Fresh herbs were water- and steam-blanched at 90–100 C and 100 C, respectively, for 1–10 min and
30 s to 7 min for parsley and marjoram, respectively, and subsequently minced to obtain a paste. For
the first time, phenolic compounds of unheated marjoram were characterised by high-performance liquid
chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS). Hereby, 10 phenolics were detected. Among
them, apigenin-glucuronide, lucenin-2 and lithospermic acid were tentatively identified for the first time.
In unheated parsley, apart from the major compound apiin, 10 further phenolics were characterised
including several p-coumaric acid derivatives which were newly detected. Except for apiin, short-time
steam- and water-blanching (1 min), respectively, did not cause significant losses of phenolic
compounds, and thus proved to be the most suitable measures to ensure polyphenol retention.
Consequently, blanching is a recommendable initial operation in the processing of parsley and marjoram
into novel paste-like products.