Ground herb and spice equivalents of fresh

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Amateur1

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I buy ground or dried herbs and spices as they last for months or years. I avoid fresh as they will run out long before I finish them. For example, if a recipe for a sprig of thyme or leaf of mint and I buy much more from the supermarket, it will go to waste.
A lot of recipes call for fresh herbs and spices. Is there a chart showing the equivalent of fresh to dried herbs and spices.
Should dried herbs and spices be added to the recipe at the same time as the recipe says to add the fresh?
Maybe there is an article or book which deals with these questions.
 
Not answering your question, but if you buy a pot of thyme or mint from a garden centre then they will quite happily live on a windowsill, even better if you have a garden. Thyme, rosemary, oregano and the other woody herbs are something you can stick one plant in your garden and forget about until you need the single sprig for a recipe.
 
The rule of thumb I use is three times as many fresh herbs as dried, so if a recipe calls for a tablespoon of fresh chopped parsley, you can sub in a teaspoon of dried and come pretty close.

For fresh herbs, if I'm unsure, I'll add closer to the end, since they're more delicate and overcooking can cook out the flavor sometimes (or I'll add some at the beginning and save some for nearer the end). If it's dried herbs I'm using, I'll tend to add those more at the beginning, since they benefit from a bit of rehydration.

That's obviously more suited for soups and sauces, liquidy things. Other recipes, like baking, I just add them when the recipe says to.
 
Amateur1 said:
I buy ground or dried herbs and spices as they last for months or years. I avoid fresh as they will run out long before I finish them. For example, if a recipe for a sprig of thyme or leaf of mint and I buy much more from the supermarket, it will go to waste
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TastyReuben´s rule is about right. However, dried herbs , in my opinion, have a slightly different flavour to fresh; and some dried herbs never, ever live up to the bright flavour profile of fresh. Dried parsley, coriander, basil and thyme leave me underwhelmed. Dried mint, oregano,rosemary, sage work fine for me.I´d strongly recommend using fresh herbs when ever you can, then just hang them up in a bunch in the kitchen ( or lay out the leaves on a tray) and they´ll dry out, eventually!
As for "they last for months or years", I have to disagree. Ground or dried herbs lose their flavour after about 4-6 months. they lose their essential oils. If you leave them for "years", you´ll have very mildly flavoured sawdust - or no flavour at all!
 
The Velvet Curtain said:
Not answering your question, but if you buy a pot of thyme or mint from a garden centre then they will quite happily live on a windowsill, even better if you have a garden. Thyme, rosemary, oregano and the other woody herbs are something you can stick one plant in your garden and forget about until you need the single sprig for a recipe.
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Those three herbs are very easy to grow. Mine survive through winter cold, and summer heat. My rosemary and thyme did not survive the Texas "Big Freeze" of February 2021, but the temperature got down to 0F/-18C. The oregano survived.

CD
 
The main spices I use are turmeric, cumin, garlic powder, black pepper, cinnamon. How do dry and fresh versions of these compare?
 
Fresh turmeric is bright, slightly earthy, very slightly gingery. It´s also a pain in the neck to dry out, so the only thing Id suggest is to make sure you look for the ground version as fresh as possible. If the spice has been ground recently, it´s bright orangey-yellow; as it gets old, it goes dull.
With cumin, black pepper and cinnamon, I don´t buy them "fresh" - because that´s impossible - but I do buy the whole spices (ie. cumin seeds, black peppercorns and cinnamon sticks) and then grind them when I need to use them. I´ve got a Cuisinart Spice grinder which is absolutely fabulous for this. Mind you, I use spices almost every day and cook lots of Indian and SE Asian food . Perhaps this option is not on for you, but you could invest in a pestle and mortar, or a "molcajete" and give it a go if you like. The flavours of freshly ground are way superior to the stuff already sold in powder.
Garlic? I never use garlic powder. I dislike the taste.Personally I think it´s ghastly, although lots of people use it. I buy fresh garlic and mince or chop it just before I need to use it.
 
Amateur1 said:
For example, if a recipe for a sprig of thyme or leaf of mint and I buy much more from the supermarket, it will go to waste.
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a point to note, fresh thyme freezes really Well. in fact the leaves will drop off the twiggy stem for you all the more readily when frozen. The door of my freezer is full of frozen fresh herbs from my garden, anything from dill, thyme, parsley, Chives, coriander, chillies, curry leaves, tarragon and more
 
caseydog said:
Those three herbs are very easy to grow. Mine survive through winter cold, and summer heat. My rosemary and thyme did not survive the Texas "Big Freeze" of February 2021, but the temperature got down to 0F/-18C. The oregano survived.

CD
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That's sad to hear, I was hoping my rosemary would survive this winter. My oregano and parsley usually do, and my spring onion/scallions/green onions? Fogeddabout it, they are like cockroaches.
 
karadekoolaid said:
As for "they last for months or years", I have to disagree. Ground or dried herbs lose their flavour after about 4-6 months. they lose their essential oils. If you leave them for "years", you´ll have very mildly flavoured sawdust - or no flavour at all!
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DITTO
George calls on clients near Targill. They package and distribute herbs, spices and spices mixes. He would come home with large containers of dried herbs. It took a long time to convince him that fresh was best and smaller containers were better than large. He got it when I started tossing large containers after 4 or 5 months.
Amateur1 herbs are so easy to grow in pots. You do not need a yard. When I was young and single, I lived in apartments and grew both herbs and veggies in pots on my balcony.
I have a yard but prefer my herbs in pots. Rosemary can get large in a season, so I plant in a pot 18" or larger. A plant will last for several years. Thyme and oregano are fine in a 12" pot. I keep a couple of pots each. They last two or three years. Basil, dill and parsley are annuals in my region. I plant them in 12" to 14" pots. Annuals do not last a year; they last a season. Because my growing season is very long, I replant several times a year. I love mint but it is very invasive, so I grow it in hanging baskets. I do not want it anywhere near the ground
 
I have to admit that some dried herbs are great. Dried mint, for example, is wonderful with tomato & red onion salad. Dried oregano is more intense than fresh in a tomato sauce. Dried sage - as long as it was dried 10 years ago, is magnificent in a butter sauce.
 
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