Fresh vs Dried Herbs
Herbs

Fresh vs Dried Herbs

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Growing your own herbs can be very rewarding and convenient. Most recipes call for a few sprigs or a handful of leaves. Buying them from the store is costly and most of the fresh herbs go unused and get thrown out. Before we get started, below is a quick quiz to test your herb knowledge. (The answers are at the bottom of the post.)

HERB QUIZ

  1. Dried and fresh cilantro taste the same. TRUE FALSE
  2. Only dried mint leaves are used in cooking. TRUE FALSE
  3. Which part of the basil plant is used in food dishes? A. Roots B. Leaves C. Hard stems
  4. Rosemary grown outside is perennial. TRUE FALSE
  5. Using dried oregano in cooking is more potent than fresh. TRUE FALSE
  6. Thai basil and sweet basil have the same flavor and smell. TRUE FALSE
Fresh mint leaves in my garden last summer

So how did you score on the quiz? There is much to know about herbs and what I tell you here will only scratch the surface. First, let’s discuss the difference between herbs and spices. Herbs are the green leafy part of the plants with aromatic and unique flavor properties. Spices come from the seed, root or bark of the plant and are almost always dried.

The line between which herbs are best used fresh and which are best used dried is grey for some herbs. It is widely agreed that basil, parsley, chives, cilantro, dill and mint are best used fresh. Sage, rosemary, oregano and thyme heighten in flavor when they are dried. In the grey area are rosemary and tarragon; both seem to really keep their strong fresh flavor when dried. The rule of thumb for cooking with herbs is that dried herbs are added at the start of cooking and fresh herbs are added at the end of cooking. Personally, I do not substitute dried herbs for fresh except for tarragon or rosemary.

Oregano growing in my herb garden. These leaves need to be dried for optimal flavor.

Most herbs are easy to grow in containers. You can grow them from seeds, but if you only want one or two plants of each type of herb, I recommend growing them from baby plants that you can get in the spring at your local garden store. Some plants are very hardy and can be moved inside in the late fall to give you fresh herbs all year round. Rosemary, sage, oregano, and thyme plants will survive the mid-Atlantic winters outside in the ground.

Lastly, I want to tell you about the shelf life of herbs. Fresh herbs will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week. Dried herbs have about a 6-month shelf life. The best way to tell if your dried herbs are not good anymore is to rub the herbs between your fingers. If there is no smell released, then the dried herbs are no longer good to cook with.

ANSWERS TO QUIZ: 1.F 2.F 3.B 4.T 5.T 6.F

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Comments ( 5 )

  1. Sophie
    When can I plant herbs outside? How do I keep them alive? When do I cut them to use? Thx!
  2. Christina Williams
    Great tips on storing herbs. I need to go through my spice/dried herb rack.
  3. Victoria Varga
    Thanks Hilary! A fun little read this morning
  4. Melissa Rose
    I try to grow cilantro every year and fail!!!. What's the trick??
    • HilarySchwab
      Melissa, Thank you for your comment. Cilantro is indeed hard to grow. I recommend purchasing plants vs. starting from seed. You can find Cilantro plants at any garden store in the spring. Diligence in plucking off the flowers will delay the demise of your plants, but they do not have a long growing life in our area.

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