I will attempt to answer. In France the two trades of "boulangerie" (bakery) and "pâtisserie" (patisserie and confectionery) have always been quite distinct, but where exactly do the boundaries lie? .
February 7^th 2017137 K 14.2

Do you know Yotam Ottolenghi?

Do you know Yotam Ottolenghi? Maybe not, in which case let me tell you a little about him.
December 19^th 20209,1454.8

What happens to the bread when you make it?

This bread that we eat every day, and that our baker makes for us, what happens during its manufacture so that it becomes bread? I will try to answer this question, and to summarize the complex alchemy that takes place.
May 28^th 202116 K4.9