Why You Should Soak Herbs In Ice Water Before Making Sauces
There's nothing more satisfying than pouring a fragrant, brightly colored, freshly made sauce on top of your meal. Whether you're talking pesto, chimichurri, or green tahini, no sauce is complete without fresh herbs. Besides adding their unique flavor, herbs have a strikingly green color that makes your sauce just as lovely to look at as it is to eat. But, there's a tip some of you may be missing out on to achieve the brightest, most colorful sauce possible — and it could be why your dressing turns out more "green-ish" than "green goddess."
You may have already heard about the ice water trick that revives your wilted herbs, which definitely comes in handy. But with this trick, you can kill two birds with one stone. No matter how droopy, or shriveled they are, an ice bath will give them the shock they need to come back to life (via The Kitchn). Afterward, the herbs will be bright and bushy as if you just bought them and never forgot them in the back of your fridge. However, you may not know that the ice-cold water also plays a role in maintaining the herb's bright color when it comes time to blend.
Color
It doesn't matter who you are; No one is looking forward to a dullish brown shade of what looks like a chutney sauce and they're certainly not eating it without a whiff to be sure it's not spoiled. It's true: When it comes to food, it is a lot about appearances. Usually, our eyes are the first sense we use in experiencing our meals — think about the excitement of watching a server walk towards your table and place your food in front of you. But, even if a dish does taste better than it looks, its color plays a huge role in how your brain interprets the flavor (via Food Unfolded).
Certain dishes are all about the sauce, so it's vital you get them right from flavor to color. A bowl of ice water will be your best accomplice to ensure that your sauce does come out green and not green-ish. Whether fresh or wilted, simply place your herbs in a bowl of water and ice until they spruce back to life. If your herbs are fresh, you should only need to submerge them for a few minutes. Then, when you add them to the blender to create your sauce, their cold temperature will help cool the blades (via People). This will ensure their color is not diminished by the heat, leaving you with a goddess-worthy green sauce.