Fresh herbs from the store beat dried ones for my budget chili, weirdly

I did a side by side last Saturday with two pots of my usual chili recipe, one with a $2 bunch of cilantro and one with the jar I've had since March. The fresh one tasted brighter and I actually used less salt to make it pop, so the cost difference basically vanished. Dried herbs have their place for stews but for a dish that cooks under an hour, they just turn into dust. Does anyone else splurge on fresh when it's under $3, or am I overthinking a pot of beans?

1 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In

1 Comment

sarah2291mo ago

Why are we doing side by side tests on chili like it's a science fair project? It's a pot of beans with some meat and spice in it, not a dish where the herb is the star. Fresh cilantro in chili is fine but it's not some magic trick that saves you money, you just happened to use less salt because the fresh stuff has more water and flavor punch per bite, that's it. A $2 bunch every single time you make chili adds up faster than you think and half of it wilts in the fridge before you use it anyway. Sounds like you wanted fresh to win so you found a reason it did.

6