Photo by Billy Bui
It’s only good as a garnish and even then, it sucks
By Jessica Berget, Opinions Editor
I know the jury is still out on over whether the herb cilantro is tasty or not; some people love it and others think it tastes like soap. However, it’s not their fault—people’s disdain for the herb may be attributed to their genetics. Personally I love cilantro and would put it in all of my food if I could, but I’m not going to hate on others for not having the genetics to enjoy its taste, which is entirely outside their control. So, I say we put the cilantro debate to rest. The real herb enemy I think everyone’s taste buds can agree on is parsley.
I know it is a vital ingredient of many delicious dishes and foods… oh wait, no it’s not! Besides maybe a chimichurri sauce, it’s practically never needed as an ingredient in another dish except as a garnish. Even then, its only purpose is to make the dish look fancy, and even then, it still does a bad job! Yet almost every recipe I see with an accompanying picture of the food in question has that sad, pathetic, little sprig of suck on top of an otherwise appetizing dish. I won’t stand for it any more.
Why must everything be garnished with parsley? It is a useless, cast-off herb; it might as well not be there at all. Also, I find it has absolutely no taste except perhaps slightly leafy. I don’t know why recipes still list it as an ingredient because I find it hard to believe that anyone actually purchases it and uses it in their dishes.
Seriously, who has ever chomped down on a leaf of parsley and thought, “Oh this is delicious?” No one. Normally I’m not a picky eater at all and will try any food at least once. However, I’ve tried parsley enough to know that I don’t want it anywhere near my food.
Parsley was once a symbol for death to Ancient Greeks and Romans. If you ask me, I think we should be regarding it just the same because it essentially kills any dish you put it on. If you are ever reading a recipe and it says you need parsley, just ignore it.
