By cooking with herbs, even your simple entrées will take like you slaved in the kitchen for hours. While it’s rather easy to cook with fresh herbs, there are a few tips that will help you get the best flavor. Once you get the hang of it, you will enjoy cooking with herbs… and may even start your own garden!

Tips for Cooking with Fresh Herbs:

Fresh herbs are more delicate than dried and can lose their flavor if cooked too long. One trick is to add some fresh herbs just before your dish has finished cooking to enhance the flavor and color. You can also add some of the herbs freshly cut to your food when you are finished cooking, and put aside some for garnishing the platter as well. Because drying herbs concentrates the taste, you need to use more fresh herbs in your recipes. A good rule of thumb to remember is use 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs for every teaspoon of dried herbs and adjust your recipes accordingly.

It’s best to use your fresh herbs as soon after harvesting as you can since they can lose their flavor quickly. To get the perfect flavor when cooking with herbs which are fresh, you need to purchase the freshest herb plants you can find. For [store] bought herbs, find plants that are not wilted and still have a bright green color. The fresher the herb plant looks, the better the flavor they will add to your food.

Bigger leafed herbs, like basil, are easy to cook with because you can just tear the leaves and throw them into your soup, sauces or salad. Another technique for cooking with herbs that have larger leaves is to chop the leaves in a method known as “chiffonade”. This is not complicated and creates pretty strings that can be added to your recipe or tossed in for attractive color and flavor.

Tips for Cooking with Dried Herbs.

Remember your dried herbs have concentrated aromatic oils because of the drying method. You need to use less dried than fresh, although you still want to bring out their flavor and aroma.

One good way to get more flavor from dried herbs is to add some to the oil in your pan prior to you begin cooking your vegetables or meat. Another helpful tip is to add them to your cooking liquid and let them soak for a while. When making your own salad dressings, it’s a helpful idea to prepare them ahead of time (at least fifteen minutes) to allow time for the flavor to infuse with the oil and other ingredients in your salad dressing or marinade.

Dried herbs are also best when crushed somewhat in a mortar and pestle or rolled a little in your hands prior to adding to your food for cooking. Slightly crushing and breaking up the dried herbs will release their oils and add much more flavor when cooking with herbs.

You need to be sure to store your herbs, whether fresh or dried, in a method that best protects their fragrance and flavor. Fresh herbs need to be used as promptly as possible. Herbs can be stored with their stems in a little water, placed in bags or wrapped in moist paper towels and stored in the refrigerator for a few days.

Be sure to check the expiration dates of any dried herbs you purchase since they lose their flavor after about 6 months. The best flavor will come from your own home garden that you have harvested and dried yourself.

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