Fresh or Dried Herbs: Which Is A Better Pick?

What's a pizza without some oregano ? Or a salad without a dash of dried mint? For most of us who love these foods, the addition of herbs automatically becomes an important step before digging into them. Those sachets of dry herbs, given away freely now at almost every pizza, burger joint, come especially handy for those who live alone. There's no dish that can't be elevated with the help of a little seasoning.Herbs more commonly used for this purpose include parsley, cilantro, basil, dill, coriander and oregano among others. These herbs are not only tasty, but also come with many health benefits. Nowadays, both fresh and dried herbs are available in fancy bottles in abundance. Dried herbs are commonly used as seasonings while fresh herbs can also be used to create flavourful sides or sauces and dips. Is one better than the other? Are fresh herbs nutritionally better than dried herbs, considering they are fresh? Let us tell you the differences. Herbs have four primary flavour compounds that include aldehydes, hydrocarbons, ketones and phenols. Some of these flavour compounds are fragile and volatile and may lose their flavour when exposed to high temperatures for any length of time. Other herbs are slightly more stable, which means their flavours are barely affected even after being exposed to high heat.
 How are dried and fresh herbs different from each other?

1. Most health experts always recommend eating fresh foods, be it fruits, vegetables or even herbs. However, in case of herbs, not every fresh herb would be nutritionally better as compared to the dried version. In the process of drying herbs, many nutrients are inevitably lost, but this certainly does not mean dried herbs are nutritionally worthless. For instance, mint should be ideally eaten fresh because dried mint leaves may have lost their taste and flavour. Bay leaves are consumed in dried form, basil is consumed fresh and oregano is consumed dry. All of these herbs have their own charm and health promoting properties in the way they are eaten.
2. Dried herbs have a slightly mild taste and flavour as compared to fresh ones which have strong aroma. If you do not like the strong aroma or flavour of the fresh herbs, you can easily swap it with dried ones.
3. One of the most important health benefits of consuming herbs is that they are antioxidant-rich. Fortunately, the excessive heat does not affect the amount of antioxidants. Therefore, both dried and fresh herbs are rich sources of antioxidants.

_{Most health experts always recommend eating fresh foods, be it fruits, vegetables or even herbs​}
Dried Herbs Vs Fresh Herbs, which is healthier?Both of them have similar properties, but fresh herbs may have the upper hand, considering they are process-free. There is no bottling, cleaning, drying that the herbs go through before reaching your kitchen top. Adding herbs to your food is the best route to added flavour. Both died and fresh herbs are good in their own ways, but a lot also depends on availability and budget. If you are looking for longer shelf-life then dried herbs are the perfect option. On the other hand, those who like to cook themselves may prefer the fresh variety. Its very simple to grow basic herbs in your own kitchen garden or balcony. Go ahead and give it a try! There's nothing like the aroma of a fresh basil pesto!