If you have kitchen shears, you probably have a spot where you can strip herbs without effort 😃

Just thinking the only herbs I never use dried are maybe basil, parsley and cilantro. Most others I’ll use fresh or dried, depending on the dish/recipe. I do tend to prefer dried oregano more than fresh. You just have to add less of dried herbs than fresh. For dried, I’ll use about 1/3 less than fresh, or kind of eyeball it.

I rarely use thyme at all, and I've had poor luck trying to grow it here. I do recall seeing Jamie Oliver use the tines of a fork to strip the fresh leaves.

I do grow sage, rosemary, parley, garlic chives and marjoram - and basil when the season's right, so I very rarely buy fresh herbs for cooking. I did buy sage and rosemary to start from cuttings - basil too. They all root fairly easily from the fresh cuttings.

I love fresh dill, but I find the stuff from the store to be tasteless - ditto most store bought fresh herbs. I'd like to try growing dill, but my space is limited now.

So I guess my answer would be most of them, except Italian parsley. I love it and never have enough growing these days.

I grow thyme (regular and lemon), sage, parsley, basil, chives, garlic chives, rosemary. Obviously, we don't have fresh herbs year 'round, though. I've tried dill but it just doesn't seem to grow well for me no matter how many times I've tried; dried dill works fine for the times I need it. I also grow mint in a pot -- because tabbouleh demands fresh mint (and parsley, of course) :0) I actually don't particularly care for rosemary, really the only reason I have it is it stinks and I hope to ward off the trunk borers from the fruit tree with it. LOL!

Yes, the ratio is 1:3 dried to fresh (3x fresh).

I don't have any thyme growing right now but plenty of mint, parsley, rosemary, basil and chives. I have dill but it’s dwindling. The mint and rosemary can really take over! I’ve used (very sturdy!) rosemary stems as skewers for lamb kabobs.

We go through so many bottles of dried spices that the thought of using fresh never entered my mind. Jerk rub, which we use by the pound, requires sage, thyme, chives, and six other spices, all of which we buy in the largest containers available at either Costco or Amazon.

Okay, so if your problem is the tender stalks from your homegrown, feel around for the stiffier, woodier ones, usually underneath the new ones. Perhaps, try to pick some a couple days ahead and let them dry out a bit. I read a 'net post that said to microwave them a little to make them drier.

I prefer fresh basil. chives, dill, mint mint, parsley, and as much as can grab from my garden of rosemary and thyme.. Dried thyme in winter soups or stews is fine and I don’t live oregano enough to mind the dried form. Dried sage is satisfactory as well unless you want to see the leaves.

The smell of fresh basil, cilantro, and lemon thyme is so pleasurable.

I grow thyme and hold the end of a stem, and run my fingers down it to remove the leaves. I don't find it difficult, but I also don't mind dried thyme. Overall, I like fresh herbs more than dried, but having access to good sources of dried herbs is easy where I live (near Penzeys and Spice House). I think this question is mostly about seasonable availability.

Rosemary for me. I don't like the pokiness of the leaves and I hate chopping it.

"then make sure no stems are still attached." My herbs are always prepped using the technique Feather's described. I've never considered removing the teeny big of what attached a leaf to the stem of say rosemary or thyme even sage. It's all flavorful. Many dired herbs are very 'stiff'. DH often says " What sort of sticks and leaves are in the _________ tonight when I am using dried herbs. What I find annoying and not worth the effort I attempted to dry my home grown herbs for later use and found them very lacking in flavor. The basement smelled heavenly as they dried but I guess all the flavor when with their moisture.

I agree for small-leafed herbs like thyme - way too much trouble. But for basil, cilantro, and dill, for instance, using fresh is easy and can add to the appearance as much as to the flavour. I usually use dried, though.

" Many dired herbs are very 'stiff' "

Especially rosemary! I've taken to buying ground rosemary, rather than the stiff rosemary leaves - even fresh rosemary is stiff.

You can use the small holes in a grater to pull through the stem.

I like fresh herbs for most things, except there are certain long simmering soups and stews where the dried seem to work fine. Most are easy to grow, other than pest and bloom management.

IMPE, fresh rosemary leaves are pretty soft once cooked - much softer than dried. I generally chop them up, tho. The only time I use dried rosemary is in spice blends, and I grind those to a powder.

I want to grow oregano again, since I don't like the bits of stems, etc. in dried, but I have limited space at this point, so I'm settling for store bought dried for now.

The only herb I like growing is chives. I also like to grow green onions, because you only need one or two and the rest of the bunch rots. I would like to grow leaf lettuce and spinach.

ETA: I used to have big gardens, but not anymore.

::giggle:: Sherry, I like growing chives, too. They reseed themselves in my garden and go on for years. But they're so danged cute I can't bring myself to cut them...

The rosemary grows without attention here. Mine, except for the oldest, woodiest, branches, have rather tender leaves, for rosemary, so I never ever buy it in any form. If I have more picked than I actually use, I'll strip the rest and let the leaves just dry on their own. There's no effort, at all, so really doesn't count for the topic. :)

Yes, you can use a grater or a colander or fork or a wide mesh sieve as a makeshift herb stripper, and I have a couple strippers that were gift with purchase kinds of things, but rosemary strips so easily with just fingers! And those tender little thyme stems with the delicious little leaves don't strip with any kind of stripper when tender and fresh from the garden, which I think was Porkchop's point. Drying them a bit helps, but choosing a stiffer stem to begin with makes it much easier.

I like growing green onions too - so easy to start from the bottoms of store bought and grow in containers. I used to have Welsh and Egyptian onions, which multiply and top set, so they're perennials. They finally died out tho, so I planted some root ends of scallions. I mostly use just the green tops - perfect for salads and recipes that call for a small amount of onion.

Today, I threw out the basil I was growing indoors...too leggy...not enough leafs. I do grow Egyptian Walking onions. The bulbetts taste like garlic. I grow Garlic Chives. Cat Mint. I'd like to grow Fennel.

I never had much luck getting fennel to form big bulbs like the ones in the stores.

At one of my rentals...the nextdoor neighbor was married to an Italian born man. She went home to meet his parents and brought home Fennel seed. It grew MONSTER bushes in her backyard! She offered me some...but....I was working...didn't grab any at the time....I'd like to find that strain...

I would love to grow fennel, too. Let us know if you find the strain.

Rosemary? I dry out and then smash with mortar and pestle. They grow on my back porch, so I always make my own rosemary powder

Carol, are you growing the right kind of fennel for bulbs? Herb fennel will never grow them. Only Florence fennel will. Both are available as seed. The 'big bushes' from the Italian seed mentioned above wouldn't ever produce bulbs. I have both bronze and green fennel self sowing on the allotment. I use the seed more than the foliage in cooking. I've never had luck with Florence fennel. It needs good soil, warmth and copious, regular water.

Oh yes I know the difference - the bulbs were just puny and tough. I think it was too hot and humid and not enough water.

Right. Florence fennel isn't easy. I don't bother with it any more. I don't use much and I can buy much better bulbs than I can grow.

My cooking with herbs skills just isnt too great. I grow chives and dill, and like them both fresh in egg salad, tuna salad, etc. Dill is next to the milk weed and the catapillers are crazy about dill. But not very informed what I would do with the other herbs. Recently used a bay leaf in making homemade tomato soup and it was wonderful. I think there is a whole world out there waiting for me.

“Recently used a bay leaf in making homemade tomato soup and it was wonderful.”

Yes, they really are good. We have a California bay tree but long ago I discovered the leaves are much too strong. The much more subtle Mediterranean (Turkish?) ones from the grocery store are best.

Our fresh herb season is short. We take advantage while we can, then dry enough for the rest of the time. I do it in the micro, it's quick, easy, and the herbs retain color and flavor. Highly recommend.

No third parties, no chemicals.

Oops, sidetracked. For me, growing cilantro isn't worth it. We rarely use it and it matures too quickly, then bolts and we end up with too much coriander.

Love all herbs whether fresh or dried.

Fennel is a funny one. I wish I loved the veg but I don't. Can't stand it. But the seeds I adore. I got a real love of it when we went to the Haute Savoie region where there are strong Italian influences in the cooking and pork roasts and sausages were stuffed with fennel seeds. So delicious.

Another seed I love is caraway. Comes from my Polish father.

Caraway with cabbage was a notion I got from living on Germany. Often do it now. Islay, even if you don't like cooked fennel, do you like fennel and orange salad?

I enjoy most seeds.

I used to sometimes put Italian sweet sausage (with fennel seed) into my tomato based pasta sauce. Then I got health conscious and just added some fennel seed. It was really good.

I love fresh cilantro. Cilantro roots are used in Thai and Vietnamese cooking. Planted cilantro bolts in warm weather so it’s difficult to grow my own.

I like to saute chopped apples, onions and sauerkraut with caraway seeds.

Whole fennel seeds are too tough/fibrous for me, but I do like the flavor. I like to cook sliced fennel bulbs in beef stews and seafood sautees.

Flora, I don't like any fennel veg dish!

Islay, same for me.