Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Food, Cooking, and Game Preparation Fresh herbs vs Packaged

Use in a 1:1 ratio for cooking? Or not?

I am using rosemary.

If your talking about fresh compared to dry then no, not 1:1. If your talking about fresh bunch herb Vs the fresh in the small plastic pagages there is no difference assuming the stuff in the package is still fresh. Store bought dry Rosemary can be pretty anemic. If you buy a large fresh bunch and have left overs put it in a brown paper bag and leave it in the crisper drawer of your fridge until it dries out. It will stay green and still be a heckuva lot better than the store bought dry herbs. Once dry it will come right off the branch and you can bottle it up. It will also last a coons age.

BTW Merry Chistmas.

Generally speaking, you can use more fresh herbs than dried herbs, when measure by bulk. Dried herbs tend to have more concentrated flavors.

With that said though, comparing dried rosemary "needles" to fresh is pretty close to 1:1. They don't shrink as much leafy herbs. I had a fresh rosemary plant and then dried the needles and it worked out about the same for both measurement and flavor.

Long explanation but I hope that helps.

Google is your freind. If you don't already have one, get the Checkerboard Cookbook. Lots of good basic info.

Also, most dried herbs are best at the start of the dish, fresh is best put in the end.

And Merry Christmas to all. Happy eats.

There is one thing you can do with fresh rosemary that you can't do with a jar of dried needles. Throw a whole sprig in something or on top of roasting meat. When you don't crush or chop it the flavor is subtle.

I have a BIG bush of it in the front yard. Love whole sprigs atop BBQ'ed leg O lamb. Also use it sometimes as a basting brush, just toss it on the fire when you are almost done cooking. Also use it as scewers for shrimp.

I use the following: 1 tablespoon fresh = 1/2 tablespoon of dried

I have a rosemary plant in a pot I have saved from winter weather. I am going to make some bighorn sheep stew tomorrow that calls for rosemary. I have none dried. This will be fresh off the plant.

It does not specify fresh or dried ? I would use the amount they specify with fresh rosemary.

I did and it was delicious!

Excellent ! I am so glad it worked out !

first time I have ever made stew

Good to see you back at the fire Dave. Merry Christmas!!

Mike

perve

I got some fresh rosemary from friends who brought in a large plant from outside and put it in a pot. The sprigs were kept in a plastic bag for over a week in the fridge and they were fine.

Haven't grown any basil for a few years. Many times I put the fresh basil in the fridge, tightly sealed, or ends in water, and it quickly spoiled. However, left out on the counter, with the ends in a glass of water, the fresh basil stayed fine for many days.