The food lab better home cooking through science ( PDFDrive ) 854

and serve or incorporate into another recipe Here’s the basic recipe, along with five variations it The sauce also pops up in other places in this book, such as with my meatballs (here) DRIED VERSUS FRESH HERBS M ost recipes for marinara sauce call for either dried oregano or Italian seasoning, which is mostly dried oregano and basil My immediate thought was replace the dried herbs with fresh Imagine my surprise when I found after cooking two sauces side by side with dried oregano in one and fresh leaves in the other, there was barely any difference at all! Why was that? Many chefs assert that fresh herbs are superior to dried herbs, and they’re right—most of the time Most herbs contain flavor compounds that are more volatile than water, which means that drying process that removes water also ends up removing flavor But it’s not always the case, and here’s why: savory herbs that tend to grow in hot, relatively dry climates—like oregano, for instance—have flavor compounds that are stable at high temperatures and are well contained within the leaf They have to be, in order to withstand the high temperatures and lack of humidity in their natural environment With these herbs, as long as you cook them for long enough to soften them, the flavor is just as good as with fresh— and a whole lot cheaper and easier to boot This chart shows you which herbs are best used fresh and which will fare just as well when used dried (in cooked applications) HERBS THAT ARE BEST USED FRESH HERBS THAT CAN BE USED DRY (in cooked applications) Parsley Basil Mint Cilantro Chervil Chives Dill Sorrel Tarragon Oregano Rosemary Marjoram Bay leaf Thyme Sage Savory ...in order to withstand the high temperatures and lack of humidity in their natural environment With these herbs, as long as you cook them for long enough to soften them, the flavor is just as good as with fresh—... fresh and which will fare just as well when used dried (in cooked applications) HERBS THAT ARE BEST USED FRESH HERBS THAT CAN BE USED DRY (in cooked applications) Parsley Basil Mint Cilantro Chervil