Easily Strip Fresh Herbs From The Stem With A Common Kitchen Tool

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There are some kitchen hacks so flawless that once you know them, you wonder how you ever lived without them. In fact, there is one trick for stripping hardy herbs, such as thyme, from their stems in seconds that is easily one of the best of them. It's absolutely mesmerizing to watch, and all you need is the kind of fine mesh strainer you'd usually use to sift flour or drain a tin of cannellini beans.

To take all the fuss out of pulling the dainty leaves off thyme, tarragon, and other woody herbs individually, simply thread your herb's stem through one of the holes in your strainer and pull. This works best with the grain (or with the leaves pointing up), as pulling the other way can snap the stem. If you push your herbs through the top of the strainer and pull down, their leaves will end up neatly connected in the mesh, ready to chop, crush, or scatter. This trick is so neat that it's genuinely a bit hard to stop, so you may end up with far more stripped herbs than you bargained for — and a weird new party trick.

If you don't have a strainer, you can do the same thing with your colander, provided it has small enough holes. This is just one of several great uses for the humble colander (beyond draining pasta, that is). If you don't have a strainer or a colander, you should probably get yourself one or the other — maybe these Cuisineart 3-Pack Mesh Strainers or this 2-Pack of Bellemain Micro-perforated Colanders. Additionally, you can utilize pretty much any kitchen tool with a hole the right size. YouTubers and food bloggers alike have used cheese graters, salad spinners, and even pasta measurers.

Of course, the strainer trick only works on tougher, woody herbs. Admittedly, these are more laborious to strip than cilantro or parsley, as their leaves tend to be smaller and you can't get away with leaving any stem in the mix, even if you plan to chop them roughly or blitz them in the food processor. But if you're prepping a bright homemade pesto, trying out a recipe for fresh chimichurri, or cooking anything else that's heavy on the soft herbs, destemming by hand can still feel like a waste of time. That's where a fork comes in handy.

It's not as visually satisfying as stripping thyme from its stem using a strainer, but the humble fork works wonders on softer herbs. This hack is extra speedy, as you can destem a small handful of basil, cilantro, or parsley all at once. Just select three or four sprigs, line up the ends of their stems, and place them on a clean chopping board. You'll need to keep one hand firmly around the herbs' stalks as you pull your fork, tines pointing down away from your hand and along the bunch of herbs. If you repeat the motion a few times, this should tear the leaves from their stems completely.

The fork trick is a pretty rough and ready stripping solution, so don't expect perfection. If your recipe is very specific about only using leaves, you may need to sort through your herbs after you've worked your fork magic and remove a few pieces of smaller stems. Usually, though, it's just the thick, bitter central stems that cause an issue with this kind of herb.