One of the most annoying problems for the home chef is to have a great idea for a meal, only to find certain key ingredients missing from the refrigerator, freezer or food storage room. Quite often the missing ingredients are common herbs that for the best recipes need to be fresh, not dried. This discussion is intended to help you maintain a reliable supply of the best herbs, economically.
It doesn’t matter whether you grow good quantities of fresh herbs or buy them economically when they are in season. Two things you don’t want to do are 1) Pay supermarket prices for fresh herbs, and 2) Use dry herbs when you need fresh herbs. If you grow or buy, economically, large quantities of fresh herbs the problem is how to preserve those herbs so that they retain all of their delicate fresh scents and flavors. Most of the time leftover fresh herbs rot in the refrigerator. No more! Now we get down to business.
The proper way to preserve all fresh herbs is to vacuum seal small quantities in individual labeled bags and freeze them. There will be no freezer burn and all of the original flavor and scent will be retained. The only thing you sacrifice is appearance. For example, thawed fresh parsley will not look like fresh parsley and should not be used where fresh parsley is needed for appearance. Conversely, rosemary looks just as good after thawing as it looked when freshly picked.
The point is pretty obvious. Your deep freeze in combination with vacuum sealing assures you a ready supply of herbs of great quality in scent and taste year round. I wonder how many readers are realizing the extensive broad benefits of owning and using a high quality vacuum sealer? Humor me … if you have just read this material send me an email and tell me if you now use or are going to buy (and use) a vacuum sealer.
Beyond simply having herbs or spices in some form we have to consider quantity conversions when using fresh instead of dry or dry instead of fresh.
In general it is best to use the herb or spice in the exact form listed in a given recipe.
The table below will help you decide what amounts to use when substitutions are needed.
| Herb | Fresh | Dried |
| ------------------------------ | ------------------------------ | ------------------------------ |
| Basil | 2 tsp. | 1 tsp. |
| Bay Leaf | 1 Leaf | 1 Leaf |
| Chervil | 3 tsp. | 1 tsp. |
| Cilantro | 3 tsp. | 1 tsp. |
| Cinnamon | 1 cinnamon stick | 1/2 tsp. ground |
| Cumin | 4.5 tbsp. whole seed | 4 tbsp. ground |
| Dill | 3 tsp. | 1 tsp. |
| Garlic (large) | 1 clove | 1/2 tsp. powder |
| Garlic (small) | 1 clove | 1/8 tsp. powder |
| Ginger (fresh) | 1 tbsp. grated | 1/4 tsp. dry ground |
| Ginger (minced) | 1 tbsp. | 1/2 tsp. dry ground |
| Marjoram | 3 tsp. | 1 tsp. |
| Onion | 1 medium onion | 1 tsp. powder |
| Oregano | 3 tsp. | 1 tsp. |
| Parsley | 2 tsp. | 1 tsp. |
| Rosemary | 3 tsp. | 1 tsp. |
| Sage | 2 tsp. | 1 tsp. |
| Star Anise | 1 star | 1/2 tsp. seed |
| Tarragon | 3 tsp. | 1 tsp. |
| Thyme (Fresh) | 3 tsp. | 1 tsp. |
| Thyme (Dried) | 1 tsp. | 3/4 tsp. ground |
| Vanilla | 1 inch of bean | 1 tsp. extract |
An additional general rule for using ground dried herbs in place of dried herbs:
1 teaspoon dried leaf herb = 1/2 teaspoon ground dried herb