Herbs - dried or fresh?

As I was flicking through yesterday's newspaper this morning I came across an article about dried oregano. Apparently Choice did a test of dried oregano - many different makes and found that most of them only actually had a little bit of actual oregano in them - some as low as 11% (Hoyts and Master of Spices) and Aldi a mere 26%. Interestingly enough though, on the plus side - Coles brand, Woolworths Select and Master Foods were 100% oregano. And what was the rest of it - well apparently olive leaves and sometimes sumac leaves. Shocking isn't it? I'm guessing the same principle applies to other packaged herbs as well. So this got me to thinking about dried herbs.

The article says that "Australians splurged $115 million on herbs and spices last year". I'm assuming they are talking about the dried variety but maybe not. That's a lot of money is it not?

I don't use a lot of dried herbs these days, as I either grow my own or buy fresh. I grown my own because herbs are somewhat weed-like and will grow, so someone like me without green thumbs can actually get them to grow. But also we can now buy a huge range of fresh herbs in our local supermarket and at the market - either completely fresh in bunches, hydroponic versions or some in packets that look as if they have been processed in some way. I don't remember anything other than curly parsley being available to buy in my youth. I also do't remember my mother growing any. And I know she used packets of mixed dried herbs - the English version of the Herbes de Provence, shown above.

On the whole the fresh version is a whole lot better. But there are problems - some of them are very seasonal - basil, tarragon, even mint. And some dried herbs have a whole different taste that gives a different flavour to the food. They are few and far between though. In fact only two spring to mind - mint and oregano. And the Greeks seem to be the big users of both of these.

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Dried mint is often used in Middle-eastern food too. It has quite a distinctive taste - and a few months ago it was weirdly absent from the dried herbs shelves in the supermarket. I think it's back again now.

Then there are the herb mixes like the herbs de provence which you see everywhere beautifully packaged in little sachets, in French markets. It tastes a bit like the dried mixed herbs of my youth, but from the pictures I found it looks as if it has lavender in it, so not very English.

I do look at the packets and jars of dried herbs in the supermarket sometimes though and wonder why anyone would buy, for example, dried parsley. I cannot exist without fresh parsley close by and if I don't have any in my garden I can always get it in the shops. The Chinese, of course, have wonderful stalls in the market laden with all sorts of greens and fresh herbs.

As I said before they grow like weeds and often when we are on holiday in France and Italy we scour the gardens, the hillsides and even the roadsides for herbs. For paradoxically the French do not have many fresh herbs on sale in their super and hypermarkets. But then they most likely grow their own.

So - maybe a few herb mixes are good, and maybe a few individual ones are good but stick to fresh on the whole. At least you know what you are getting that way.