Fresh Herbs/Dried Herbs?

[KatWrangler]

The dressing I am making tomorrow I have made lots. However, this year I want to do all fresh herbs. What is the amount I would use compared to dried?

[BettinaAuSucre]

Usually double as fresh herbs aren't as potent. However I always recommend using fresh herbs. they look MUCH prettier.

[JessicaS]

I think it is 1/4 isn't it?

Fresh herbs aren't as compressed so they take up a lot more space.

[cristeen]

It depends on the herb. Tender herbs lose their potency when dried, and you can get way more flavor from an equal amount of fresh. Hardy herbs don't lose that much potency, so usually an equal amount is good.

By dressing, do you mean for salad, or the kind that's baked? for sage I'd probably do an equal amount, same for thyme or oregano. For parsley I'd probably double it.

[velochic]

Something to think about... dried herbs are used for long cooking times. Fresh herbs are for finishing. If you put a fresh herb in something that is going to be cooked for a long time, it will become bitter, usually. Dried herbs have a very important place in the kitchen.

Dressing for salad would be great with fresh... dressing that is "stuffing" dressing (that is baked inside or outside of the bird) will be better with dried herbs.

That being said, for moderate cooking times, if I'm using fresh herbs, I double what I would put in for dried.

[sunnysandiegan]

Originally Posted by velochic

Something to think about... dried herbs are used for long cooking times. Fresh herbs are for finishing. If you put a fresh herb in something that is going to be cooked for a long time, it will become bitter, usually. Dried herbs have a very important place in the kitchen.

Dressing for salad would be great with fresh... dressing that is "stuffing" dressing (that is baked inside or outside of the bird) will be better with dried herbs.

That being said, for moderate cooking times, if I'm using fresh herbs, I double what I would put in for dried.

I once thought all fresh herbs would be so much better. Hmmm....not so much, at least not for everything. Some things work better with dried herbs. Meat rubs and soups are two that we've done recently that turn out better with dried or at least mostly dried herbs. I do like fresh parsley over dried parsley, though, for nearly everything. However, last night I used fresh parsley in a soup and it wasn't quite as nice...kind of a limp blah taste. If I were to do that again, I would just add a sprig or two to each bowl at the table and use the dried parsley in the soup itself. I used fresh, frozen parsley in my bone broths and then strain it out, which works well. It was just the texture and looks of fresh parsley in the soup that wasn't tasty or appealing.

[KatWrangler]

So now you all have me confused. .

Here is the recipe. I want to use fresh thyme, sage, oregano and italian parsley.

Sourdough Stuffing with Sweet Turkey Sausage
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Ingredients
nonstick cooking spray
4cups nonfat, reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/2pound sweet Italian turkey sausage (about 3 links), casings removed
1cup chopped white onion
2tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley, or 2 teaspoons dried
2celery stalks, chopped
2 1/2teaspoons dried sage
1teaspoon dried thyme
1teaspoon dried oregano
1/2teaspoon salt
1/4teaspoon ground black pepper
6cups cubed sourdough bread, preferably day-old
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Directions


Preheat oven to 350F. Coat a 2-quart casserole dish with cooking spray; set aside. Bring chicken broth to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Boil until liquid reduces to 1 1/2 cups, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set pan over medium-high heat. Add sausage and sauté 3-5 minutes, until no longer pink, breaking up meat into pea-sized chunks as it cooks. Add onion and celery and sauté 2 minutes. Add parsley, sage, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper; mix well. Cook 1 minute, until herbs are aromatic. Place sausage mixture in a large bowl; add bread cubes and chicken broth and toss to combine. Spoon into prepared casserole dish and bake, uncovered, 30 minutes, until top is golden brown.

[sunnysandiegan]

Do you have both the fresh versions and the dried versions? Smell them each and decide which is strongest and adjust from there.

[KatWrangler]

I believe I do. I know I have dried sage and oregano.