How often do you use fresh herbs in your cooking?

[Wowser01]

I made a lovely meal today (orzo with fish and tomatoes) and it needed fresh parsley at the end but I didn’t have any. Dried herbs are not the same. I always think it would be wasteful to buy them and then only use them for a one-off meal. It’s only me and a teenager at home so it is easy not to eat things up.

Anyway do you use a lot of fresh herbs in your cooking and doesn’t make a difference?

It's nice to have fresh herbs. I have some growing in a herb patch in the garden.

You can keep the shop bought live herbs going by repotting them in some general potting compost and keeping them in sunlight on a window sill.

We have a large wooden planter full of fresh herbs in the garden so use them a lot.

I use fresh parsley and fresh coriander all the time, it’s only 39p a bunch so hardly breaking the bank.

I buy big bunches of fresh herbs at the market, but wash, chop and freeze most of them, and in cooked stuff they're really good. Also, as far as dried things go, the Jux freeze dried range is really good, few minutes in liquid or oil and they rehydrate brilliantly.

Depends on the herb. We always have fresh coriander in. And if A recipe needs basil we always use fresh. especially if it’s a garnish. But something like tarragon or rosemary we’d usually use dried.

so, it depends. Helpful aren’t I?

Chop and freeze your own or buy ready frozen from the supermarkets.

The parsley in Tesco today was 75p so no not that much I suppose if it makes a difference to the meal.

Not as many at this time of year, I have some growing but can't take much from them as they grow slowly. I do buy some from the supermarket, they are only like 50p which is not bad if you can use them for a few meals.

I never use them, but I know you can freeze them or put them in some olive oil and freeze them in an ice cube from a food video I watched years ago, if you wanted to do something like that re waste

Daily, well dh does as he cooks.
We’ve planted a big herb bed in the garden and there’s lots still doing well this year. I do buy them if we need them but don’t worry too much if we don’t eat the lot, they cost pennies to buy. Mind you there’s rarely any leftover to put in food waste.

I chop a big bag of fresh herbs, freeze them and just take out a handful as I need it. They freeze really well and I use one of these to chop them:

Mini chopper

I use several varieties of fresh herbs every day, plus dry too.

Never, I only use dried herbs. I'm a terrible gardener but would like some fresh herbs on my windowsill.

Fresh herbs do make a difference but I find it wasteful to buy them often as I don't always use the whole packet.

The only fresh herb I buy regularly is coriander because the dried stuff is flavourless imo.

Thyme, rosemary and sage are all fine if dried

I also just keep the supermarket pots on the windowsill and water regularly they last ages. If I buy a handful rather than a plant I freeze the leftovers and they still work great

I never used to, especially as it was expensive to buy a bunch just for one meal. However now I use them a lot! I buy herbs in pots and plant them in tubs. Rosemary, Sage and Thyme last all year round, outside, others, like coriander or basil need heat. Definitely worth cultivating fresh herbs for your cooking!

Several times a week - it helps that we have a corner shop about 30m away that sells coriander, parsley and mint (and sometimes other herbs) and a big rosemary bush in the garden. So if you need one of those, they are almost always to hand.

I agree it can hard to get through a whole pack, especially basil although I've found if you move it to a tupperware it can last much longer. Have tried pots, but we can never keep them alive.

I do what @MuttsNutts does - I buy a big bunches from the greengrocer on the local market at a quid a go (dill and parsley for me) and just chop and freeze.

I should use fresh herbs more! I do use them about once a week though.
Year round in the garden I have sage, rosemary, thyme, bay, parsley, with more growing in summer.

Basil will often start roots in a glass of water, so I pot them up and leave on the window sill. They get a bit leggy, but the leaves are still delicious.

I have a bunch of coriander in the fridge which is nearly 3 weeks old. Put into a glass with water in it. Cover with a plastic bag and keep in the fridge. I used some tonight on fajitas and it was as fresh as when I bought it.

I always have a tall Tupperware box half full of water in the fridge door. Keep my asparagus, spring onions, coriander, parsley in there. In the summer I keep potted basil on the windowsill. Needs watering every other day. In the winter I buy it in a clam shell box, wrap it in dry kitchen paper and keep it in the box slightly ajar. Lasts about a week if I’m lucky.

I always have bay leaves, basil, dill, parsley and coriander. Buy others as needed. Dry herbs are pretty crap.

I rarely do as they go off so quickly. Some supermarkets sell herbs already frozen which can be nicer than dried.

I use fresh coriander all the time ,just because I Iove it.. but nothing else.

Do you grow coriander? I also struggle to stop
in flowering, is there a knack to them?

I’ve got some growing outside in a big planter. Not a big parley fan but routinely use fresh basil, sage, bay leaf and rosemary. Things like rosemary also work well in salt. In Autumn I’ll get a decent crop mix it with rock salt and leave for a year. It’s brilliant for cooking with and really cheap way of adding flavour.