Herbs, Spices & Seasonings

Dried herbs are more concentrated than fresh, so a straight swap in a recipe usually results in too strong a flavour.

The general rule of thumb:

• Use about one-third the amount of dried herb compared to what a recipe calls for in fresh
• For example, if a recipe asks for 3 teaspoons of fresh basil, start with around 1 teaspoon of dried

A few practical exceptions worth knowing:

• Delicate herbs like basil, parsley and chives lose more flavour when dried, so you may want slightly more than the one-third rule suggests
• Robust herbs like oregano, thyme and rosemary hold their flavour well when dried, so the standard ratio works reliably
• Dried herbs are generally best added earlier in cooking, since they need time to rehydrate and release flavour, while fresh herbs are often added at the end to preserve their brightness

If you're converting a recipe and unsure, start with less dried herb than the ratio suggests — you can always add more, but it's harder to correct an overpowering result.

Miso paste comes in different colours, and the colour tells you roughly how strong the flavour will be.

White miso is fermented for the shortest time, giving a mild, slightly sweet flavour — a good starting point if you haven't used miso before, and versatile enough for dressings and lighter soups.

Red miso is fermented longer, resulting in a stronger, saltier, more savoury flavour suited to heartier soups, marinades and glazes.

Brown miso sits between the two, or can be fermented even longer than red depending on the brand, generally landing on the stronger, more intense end of the scale.

Practical guidance:

• If a recipe doesn't specify a type, white miso is the safest general-purpose choice
• The darker the miso, the less you generally need to get a noticeable flavour, since the taste is more concentrated
• All types keep well in the fridge for months, so it's worth having one on hand rather than needing a specific type for each recipe

Starting with white and working up to red once you know how you like the flavour is a sensible approach if you're new to cooking with miso.

There's a genuine difference, though it's more about texture and mineral content than a dramatic taste difference for most cooking.

Table salt is heavily refined and finely ground, often with added anti-caking agents and sometimes iodine. It dissolves quickly and measures consistently, which is why it's commonly used in baking where precision matters.

Sea salt is less processed, with a coarser, more variable crystal size and small amounts of trace minerals that give it a slightly different flavour and texture — often described as a cleaner, less harsh taste, though this is subtle rather than dramatic.

Practical differences that actually matter:

• Grain size affects measurement — a teaspoon of coarse sea salt weighs less than a teaspoon of fine table salt, so recipes aren't always directly interchangeable by volume
• Finishing salt (flaky sea salt) is best added at the end of cooking or at the table, where its texture and burst of flavour can be appreciated, rather than dissolved into a dish

For everyday cooking and baking, table salt is the more practical, consistent choice. For finishing a dish, sea salt adds genuine texture and flavour variation.

Seaweed shows up in far more everyday cooking than most people realise, well beyond wrapping sushi rice.

Common everyday uses:

• Nori sheets — beyond sushi, torn or crumbled nori adds a savoury, umami note to rice bowls, salads or soups
• Kombu — used to make dashi (a Japanese cooking stock) and can be added to a pot of beans while cooking to help soften them
• Wakame — commonly rehydrated and used in miso soup or salads
• Dried seaweed flakes or granules — used as a seasoning, sprinkled over rice, eggs or vegetables in place of or alongside salt

If you haven't cooked with seaweed before, dried flakes or granules are the easiest starting point — used exactly like a seasoning, sprinkled onto a finished dish, with no soaking needed. Nori and wakame need a little more familiarity but aren't difficult once tried a couple of times.

Seaweed's main practical appeal is the savoury, umami depth it adds, similar to miso or stock, making it a useful addition alongside those ingredients rather than a replacement for salt entirely.

It depends on how you cook, but the two do different jobs, so it's worth understanding the distinction rather than assuming one covers both.

Stock is a thin, savoury liquid used as a cooking base — for soups, risottos, braises and sauces built from scratch.

Gravy is thicker and more concentrated, made to be poured over a finished plate rather than cooked into a dish.

Some gravies are made using stock as a starting point, so they're related, but using one where a recipe calls for the other usually doesn't work well — gravy is too thick and strongly flavoured to use as a stock, and stock is too thin to work as a gravy on its own.

If you cook a wide range of meals — soups and risottos as well as roasts — it's worth keeping both. If your cooking mostly centres on one or the other, you can probably get away with just the one that matches how you actually cook, rather than stocking both out of habit.