#Conversion of dried thyme to fresh how to

Strength of flavor can actually vary wildly by plant anyway – so it’s a good rule whether you’re using fresh or freeze-dried. Give your dish a taste and see if it needs more. A good guideline is to start with a third the amount of dried herbs when the recipe calls for fresh herbs. The flavors of dried herbs will be more concentrated.

#Conversion of dried thyme to fresh how to

Here are some guidelines for how to use freeze dried herbs and a recipe for the lemon verbena pesto we had Saturday night: Now that we’ve burned through our stash, it’s time to think about planting herbs and making more next fall. A friend got a bunch of this unusual plant in a farm box late in the summer and we decided to experiment with it. For us, the new kid on the block is purslane pesto. Of course, basil pesto is a classic and lemon verbena is a favorite.

We actually had three kinds of pesto going and everyone enjoyed sampling. I think everyone has more than a little cabin fever right now, and the excuse to eat in someone else’s kitchen was too much to resist. There were people eating tortollonia with pesto in every room of the house Saturday night. My Italian basil bush and the lemon verbena were rock stars last year, and my pesto-making rampage paid off this weekend when our dinner party for six somehow turned into a pasta party for 14. Fortunately, last fall I harvested every savory leaf I could get my hands on and freeze dried batches of herbs for use this winter. I’ve managed to nurse a few herb plants through most of the winter, but this recent cold front claimed all but the rosemary.