Got Herbs?

I have been cooking since I was twelve years old. Consequently, in my brain, hidden among 80’s song lyrics, random bits of useless trivia, and cheesy movie quotes is a plethora of useful knowledge you can use in the kitchen. Some of this information was gleaned from other sources. Some of it was just earned through trial and error. So, I have decided to pass it along to my fellow readers.

So to kick off my weekly kitchen tip, let’s discuss herbs. Essential to cooking, herbs provide flavor and aroma to all recipes. Here are three easy tips to remember:

1. The flavor of dried herbs is more concentrated than fresh. Use a 1:3 ratio in your recipes. In other words, use 1 Tsp. of dried basil to sub in for 1 Tbs. of fresh.
2. Add dried herbs in the beginning of a recipe and fresh herbs towards the end. For example, add dried basil to a marinara sauce at the start or finish with fresh basil.
3. I learned this one from Jamie Oliver. Before using fresh herbs, rinse them with warm water. The warm water helps release the essence in the herbs giving you deeper flavor in your recipe.

Longer Letter Later,

Love, Bob aka The Grassfed Carnivore