Herbs are the stems and leaves of plants, used both fresh and dried.
There’s nothing better than throwing a sprig or two of a fresh herb into a recipe to instantly ratchet up the flavour and the appearance of the dish.
Delicate herbs such as dill weed, chives, cilantro, basil, parsley, and mint should be included just before the end of cooking or added to the dish just before it is served.
The hardier varieties such as thyme, rosemary, and oregano can be added in the last 15-20 minutes of cooking a recipe.
Don’t let the more tender varieties hang around too long. Cilantro, basil, tarragon, dill, and chervil will blacken fairly quickly so these should be used within a couple of days of purchase.
The hardier varieties such as sage, rosemary, and thyme will stay fresh and green for a week or two as long as they remain cool and dry.
Drying herbs concentrates some flavours but can also make the herbs taste bitter or even stale compared to fresh herbs.
Herbs also lose much of their colour when dried.
Dried herbs are best used in recipes where there is plenty of time for them to cook as they need enough time to soak up some of the water to rehydrate before they can release their essential oil and flavour compounds.
Herbs such as oregano, thyme, parsley, rosemary, and sage should be added towards the beginning of a cook so there is time to extract the oils which allow the flavours to fully develop.
Delicate varieties such as marjoram, dill, and basil should be added closer to the end as their flavouring and oils will evaporate and leave a mild off-taste.
Overcooking all herbs and spices will lead to a loss of flavour and they should be added towards the end of slow cooking or long and slow braising.
If substituting dried for fresh herbs, you should start out with around 1/2 of the amount called for in the recipes. If this is not enough, you can always add more but it’s fairly difficult to recover if you have added too much.
The following sources are useful resources to find information about herbs:
The New Zealand Chef
www.vegetables.co.nz – contains information on fresh herbs in Vegetables A-Z
You may also use other websites recommended by your tutor.