Curly vs. Flat Parsley

[cabrales]

I'd appreciate members' views on the taste discrepancies between curly and flat parsley.

[Ron Johnson]

Flat leaf is less bitter, tastes "greener", more floral, and more pleasant texture. Superior to curly in my opinion. However, I do like curly very much and will use it happily when flat is not available. Curly is also idiot proof for growing in the garden or in a pot.

[Suzanne F]

Ron -- I completely agree about the taste and texture. Question: when you substitute curly for flat, do you make any adjustments in quantity? And are there any dishes (besides maybe tabbouleh and American parsley salad) which you simply won't make if you can't use flat?

[Jinmyo]

I simply won't use curly parsley anymore. Even minced quite finely, it's still tough and nasty.

[Gavin Jones]

Even for a nice slice of boiled ham with parsley sauce?

[Jinmyo]

Actually, yes. But you know, I don't much care for that. I don't mind a bit of parsley thrown atop but I want me Dijon mustard and black pepper.

[Ron Johnson]

Ron -- I completely agree about the taste and texture.  Question: when you substitute curly for flat, do you make any adjustments in quantity?  And are there any dishes (besides maybe tabbouleh and American parsley salad) which you simply won't make if you can't use flat?

Suzanne, thats a good question. I suppose that if I don't have flat leaf I probably use much less curly and mince it much more finely and the end-product suffers as a result. I am sure there are many dishes that I will not make with curly.

I said I happily substitute curly, but I bet in reality that is not true. I was just trying to be nice to curly parsley.

[Jinmyo]

I was just trying to be nice to curly parsley.

That's sweet. But has curly parsley ever been nice to you?

Are there dishes you feel require curly parsley?

[Jinmyo]

I'd appreciate members' views on the taste discrepancies between curly and flat parsley. 

Hey. Wait a minute.

cabrales? Why do you want to know?

[Basildog]

We use flat....ditto all above comments about taste

Jinmyo..........why do you want to know why Cabrales wants to know????

[slarochelle]

This same topic was just covered in the latest Cooks Illustrated (Nov/Dec issue). Their testers came to the following conclusions:

None could tell the difference between curly and flat when used as part of a dish; stew, sauce, seasoning, etc.

However, when the parsley was to be the primary component, flat leaf had the better taste. Less bitter, fresher.

The first dish that comes to mind where parsley is the primary flavor component is pasta with garlic, oil and parsley. I can imagine curly leaf parsley being too bitter for the dish.

[Bux]

I was going to say that the flavor of flat leaf is both better and more pronounced, but the truth is that I haven't used curly leaf in so long that I'm not sure. I never thought of curly parsley as nasty or bitter tasting, but as I say, I just don't remember.

[jaybee]

"Curly parsley looks like shriveled up bugs and tickles my tongue. It's also very untidy. Flat parsely is so neat and uniform. It has real leaves and lays nice and flat on my cutting board so I can make neat even little slices, all the same width--about .2 centimeters. I can line up all the leaves, one on top of another in an even pile, then slice through them in exactly the same place each time. All in all, I'd say flat leaf parsely was tidier and easier to clean up after."

__the Anal Rententive Chef

[maggiethecat]

For ages we acted on the Received Wisdom that Flat was better. And it is great.

But we happened on some crispy fresh curly and now I'm not so sure. If it's fresh and bouncy the taste is great. And chiffonaded the texture adds something the flat can't do.

Both are wonderful.

[torakris]

Normally I only use flat leaf, but then I made Cook's Illustrated's taboulleh. They recommend curly leaf for it and I really enjoy it, but I think it is the only thing I use the curly type for.

[oraklet]

i like both sorts, but don't feel they're interchangeable. the taste of curly parsley is slightly "dusty" when raw (my wife detests it in this form), and the taste of flat parsley reminiscent of coriander. curly is nice as a cooked "spice", whereas flat is fine both cooked and in a salad. the curly is more used in danish meals, mostly, i think, because it is hardier and thus more suited for our nordic climate.

[bushey]

For eating raw and garnishing, I prefer curly parsley. For cooking, I prefer flat parsley. My family mostly dislikes parsley or is indifferent to it and they tease me most mercilessly whenever I use it (there goes Mom and her parsley again).

My favorite reference to parsley is in Dr. Seuss' book Scrambled Eggs Super (which I heartily recommend to all foodies, and is best read alound):

"And parsley, quite sparsely.

Just forty-nine sprigs"

I may have the exact number wrong, but you get the gist.