Freeze Dried vs Dried Herbs With Fresco Flavors

 

Do you know the difference between freeze-dried herbs and dried herbs? Discover which herb is best for cooking.

 If you cook with herbs and spices, you want the ones that have the best flavor. Most people assume that fresh herbs are the best for flavor, but unless you have an indoor herb garden, that is not the case. 

 Fresh is not always the best when it comes to the best flavor for your recipes. Those fresh herbs that you buy at the store may not be all that fresh; who knows how many days it has been since they were picked.

Problems with fresh store-bought herbs are 

  + Freshness: How many days/weeks since the fresh herbs were picked?

  + Bacterial Contamination: How many people have touched those fresh herbs? Proper washing may strip flavor from herbs.

  + Food Waste: Stores sell you large amounts of herbs when you only need a small amount. You end up tossing the rest.

  + Improper Storage: Many fresh herbs start wilting the moment you pick them. Others don't like cold storage. This can affect the herb's flavor.

  + Cost: Fresh herbs from the store can be expensive.

 Freeze-dried vs. dried herbs: which are better?

While both jars of freeze-dried and dried herbs may say “dried herbs” on the front. They are not the same inside. These herbs are processed in different ways. The aroma, taste, and color of the herbs are so different.

Discover what I learned about the differences between freeze-dried and dried herbs from Fresco Flavors

Dried herbs process

Air drying pulls water out of a leaf with heat. The trouble is that the compounds that make a herb smell like itself are volatile — they leave with the heat too. The leaf collapses, browns, and what is left in the jar is mostly texture and a memory of the plant.

Freeze-dried herbs process

Freeze drying takes a different road. The herb is frozen solid first. Then the pressure around it is dropped so far that the ice turns straight into vapor without ever melting. The water leaves, the aromatic oils largely stay, and the leaf keeps the shape it had when it was frozen. That is why freeze-dried basil is still green and still smells like basil, and why it comes back to life the moment it touches something wet.

Take a look at this side-by-side herb comparison chart

I discovered Fresco Flavors at Newtopia Now

 I attended a natural brand event last month and discovered Fresco Flavors Freeze-dried herbs. When I saw their organic freeze-dried herbs, I was amazed at their beauty. Their freeze-dried herbs are packaged in clear glass jars, and through the jar, I could see the herbs' vibrant color.

 I had to stop and talk with the representive from Fresco Flavors. I wanted to know more about their herbs. The person opened a couple of jars of their herbs for me to look at. The aroma from the jars smelled so good!

The freeze-dried basil smelled like it was growing in my garden. When I looked at the jar of red chile peppers, the little rings of sliced peppers were so pretty. I wanted to taste all of the herbs that were on display. 

The representive from the freeze-dried herb company introduced me to their product. They asked me if they could send me a box of their freeze-dried herbs to use in my recipes. Like a kid in a candy store, I said, "Yes," and gave them my address. I could not wait to cook with the herbs. 

About Fresco Flavors Freeze-dried Herbs

  + Organic freeze-dried herbs in glass

  + One ingredient, nothing else

  + $5.99 a jar

  + 17 different freeze-dried herbs

  + 3 cooking kits of six jars, one cuisine

 The herbs are grown, picked, and freeze-dried within hours, from Fresco Flavor's own farms beside Lake Naivasha, Kenya. Herbs are grown in the open air. Learn more here.

My first recipe with Fresco Flavors Freeze-dried herbs

I was sent a variety of organic freeze-dried herbs. The herbs that I was sent were

  + Chives

  + Dill

  + Red Chili

  + Mint

  + Oregano

  + Basil

I was excited to try and taste the herbs. I grabbed a package of gluten-free biscuit mix and decided to use the freeze-dried chives. I added the chive rings directly to my biscuit dough mix. After I added the milk to the mix, the chives rehydrated in a couple of seconds. I loved that I did not have to rehydrate the herbs! 

As I was dropping the biscuit dough on the baking sheet, I thoroughly enjoyed the aroma of the chives.  My biscuits tasted so good! 

If you love cooking with fresh herbs, you need to try Fresco Flavors Freeze-dried herbs.