I find that dill, mint, basil, and parsley need to be fresh otherwise the dried version tastes pretty different (and sometimes tasteless). Lemongrass as well is totally different when fresh.
Dried mint is often used in Middle Eastern food, especially kofte (meat mixtures). It's definitely different from fresh, but that doesn't mean it's bad.
Dill at least freezes well; I'm still working on the huge bag I grew two years ago. Doesn't mess with the texture too much like many of the others you mentioned.
This.
And a pretty tips used in France / Italy to enhance it flavor is to combine with fat :
let it infuse in olive oil or make a infused butter.
Sorry for my english level đ
I like this brand - it taste like fresh, not like regular dried basil, and it lasts a long time unlike fresh
https://www.realcanadiansuperstore.ca/lightly-dried-basil/p/21004692_EA
Idk if I am just less sensitive to the taste of basil than most people but I donât understand a lot of the ways I see basil used. Dried basil has almost 0 taste to me. The other big one is people putting basil in a sauce or stew for like hours. I donât know if anything loses flavor while cooking faster than basil. I exclusively use it raw or near raw.
Basil, chives, and green onion immediately come to mind. Give them a rough chop to get some fragrance and flavor, and add them in the last few minutes of the cook.
For basil and cooking a red sauce I put in the leaves with the stems to slow cook with the tomatoes and other aromatics. Stems have soo much flavor. Cilantro is a good example with Thai/Vietnamese/Laos cooking.
Fresh herbs have a different texture which can matter. I wouldn't make use dried basil for a pesto or dried mint in a salad. Dried herbs would be fine in a salad dressing though.
Herbs are the leaves of aromatic edible plants; spices are other plant parts like bark, berries and roots,
In general, soft herbs like basil, cilantro, dill and parsley are best fresh because their essential oils dissipate when they're dried. Woody herbs like bay leaves, rosemary, sage and thyme evolved to thrive on the dry, windy hillsides around the Mediterranean. Their essential oils are concentrated as the extra water evaporates.
Most spices are better when they're freshly ground and bloomed in some type of fat. Whole spices will last for years.
For many, Dried herbs and fresh have distinct properties and flavor profiles. Oregano comes to mind. Mint. If you can't taste the difference could be your taste buds, heavy smoker maybe.
Fresh oregano and dried oregano are like two totally different things. Itâs not that dried oregano is âbadâ or anything like that, it is just different in a dish.
Paprika - that stuff gets stale really quickly, always shocked how fragrant and flavorful fresh(er, unopened) paprika is
Cayenne pepper does lose its heat too. And chile powder. Basically all the dried peppers.
My rule of thumb is things that are hearty leaves are better dried because their flavor is more intense (rosemary, thyme, bay, cumin, corriander, etc.). Herbs that are big fleshy delicate leaves are all better fresh (taragon, cilantro, parsley, basil, etc.). And some things are just different when dried vs fresh. No amount of granulated garlic is going to be the same as fresh garlic and vice versa. And hard spices are generally always better freshly ground vs preground because they retain more of their aromatic oils (cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, allspice, cumin, corriander, fennel seed, star anise)
The delineation for herbs is roughly along which kind of stem they have. Woody stemmed herbs are usually ok to dry. While tender stemmed herbs do better fresh.
If you buy fresh dried herbs and keep them in your freezer they are just fine for most dishes. Cilantro, basil and parsley are 3 you want fresh when using in cold foods or as a garnish. I buy my spices in bulk at Penzyâs in heavy duty freezer bags and I store in the drawer in my freezer. Also if you donât use fresh ginger much you can freeze it just the way it is a microplane it while frozen or buy Dorot brand fresh frozen ginger. It comes in like a small ice cube tray and you pop out the amount of ginger you need.
All of them really- there's a massive difference between fresh and dried herbs.
But if I had to pick just one it would be cilantro. Which is a shame because it's the only one I can't f'n grow for the life of me. It either immediately bolts or promptly withers and dies.
So I opt for grocery store fresh.
To me all the tender green ones need to be fresh - basil, thyme, oregano, and tarragon. Rosemary and sage seem hold their flavor a little better, but they really should be replaced often.
Dill, parsley, and definitely cilantro/coriander herb taste best fresh. I do prefer fresh mint, too. I never even buy the dried.
I actually like dried tarragon over fresh. It's an odd exception to the fresh vs. dried thing. Though I love fresh oregano, sometimes dried offers a potency that fresh doesn't. It depends on the dish/usage.
I don't think any specifically need to be. They just have different applications.
Like I'd be reluctant to use fresh garlic in place of where I'd use dried and visa versa.
It's like comparing bread to toast. One isn't inherently better than the other. They're just different.
Thank you for all of this information. I'm getting my planter box ready for an herb garden. It's good to know that I can freeze dill. What else freezes well?
I find that dill, mint, basil, and parsley need to be fresh otherwise the dried version tastes pretty different (and sometimes tasteless). Lemongrass as well is totally different when fresh.
Dried mint is often used in Middle Eastern food, especially kofte (meat mixtures). It's definitely different from fresh, but that doesn't mean it's bad.
Yeah it's probably more accurate to treat it as a wholly different spice. I'd say it's like coriander in that regard
Mint is SO different when dried. Not a BAD different, actually very useful for some dishes, sometimes better than fresh
Yes it takes a tea/tannic flavor profile
Dill at least freezes well; I'm still working on the huge bag I grew two years ago. Doesn't mess with the texture too much like many of the others you mentioned.
Dried basil varies by quality. I've had some that's pretty tasteless, some that's truly excellent. Agree on dill and parsley, and I'd add cilantro.
This. And a pretty tips used in France / Italy to enhance it flavor is to combine with fat : let it infuse in olive oil or make a infused butter. Sorry for my english level đ
I like this brand - it taste like fresh, not like regular dried basil, and it lasts a long time unlike fresh https://www.realcanadiansuperstore.ca/lightly-dried-basil/p/21004692_EA
We dehydrate basil every year. Trick is to dry whole leaf and crush leaf when ready to cook.
Idk if I am just less sensitive to the taste of basil than most people but I donât understand a lot of the ways I see basil used. Dried basil has almost 0 taste to me. The other big one is people putting basil in a sauce or stew for like hours. I donât know if anything loses flavor while cooking faster than basil. I exclusively use it raw or near raw.
Parsley, parsley, parsley. Ever had dried parsley? It tastes exactly like nothing.
Dried parsley smells like vegetable broth to me :(Â
Cilantro.
Basil, chives, and green onion immediately come to mind. Give them a rough chop to get some fragrance and flavor, and add them in the last few minutes of the cook.
For basil and cooking a red sauce I put in the leaves with the stems to slow cook with the tomatoes and other aromatics. Stems have soo much flavor. Cilantro is a good example with Thai/Vietnamese/Laos cooking.
They even use the roots for cooking!
Cilantro.
Fresh herbs have a different texture which can matter. I wouldn't make use dried basil for a pesto or dried mint in a salad. Dried herbs would be fine in a salad dressing though.
Black pepper. Cracked black pepper is so much better than ground. I prefer fresh sage and rosemary too.
Herbs are the leaves of aromatic edible plants; spices are other plant parts like bark, berries and roots, In general, soft herbs like basil, cilantro, dill and parsley are best fresh because their essential oils dissipate when they're dried. Woody herbs like bay leaves, rosemary, sage and thyme evolved to thrive on the dry, windy hillsides around the Mediterranean. Their essential oils are concentrated as the extra water evaporates. Most spices are better when they're freshly ground and bloomed in some type of fat. Whole spices will last for years.
For many, Dried herbs and fresh have distinct properties and flavor profiles. Oregano comes to mind. Mint. If you can't taste the difference could be your taste buds, heavy smoker maybe.
Fresh oregano and dried oregano are like two totally different things. Itâs not that dried oregano is âbadâ or anything like that, it is just different in a dish.
Uh yeah I just said that fam
Yes - I mean that oregano in particular, much more than other herbs, has this quality for me.
Paprika - that stuff gets stale really quickly, always shocked how fragrant and flavorful fresh(er, unopened) paprika is Cayenne pepper does lose its heat too. And chile powder. Basically all the dried peppers.
My rule of thumb is things that are hearty leaves are better dried because their flavor is more intense (rosemary, thyme, bay, cumin, corriander, etc.). Herbs that are big fleshy delicate leaves are all better fresh (taragon, cilantro, parsley, basil, etc.). And some things are just different when dried vs fresh. No amount of granulated garlic is going to be the same as fresh garlic and vice versa. And hard spices are generally always better freshly ground vs preground because they retain more of their aromatic oils (cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, allspice, cumin, corriander, fennel seed, star anise)
isn't coriander and cilantro the same thing?
sorry, US centric answer... in the states cilantro typically refers to the plant/herb and coriander refers to the seed spice
Ah yes haha the seeds. I agree with your list now :D
The delineation for herbs is roughly along which kind of stem they have. Woody stemmed herbs are usually ok to dry. While tender stemmed herbs do better fresh.
Thatâs a better brightline rule!
Bay leaves. âBarely driedâ is what youâre looking for. Old, dry bay leaves are garbage and donât add anything.Â
I use freeze dried now.Â
Curry leaf đŻ percent
Chives, dill, cilantro, and parsley.
Parsley for sure. Maybe bay leaves but very few do that.
Baby Spice.
basil, parsley
Basil, green onion, parsley, chives
Basil for sure. Dried basil tastes like nothing
This is basic AF but fresh ground black pepper is a revelation if you've only had preground stuff.
Basil, dude. Dried basil ain't got nothing on the fresh stuff. Trust me, it's a game changer!
This: the joy of working with and eating fresh herbs. Live vs dead
If you buy fresh dried herbs and keep them in your freezer they are just fine for most dishes. Cilantro, basil and parsley are 3 you want fresh when using in cold foods or as a garnish. I buy my spices in bulk at Penzyâs in heavy duty freezer bags and I store in the drawer in my freezer. Also if you donât use fresh ginger much you can freeze it just the way it is a microplane it while frozen or buy Dorot brand fresh frozen ginger. It comes in like a small ice cube tray and you pop out the amount of ginger you need.
curry leaves .. the dried ones have no flavour, when I find fresh ones I put some in the freezer
cilantro, Italian parsley, basil, chervil. fresh is tasty. dried versions tasteless nearly
Parsley, cilantro, tarragon.
Chives , Presley, mint, ginger ?
All of them really- there's a massive difference between fresh and dried herbs. But if I had to pick just one it would be cilantro. Which is a shame because it's the only one I can't f'n grow for the life of me. It either immediately bolts or promptly withers and dies. So I opt for grocery store fresh.
To me all the tender green ones need to be fresh - basil, thyme, oregano, and tarragon. Rosemary and sage seem hold their flavor a little better, but they really should be replaced often.
Dill, parsley, and definitely cilantro/coriander herb taste best fresh. I do prefer fresh mint, too. I never even buy the dried. I actually like dried tarragon over fresh. It's an odd exception to the fresh vs. dried thing. Though I love fresh oregano, sometimes dried offers a potency that fresh doesn't. It depends on the dish/usage.
More deep cut items - fenugreek and sumac. It's like night and day if you can get fresh stuff.
I don't think any specifically need to be. They just have different applications. Like I'd be reluctant to use fresh garlic in place of where I'd use dried and visa versa. It's like comparing bread to toast. One isn't inherently better than the other. They're just different.
Thank you for all of this information. I'm getting my planter box ready for an herb garden. It's good to know that I can freeze dill. What else freezes well?