While many are familiar with curly leafed parsley, which often shows up as garnish in chain restaurants, people may not be equally familiar with the flatter-leafed Italian parsley, a close cousin. Most chefs conclude that if you plan to cook with parsley, Italian parsley, P. neapolitanum is by far the better choice. It is sweeter than the standard curly leaf variety, and at the same time more flavorful. Its broad flat leaves also make for easier chopping.

Both flat and curly leafed varieties of parsley are used, like their cousin Chinese parsley or cilantro, as herbs. In the past, people may have confused Italian parsley with the very dangerous hemlock, so the curlier leaf might have been preferred. As long as you’re purchasing Italian parsley from a store or growing it from seed, this is not likely to be a problem; so you can assume that most handgrown or storebought parsley is quite safe.

The reason why Italian parsley is preferable to curly-leafed varieties is that it does contain significantly more of the essential oils that make up the parsley taste. The taste is not overbearing or spicy, and instead, imparts a green, fresh flavor to foods in which it is used. You do have to avoid overcooking parsley of any kind, since it can quickly lose its flavor.

On the other hand if you’re making vegetable, chicken or beef stock, adding a bunch of Italian parsley will provide excellent flavor. If you plan to use the herb for soups made with stock, simply add in a chopped amount a couple of minutes toward the end of cooking. Similarly stews or sauces get wonderful flavor from Italian parsley.

You can also use fresh Italian parsley and consume it alone, add it to herb or mixed green salads, chop some for use in chicken or egg salad, or sprinkle a few leaves into pasta salad. There are hundreds of ways that this form of parsley can impart wonderful taste to food, so simply get creative as you use it. For instance, combine it with cilantro and use it as greens with fajitas or chop some into fresh salsa. Since its flavor is not overwhelming, you can even use a bit of this green sparingly in fruit salads, providing a nice contrasting flavor to sweet fruit.

In stores you’ll find this parsley quite easily, usually right next to the curly leaf variety. It will keep in the fridge for about three to four days. You can extend its life by chopping off the bottom of the stems, wrapping them in wet paper towels and keeping the bunch in a sealed plastic bag. Yet the herb will taste best when it is freshly picked. It grows well as a perennial, reaching about one foot (30.48 cm) in height. It’s suitable for growth in pots, where you can just take a few leaves off as needed for freshest taste.