Wondering if your dill has gone bad? Or can you still save it from having to be thrown out? Our best storage tips as well.
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Did you pick some fresh dill from the farmers market, grocery store, or your garden? Did you forget about it in the back of the fridge and now it's not looking so hot?
Let us tell you what to do and what issues to look for. We will help you to see if you can still salvage. Also read our tips on how to store it better so you don't have this issue again.
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🟡 Yellow
When a dill plant matures it will eventually produce yellow flowers. The buds start to form at the top of the plant. As long as the flowers are not opened yet, the dill is still good to use.
Dill that is sold as "pickling" dill will have these yellow buds on it. People look for this type of dill when they want to make their own homemade pickles. In most places, dill grows to this "pickling" stage at the same point in the season as the pickling cucumbers are ready to harvest.
If it's the leaves of the dill (and yes those little strains are still considered leaves) are turning yellow then the dill is beginning to break down. It may have an off bitter taste. If it's not too much it may taste perfectly fine. Any regard, you need to use this dill up immediately before it completely goes bad.
⚫ Black or Brown
When dill starts to turn black or brown it loses it's usefulness. It won't taste good. You can remove the black parts of the herb and use the dill that is still green unless...
🍄 Moldy
No doubt at this point you need to toss it out. There was too much moisture. Follow your storage tips below to prevent this form happening again in the future.
🎙️ Listen to our podcast episodes on - When Broccoli Turns Yellow and When Green Beans Go Bad
🥶 How to Store
The best way to store dill is in the fridge in your crisper drawer. If you buy it as a bunch in no packaging, you can take it home and wrap it loosely in slightly damp paper towel. You don't want to keep it in a plastic bag as they may hold in moisture that will turn the dill moldy.
You also can use a silicone bag like the ones from Stasher in order to store the dill. Silicone won't trap in moisture like a plastic bag would.
If your dill comes with long stems or roots attached, you can treat it like a flower. Stick it in a vase with some water and leave it on the counter. Change the water every couple days and still try to use up as quickly as you can - 3 to 5 days would be best.
Make sure the vase you are using is tall enough so that dill doesn't hang over the edge. You want to be standing straight up.
🧼 Should I Wash It?
Before you use the dill you can give it a rinse. Never store it wet. If you want to clean when you bring it home make sure to dry it out before you put it in the fridge. You can gently dry it with a towel.
📅 Best By Date
If you buy packaged dill that has a best by date on it, ignore it. Go by how the dill looks instead of that date.
🤏 How to Select Dill
Make sure you are buying dill that has solid green color without any black. If you can buy dill that is in bunches instead of buying them in plastic packages. Those packages are nearly always more money and you get far less. Plus it's just more plastic waste that isn't necessary.
🗑️ Toss or Keep
Check out these other posts in our Toss or Keep series.
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