Walk into any kitchen and you’ll find a jar of dried herbs tucked away somewhere. Most have been there so long nobody remembers buying them. The labels have faded and the contents look more brown than green. This is where most people go wrong with dried herbs.
Good dried herbs aren’t just shrivelled versions of fresh ones. They’re something else entirely. When you buy fresh dried herbs in Australia, you’re getting ingredients that can do things fresh herbs never could. The trick is knowing what to look for and how to use them.
Why Drying Makes Herbs Better
Fresh basil tastes bright and peppery. Dried basil tastes sweet and almost minty. Same plant, completely different flavour. This happens because drying changes the oils inside the leaves. Some compounds break down. Others become stronger. You end up with flavours you can’t get any other way.
Take oregano. Fresh oregano is nice enough in salads. Dried oregano is what makes pizza taste like pizza. That earthy, slightly bitter punch only comes from the dried version. Cooks in Italy wouldn’t dream of using fresh oregano on pizza. It doesn’t work.
The Storage Problem Nobody Talks About
Your spice rack probably sits right next to the stove. Terrible idea. Every time you cook, heat rises and bakes your herbs. Within weeks they lose most of their flavour. Light does the same damage. Those pretty glass jars on open shelves look great but ruin everything inside.
Put your herbs in a drawer or cupboard away from the stove. Better yet, keep them in the fridge during summer. Sounds odd but it works. Cold temperatures slow down the breakdown of flavour oils. Your herbs will stay good for months longer.
How to Tell if Herbs Are Any Good
Open the jar and smell it. Really smell it, don’t just sniff politely. Good herbs hit you straight away with strong, clear scent. If you have to stick your nose right in the jar and still can’t smell much, those herbs are dead. Bin them.
Colour matters too. Dried parsley should still look greenish, not grey. Dried chillies should be deep red, not rust-coloured. When herbs fade, the flavour goes with them. Australian suppliers who move their stock quickly will have herbs that still look and smell alive.
Whole Herbs Last Longer
Ground herbs go stale faster than whole ones. Much faster. Grinding breaks open the leaves and exposes all the oils to air. Those oils start disappearing immediately. Whole bay leaves keep for years. Ground bay leaf powder goes flat in months.
Buy whole whenever you can. Crush the leaves between your fingers right before you use them. Takes five seconds and makes a huge difference. The smell that comes off when you crush them is all the flavour you would’ve lost if you’d bought pre-ground.
When to Add Them
This is where most home cooks mess up. Dried herbs need time to wake up. Sprinkling them on at the last minute gives you hard, bitter bits that taste like dust. They need to simmer in liquid for at least ten minutes to soften and release their flavour properly.
For roasts and bakes, mix the herbs with oil first. The oil pulls out flavours that water can’t touch. Rub that mixture on your meat or vegetables before cooking. The results are completely different to just sprinkling dried herbs on top.
Stop Buying the Same Five Herbs
Basil, oregano, parsley, thyme, rosemary. That’s what everyone buys. Fair enough, they’re useful. But there’s a whole world of dried herbs most people ignore completely.
Dried mint transforms lamb dishes. Dried tarragon makes chicken taste expensive. Dried sage is brilliant with pork and butter. When you buy fresh dried herbs in Australia, try something you haven’t used before. Many suppliers stock native herbs like mountain pepper or lemon myrtle. These suit Australian ingredients better than European herbs anyway.
Where to Actually Buy Them
Supermarket herb jars are overpriced and often stale. The jars are mostly air with a tiny amount of herbs at the bottom. You’re paying for packaging, not product.
Look for bulk food stores, spice shops, or online suppliers who specialise in herbs. They sell larger quantities for less money and their stock moves faster, which means fresher herbs. Many will tell you when the herbs were dried and where they came from. When you buy fresh dried herbs in Australia from places that care about quality, your cooking improves overnight. Not because you got better at cooking, but because you’re finally working with ingredients that actually have flavour left in them.
