As a notice at cooking, I like to make recipes that are fairly straight forward. But within a short time I came to know that herbs and flavor to your cooking.
Fresh or Dried Herbs
While cooking recipes both dried and fresh herbs make a world of difference. Most chefs prefer fresh herbs to dried herbs but for practical reasons dried herbs will suffice. A few companies prepare frozen herbs for cooking. Placing a plastic bottle in the freezer you can shake out the required herb for your dish. The herbs quickly defrost in what ever you are making. I keep dried herbs in my kitchen and grow fresh herbs in summer and but fresh herbs for cooking if more than a pinch is required. You should not forget while cooking that 1 tablespoon of fresh chopped herbs is equal to one tea spoonful of dried herbs.
What Herbs should I have?
In setting up a kitchen you should have a number of herbs at your disposal. There are the most frequently used hers for cooking and complement most dishes you make. The most commonly used herbs in cooking are parsley, oregano, thyme, basil, rosemary, chives and cilantro.
Parsley is a kitchen basic and used as a base flavor in cooking and as a garnish. It readily blends with other herbs and it readily available in grocery stores. Many Italian recipes require parsley to be added at the end of cooking.
Basil is another common herb used in Italian cooking. It is sweet and deliciously fresh in tomato sauces and salads. For cooking meats and fishes thyme, oregano, and rosemary are often used. They can also be added to sauces. Though they can be grown and used fresh, they are commonly used in recipes dried.
Chives cannot be used dried but always fresh or frozen chives, with a slight onion flavor is most popular for topping a baked potato. It is often added to soft cheeses and salads. For Mexican cooking, the most commonly used herb is cilantro. It is related to coriander (coriander is the seed of the cilantro plant) and can be sprinkled in salads and into Mexican recipes.