Cooking Tips -- Fresh Seasonings

1. Use fresh herbs and spices instead of using salt to season your meals
   
   
2. In recipes, cut salt in half and add more fresh herbs and spices
   
   
3. Experiment with different onion varieties to season soups, main meals soups and sauces, Do not forget other members of the onion family such as green onions, shallots, and leeks
   
   
4. When doubling a recipe, herbs and spices should only be increased by one and half times. Taste, and then add some more if necessary.
   
   
5. Add sage, bay leaf and garlic at the beginning of the cooking process as they have a strong flavor. Herbs with a more subtle aroma such as basil, parsley, fennel are best when added at the end of the cooking process to preserve their flavor
   
   
6. Here is a chart to convert dried herbs to fresh
   
   
7. 5 ml (1 tsp) dried herbs = 15ml (1 tbsp) fresh herbs
   0.5 ml(1/8 tsp) garlic powder = 1 medium clove of garlic
   5 ml (1 tsp) onion powder = 1 medium onion, finely chopped
   1ml (1/4 tsp) ground ginger = 5 ml (1tsp) grated fresh ginger
   
   
8. Herbal Hints
   
   
9. Delicate aromas can be lost due to over cooking.
   
   
10. Cut or chop fresh herbs to expose more surface area this will release more flavor.
    
    
11. Fresh herbs freeze easily. Wash, pat dry, and freeze in an air tight container. Do not thaw before adding to dishes as frozen herbs darken and become limp when thawed; so add the fresh frozen herb to the dish in the cooking process.