Customer Reviews

Progressive International Herb Keeper

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I use a lot of fresh herbs in my cooking, but they always go bad quickly in the refrigerator -- what a waste. I bought this with the hopes of extending the life of my herbs just a little longer, and I'm not disappointed. My herbs last at least three times longer with no difference in taste nor texture. You do have to change the water regularly though.

My experience with this product is that it simply doesn't work. While storing fresh herbs like cut flowers, in water, is a good idea, in theory, these tubes don't facilitate that AT ALL.

The narrow area and lid trap moisture against the leaves of the herbs, leading them to rot faster. And even a single bunch of cilantro or parsley is overly large for these small containers and will therefore touch the sides of the tubes and, again, promote rotting. (With the water in bottom you're already creating a humid atmosphere and, if you use the lid, you're basically guaranteeing your herbs will go bad in less than 24 hours for any product touching the sides of this container.)

Either store your herbs in water uncovered, like flowers (with leaves loose and not touching anything) OR wrap in dry paper towels and store in fridge. That's my best advice for those who wish to extend the life of fresh herb bundles beyond a day or two.

I received this for a gift and was very excited as keeping fresh herbs "fresh" is a difficult task. The problem I have with this product - the screwing and unscrewing of the lower part is extremely difficult. Especially if your hands are wet or damp and that is the norm after filling or refilling it to re-attach. It is very easy to get the "threads" twisted - thereby making it even more difficult to correct. I don't know whether my container is defective - I will keep trying to "train" myself to fasten it better. The concept is good - just needs a bit of "tweaking".

I can't even find one good thing to say about this "herb keeper". If you want your herbs to go bad and be wasted, store them in this. You are much better off doing without this herb "keeper" (I meant "rotter"). It is poorly designed and difficult to use. It is top heavy and narrow, so tends to tip over easily. The large, heavy rubber cap merely sits on top, so it falls off, spilling the water, when it tips over. The bottom is very difficult to attach and detach without spilling the water, when you need to change it. It is much too narrow for more than the smallest bunch of skinny herbs and since they rub on the inside of the container, in the condensation moisture, they tend to rot in very short order. It is difficult to get the herbs out, without further damage, when they are stuck to the sides. This is not dishwasher safe and the plastic (probably some type of polycarbonate) cracks, crazes and becomes cloudy in a short time. This is a totally bad product and a huge waste of money. If anyone wants to buy mine to try, let me know!!!

I haven't tried this with herbs other than basil, but it just hasn't worked for that. I know basil can be a difficult herb, and I've tried it both in and out of the fridge with no luck either way. Also, I haven't been able to unscrew the bottom since the day I got it. I have a feeling this will eventually end up going to goodwill....

As other reviews have stated, I too had issues with the screwing & unscrewing of the bottom section of the container. It takes some work to align the threads properly, and admittedly, I am not patient enough for that. When I use it now, I simply pour in the water from the top, rather than upset myself trying to disassemble & then reassemble the darn thing.

On another note, the cylinder is rather skinny for certain herbs. For instance, generally when you purchase parsley, it's in a rather robust bunch, and I find myself cramming all my herbs into the container. Be aware that skinnier herbs work better in this.

Do I regret buying it? Nooo, not really. I picked it up for less than $10 at a local discount store, so no big loss. Would I pay $18 + $9 in shipping? HECK NOOOO!!! Throw your herbs in a mug or cup, fill with water, and toss into the fridge. That'll work just as well, and it's free!

We use fresh herbs year-round and this was great for parsley, especially. But it got a series of what looked like stress cracks and then just split open. No one dropped it or even put it in the dishwasher. Useless.

I ordered two Progressive International Herb Keepers, and I've given up using it for herbs. I compared the freshness of parsley kept in one of the purchased herb keepers with parsley rinsed, wrapped in a paper towel, and stored in a Ziplock bag. Over nine days, I saw no difference in freshness. I also kept parsley for three weeks in the other Progressive Herb Keeper that I ordered. After that amount of time the parsley began yellowing and the stems were getting mushy.

I started keeping green onions (which does keep fresh for longer periods) in the herb keeper. It's good for green onions and fits perfectly in the refrigerator door. Nice, novel product, but--in my opinion--not a "must have."

When I bought my first one, I thought it worked so well that I bought several more to give to family and friends. But after a couple of years, the cylinder cracked apart and would no longer screw on. I bought another, thinking I might have somehow mistreated it, but the same thing happened, even sooner. For the time being, I'm holding it together with rubber bands. But I think I might try a competing, slightly different product next time.

We had two of these herb keepers and they worked great. Except that after two years, they both split open from top to bottom and no longer held water for our parsely and celantro. We liked what do enough to buy two more as replacements. We hope the manufacturer has recognized the problem and made a fix.