I made something* for dinner tonight involving Italian sausage and tomatoes, so I figured some herbs would be nice in there. Oregano seemed appropriate, and we have some in a pot right outside the dining room door. So I used the fresh oregano.
And that is really, really unusual for me. Because I HATE dealing with fresh herbs. In fact, more often than not, I use the dried ones in the kitchen rather than go out to the garden to cut oregano or thyme or whatever.
I'm sure every foodie/gardener/locavore in the world just gasped collectively and started shrieking in their heads about THE FRESH HERBS! And their incomparable taste! And THE FRESHNESS AIEEEE!!!
No? I imagined that? Well, if I did, it is an imagination based in reality, because I cannot tell you how many chefs I've seen online or on TV or whatever waxing rhapsodic about fresh herbs.
I just do not have the patience. First they have to be cut, then washed. Then they have to be stripped off the branches. And yes, I have heard that very helpful tip about just pull down the stem in the opposite direction the leaves grow and they'll all just get stripped off! So easy!
My stems always break. Not so easy. Screw that.
And then they have to chopped up and by the time I've dealt with two or more different herbs, I'm sick of the whole thing and just want to dump in some dried stuff. Dinner is enough of a time-challenge as it is without spending ten minutes on a minuscule portion of the final product.
So where do you stand on the herb divide? Are you a fresh-herb evangelist, or do you shake your herbs from a bottle?
* "Something" is the correct word here, since I find myself more and more frequently mixing a bunch of shit in a pot and calling it dinner. The one-pot meal is my best friend. Luckily, I'm an experienced-enough cook that this does not end up tasting like shit. It's a far cry from haute cuisine, though, for sure.
12 comments:
I generally prefer fresh herbs over dried, but I agree that they are a pain in the ass to prep. Especially thyme, because you have to pick off all of the tiny little leaves when the stem inevitably breaks. I do always use fresh basil, but otherwise, I tend to only use fresh herbs on holidays and special occasions.
I feel I should clarify that I don't grow my own herbs, though. I've tried, and I should probably be charged with plant neglect or something. They always die. I did manage to grow some rosemary once, but a chipmunk ate pretty much all of it (who does that?).
Fresh herbs if I got 'em. WIth thyme just chop up the whole damn thing. As long as the stem isn't as big as a tree a fine mince will do the trick. Actually, I do this with most herbs, mince the crap out of them.
Dave
http:cleanslatefarm.com
I second what Dave says.... chop them into submission stem and all. Basil is my all time favorite fresh herb, rosemary and flat leaf parsley rank high on my list too. Having said that I do have a good stock of dried and feel no hesitation in using them. I've even been known to add fresh oregano and then decide this is still tasteless and add a shaker of dried oregano too. If it tastes good in the end, who cares how you got there.
I agree with all here.
I have noticed on the cooking shows I watch , how very little the "chefs" know about what they are using. You could put some of them in a garden full of tasty things and they wouldn't have a clue what any of it was or how to harvest it. Beth
Dry basil is barely worth using. Same with cilantro. Of the ones I use a lot, that's about it for my list of "only fresh will do".
I'm a total fresh herbs evangelist! I did gasp! And gnash my teeth!
Problem is, the only thing I've managed to grow in sufficient quality and quantity is rosemary. So I use fresh rosemary and dried everything else, unless it's a special recipe and I buy fresh as the store (which I really hate to do because it's so darn expensive). One of these days, I'm going to get a proper herb bed that matches my herb fussiness.
I hate basil.
There. I said it.
Fresh. Dried. Tied to a naked Bradley Cooper. Whatever. Hate it.
I tend to use only chives and rosemary fresh. The rest are all dried - even though they grow in my backyard. I don't know why - it's a habit I'm trying to get out of.
Wash?
I think in general fresh herbs are a waste of time in a lot of cooked dishes. (That being said they are magic in a pot of beans, but I tie them in a bunch, stems and all and fish them out at the end. No prep needed.) However, lest I be charged with heresy, I think fresh herbs are the best thing ever when used to finish a dish at the end of cooking. When they are still raw they add a vibrant flavor to so many things. And I agree with Dave, chop up stems and all unless they are huge. Fiber is good. =)
I used fresh rosemary today for the first time in forever even though we have a giant bush of it trying to take over our front yard. I...didn't wash it. I am probably dying right now, actually.
We use fresh herbs when we have them (oregano and basil, mostly), and when I have my wits about me (read: I do not have a child who is currently an infant), I sometimes like to harvest and dry my own, all champion-hippy-like.
Mostly though? My husband cooks and I just watch. :)
Re: Washing. Herbs only need to be washed if there's visible dirt on them. Ours almost always need washing, especially things like thyme that grow low to the ground.
I prefer fresh most of the time. I am finally (and I mean just as of this month!) learning to successfully dry and crumble and store herbs for later. Maybe I won't feel so obligated to nurse them alive through a winter if I have fantastic dried alternatives from my own garden rather than Penzey's.
Penzey's is awesome, but home grown beats anything else.
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