How to Use Herbs in Your Meals

Moreover, the flavor of each herb is very unique, adding a particular character to each dish you cook up. Whether dried or fresh, herbs add a wonderful dimension to cooking.

Plainer dishes really benefit from the depth of flavor that herbs add. Combining several herbs in one dish impart extra sophistication for discerning palettes.

How you use herbs in your food is limited only by your creativity and experimental nature in the kitchen. Moreover, if you grow your own herbs you will never have to run to the market at the last minute because you’ve forgotten to buy dill or oregano.

You’ll have the freshest ingredients right at your disposal whenever you need them. Growing your own herbs is cheaper than buying them, and they taste so much better when they’re right off the plant.

Adding herbs to a dish while it is being cooked will result in the flavor becoming more deeply ingrained in the food. It’s the same principle as with herbal infusions: heat releases the character of the herb. If you want to really get the herbal aroma and taste into your meal, add the herb early on in the cooking process.

You can even create a bouquet garni by tying up a bunch of herbs into a piece of cheesecloth; drop it into soups and stews and remove the whole bundle from the pot when you’re about to serve. If you just want a hint of the flavor, on the other hand, sprinkle on fresh ground dried herbs or scatter chopped fresh herbs on after your cooking is done.

For example, you could add chopped chives to a baked potato, parsley to a plate of chicken and rice, or cayenne pepper to a dish or chili. Remember, though, that dried herbs are more concentrated and pungent than fresh herbs. If you choose to use dried herbs, use about a quarter less than you would if you were using fresh.