substituting fresh rosemary for dry

[phoebe]

Usually, when substituting fresh herbs for dry, I use @ 3:1 (fresh to dry). But the rosemary I grow is pretty strong. And I can't imagine it loses that much in water when dried. So isn't 3:1 too much? What ratio should I use?

[beefcheeks]

The only time I'd use dried rosemary is in a soup or a stew where the long cooking process can empart a nice earthy smokiness to the dish. Fresh rosemary has an aromatic floral quality to it. A way better choice. I use it in everything else. Substitutions? Nada. Two different animals IMHO.

[phoebe]

Originally Posted by beefcheeks

The only time I'd use dried rosemary is in a soup or a stew where the long cooking process can empart a nice earthy smokiness to the dish. Fresh rosemary has an aromatic floral quality to it. A way better choice. I use it in everything else. Substitutions? Nada. Two different animals IMHO.

I understand, but this is the situation: I'm making a marinade I've made for years that calls for 1T of dried rosemary. Don't have any, but have tons of fresh. I don't want to overwhelm the meat or cancel out the other ingredients if a 3:1 ration is too much.

[redace1960]

make 1 cup tea using the dried rosemary in the directed amount; thats your control.
then make another 1 cup with the fresh. smell and taste both and adjust the fresh
up or down in sucessive 1 cups until it seems right. this assumes you'll have a pot of
water going to make numerous teas with. i know what you mean about fresh rosemary;
it'll take the top of your head off.

[MarkV]

3-1 ratio, fresh herbs to dried, is the "standard." However, this isn't etched in stone because of variations in individual plants, such as yours being a little stronger than most.

Normally I would say to use a little less if you are not sure and then taste the dish and add more if need be. This would work with a soup or a stew but you're making a marinade. You won't know if it's too much until uit's too late, namely, after the food has been marinated.

Thus, play it safe. If you think your rosemary is unusually strong, use a 2-1 ratio. Then after the food has marinated and been prepared however your recipe calls for, you can always add an additional sprinkling of fresh rosemary at the end if you feel it needs more.

Mark

[beefcheeks]

Originally Posted by phoebe

I understand, but this is the situation: I'm making a marinade I've made for years that calls for 1T of dried rosemary. Don't have any, but have tons of fresh. I don't want to overwhelm the meat or cancel out the other ingredients if a 3:1 ration is too much.

For a marinade? I'd still go only with fresh if available. Broken in sprigs instead of chopped. Chopped rosemary would only strengthen it's flavor. I guess if I had to...I'd go with MarkV's suggestion of a 2:1 ratio to be safe.

[mudbug]

There are many different varieties of culinary rosemary. The 3:1 is just a guide. If you feel yours is stronger than normal then go with your instincts and use less.

I use dry rosemary when making flatbread and I've used up my fresh supply from the garden.

Also, you said it may not loose that much water when dried... with herbs, it's the not the water that affects the flavor so much as oil content.

Rosemary is a more hardy herb - a perennial plant - like sage or thyme, they're going to retain more intensity when dried than say, annual/biennial herb plants plants like, flat leaf parsley, basil, or cilantro (of course there are numerous varieties of these too.