Parsley: Health and nutrition, plus how to buy it

Below are average values per 1 tsp (0.5g) of dried parsley leaves

Proximates
Water 0.03g
Energy 1kcal
Protein 0.13g
Total lipid (fat) 0.03g
Carbohydrate, by difference 0.25g
Fiber, total dietary 0.1g
Sugars, total 0.04g

Minerals
Calcium, Ca 6mg
Iron, Fe 0.11mg
Magnesium, Mg 2mg
Phosphorus, P 2mg
Potassium, K 13mg
Sodium, Na 2mg
Zinc, Zn 0.03mg

Vitamins
Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid 0.6mg
Thiamin 0.001mg
Riboflavin 0.012mg
Niacin 0.050mg
Vitamin B-6 0.005mg
Folate, DFE 1µg
Vitamin B-12 0.00µg
Vitamin A, RAE 0µg
Vitamin A, IU 10IU
Vitamin E 0.04mg
Vitamin D (D2 + D3) 0.0µg
Vitamin D 0IU
Vitamin K (phylloquinone) 6.8µg

Lipids
Fatty acids, total saturated 0.007g
Fatty acids, total monounsaturated 0.004g
Fatty acids, total polyunsaturated 0.016g
Fatty acids, total trans 0.000g
Cholesterol 0mg

Tips for buying good quality Parsley flakes:

Parsley Flakes are sold in the market based on % volatile. Natural, pure parsley is over 2% volatile oil, sometimes close to 3% when in season! You should always check and ensure that your supplier is telling you exactly how much volatile oil there is. Why is this so important? Because less volatile oil parsley is in fact adulterated with other leaves, such as olive leaves, which carry no Parsley flavour. These are mixed in because they’re much cheaper than Parsley, and look very similar. It can make the price of parsley cheaper by up to as much as 2 – 3 times based on how much is mixed in! Based on the current trend of raw ingredient prices rising up, many brands have started to use methods like this to make the final selling price remain the same to their customers.

One other form of selling dried parsley is whole. We’ve noticed this trend too, and whole dried parsley is great for verifying that you are buying pure. However, whole parsley is a pain to use, because you have to remove the leaves from the stems, and a lot of it is wasted. We suggest whole parsley if using as a bouquet de garni, or other usage where the herb will get discarded before serving. But for regular cooking, flakes is what you are looking for.

Parsley also comes from numerous origins. These vary slightly in flavour, some slightly bitter, some slightly sweeter. Usually, it is a matter of preference. That said, ensure that your parsley is coming from a known region cultivating parsley for a long time. These origins have the stronger flavour, other origins have a much weaker flavour and you’ll need to put in a lot more parsley to get the same taste. Our origin of choice for this reason alone, is Egypt.

Hope you found this informative on how to buy parsley. 

Current market price of Parsley:

10G (0.35 OZ) HKD 14
50G (1.8 OZ) HKD 22
200G (7.1 OZ) HKD 44
500G (17.6 OZ) HKD 80
1KG WHOLESALE PACK** HKD 114