Fresh vs. dried herbs
Drying removes water, so dried herbs are about three times stronger by volume. Swap 1 teaspoon of dried for 1 tablespoon of fresh. Thyme, oregano and rosemary dry well. Basil and parsley lose most of their taste.
Heat chases off delicate aroma
Basil, cilantro and parsley keep their flavor in volatile oils, and heat chases those oils off. Stir them in off the heat or sprinkle them on top. Thyme and rosemary can take a long simmer.
Use both
Add dried or woody herbs early so their flavor spreads through the dish. Add a handful of fresh, soft herbs at the end for bright aroma. Early gives depth. Late gives freshness.
Test yourself
Questions from the interactive lesson, with the answer and the why.
Your tomato sauce is done cooking. When does the fresh basil go in?
Off the heat, just before serving. Basil's aroma compounds are volatile and fade with heat, so add it last.
True or false: Woody herbs like rosemary hold up to long cooking better than soft herbs like basil.
True. Woody herbs have tough leaves and stable oils, so they lose less flavor in a long simmer.
What went wrong? You stir a big handful of fresh parsley into a stew at the start of a 2-hour simmer. At serving, the stew has no fresh herb taste.
Heat drove off the parsley's aroma. Parsley's delicate oils evaporate in long cooking, so the fresh taste is gone.
Fill the blank: Herbs with tough, woody stems, like ___, hold up in long stews.
Herbs with tough, woody stems, like thyme, hold up in long stews. Thyme's tough leaves and stable oils survive hours of simmering.
You have no fresh thyme. How much dried thyme replaces 1 tablespoon of fresh?
1 teaspoon. Dried herbs are about three times stronger, so 1 teaspoon matches 1 tablespoon.
True or false: Dried oregano is best added at the start of a tomato sauce.
True. Dried oregano is hardy and needs simmering time to soften and release its flavor.