Why does everyone say you need fresh herbs for a quick weeknight pasta?

I've used dried oregano from my pantry for my Tuesday night spaghetti for years, and it always tastes great, saving me a trip to the store and money on herbs that wilt in my fridge.

3 comments

3 Comments

grace4192mo agoTop Commenter

You're right about dried oregano working just fine for spaghetti. I keep a jar in the pantry too. The "fresh herbs" advice is really for dishes where the herb is a main flavor, like basil in a fresh tomato sauce or parsley stirred into a lemon butter sauce at the very end. For a simmered meat sauce, dried oregano is perfect and actually more traditional.

finley7772mo ago

My mom's spaghetti sauce recipe from the 80s calls for two teaspoons of dried oregano. She always said the dried stuff blends into the sauce better when it simmers for hours. I tried fresh oregano once and it just felt wrong, like the flavor was too sharp. Your point about tradition really hits home.

ruby56116d ago

My goto for weeknight pasta has always been dried oregano from the back of my cabinet. @grace419 is spot on about fresh herbs being more for dishes where they're the star, like basil in a quick tomato sauce. For a simmered meat sauce, I've found that dried oregano blends in way better than fresh.