What ingredient do you always use fresh?

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Obvious-Water569@reddit

Most herbs. The only exceptions to that are oregano and bay leaf.

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Fresh garlic these days? Can't be England. For real though I find it goes off so fast. I'm sick of opening garlic for it to be green or black so I get the lazy jars now or use powder if I'm lazy. I'll buy a garlic for a more special meal and expect it not to last. Doesn't help the only local supermarket with range is a shitty Asda, explains the quality somewhat

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melanie110@reddit

We’ve got an allotment and we’ve just started planting. Come spring after the last frost, we’ll be adding herbs that we always use fresh. Coriander, basil, thyme, mint, rosemary, parsley and chives. Next Xmas, everything that will be on our table will Be from our allotment

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decentlyfair@reddit (OP)

What is the key for growing coriander? I can never keep it alive but probably doesn’t help I buy the pots from supermarkets. Coriander is my favourite herb so use it a lot.

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Blue_wine_sloth@reddit

It’s funny because it’s the only thing I’ve successfully managed to grow on my balcony, it was growing out of control, we had so much. Didn’t do anything to encourage it, maybe just got lucky with good seeds.

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melanie110@reddit

Absolutely no idea. I’m going to get my book out as I’ve failed to grow it or keep it alive from a plant but I reckon it’s going to need a small poly tunnel or something. It’s going to be trial and error for a while for us

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wildOldcheesecake@reddit

Our lovely neighbour has an allotment and we get all sorts of seasonal veg. We’re Asian and cook a lot of curries. He loves spicy food and curries. We’ve got a lovely deal whereby he gives us what he’s grown and we give him various dishes. Prior to us moving here, he was very much a meat eater. I’ve managed to get him to enjoy all sorts of veggie curries, with and without a masala gravy

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melanie110@reddit

Oh my god will you be my neighbour and I’ll gown whatever you like for this deal. Please and thank you

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wildOldcheesecake@reddit

Haha of course! I’d be so grateful too. It’s a nice problem to have wondering how I’m going to use up maths-esque problem numbers of carrots. I hope you like sabzi because that’s what’s for dinner today. Served with some Lebanese flatbread (I did not make the flatbread but they’re still lovely).

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melanie110@reddit

I genuinely will eat anything (as long as it haven’t got coconut milk in as my body rejects it) My neighbour next door has had some string beans from me, well, old guys on the allotment. They had so much surplus they just gave me handfuls or everything. We definitely cavolo Nero, radish, carrots, pumpkins, potatoes, cauli, butternut squash done one side Other side will have a green house for tomatoes and fruit. We’ve also got 4 huge raised beds so that will be for herbs and string beans etc. It’s 279sqm in size so it’s huge.

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thelajestic@reddit

Basil definitely. I'm not sure dried basil even has a flavour, but fresh just adds such a vibrant pop to things. Garlic I mostly use fresh (and I have a plait of garlic in my kitchen that I grew last year which I've been working through, loving having my own!) but I do have one of those giant jars of garlic and ginger paste from the world food aisle. If I'm making curries and things where I want loads at once it's just so much easier than prepping it myself 😅 I have to say though, dried versions absolutely have their place and depending on the application work better than fresh ingredients, it's all about using them in the right thing. Fresh chillis are great but you'd get a worse result using fresh chillis when you should have used chipotles. I love my trusty box of various dried chillis from the Mexican grocer 😅

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sock_cooker@reddit

Mint. My mint plant has proved impossible to kill and dried mint is nowhere near as good

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dbxp@reddit

Water, the frozen stuff just doesn't work the same

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mr-seamus@reddit

Coriander because it is the best.

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durkheim98@reddit

More or less the same: basil, parsley, rosemary, garlic. Chili I use both fresh and chili flakes depending on the dish. Tomatoes for salad. Others would be mushrooms, potatoes and so forth. Canned just doesn't taste right.

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decentlyfair@reddit (OP)

Oh yes mushrooms, although I have never tried any other form so have no comparison.

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durkheim98@reddit

I think the only exception is dried porcini. Canned, not great.

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decentlyfair@reddit (OP)

I have never used porcini at home but am sure I must have had them when eating at a restaurant. Mushrooms are something I have to want and only fancy eating quite rarely.

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Tearlesspanda@reddit

I prefer fresh, but compromise with frozen to avoid waste.

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Ultra_Leopard@reddit

Coriander, basil, garlic, chillies.

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mr-dirtybassist@reddit

Coriander, rosemary and parsley. I grow them in my garden

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Scarred_fish@reddit

Pretty much everything. Nothing beats fresh home grown.

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decentlyfair@reddit (OP)

Agreed. I guess it is a throw back from my upbringing as a child of 60/70s everything was made from scratch with fresh ingredients. Whilst my cooking skills were limited by my mum’s cooking she did at least teach me how to cook from scratch and as a result over the last 45 years I have developed and improved. I know what is in season and what combinations work and it has served me well.

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What ingredient do you always use fresh?

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24 Comments

Obvious-Water569@reddit

nathderbyshire@reddit

melanie110@reddit

decentlyfair@reddit (OP)

Blue_wine_sloth@reddit

melanie110@reddit

wildOldcheesecake@reddit

melanie110@reddit

wildOldcheesecake@reddit

melanie110@reddit

thelajestic@reddit

sock_cooker@reddit

dbxp@reddit

mr-seamus@reddit

durkheim98@reddit

decentlyfair@reddit (OP)

durkheim98@reddit

decentlyfair@reddit (OP)

Tearlesspanda@reddit

Ultra_Leopard@reddit

mr-dirtybassist@reddit

Scarred_fish@reddit

decentlyfair@reddit (OP)

AutoModerator@reddit