Spices - a question of duration

The basic idea seems to be, although I might be wrong in this, that you want to add fresh spices at the very end of cooking, and dried spices as early as possible.

That's usually what I do - fresh herbs at the end, dried stuff at the beginning. Similarly, whole seeds/buds at the beginning, ground up stuff at the end. And some things that get nasty when cooked (parsley and cilantro, imo) sprinkled on fresh after.

Salt is problematic. If I'm cooking something where the liquid is going to reduce, I wait until near the end, but if there's not enough liquid to dissolve and distribute it, then that doesn't work so well.

what about something like fresh dill weed? wouldnt you want the flavor to permeate the entire dish and so add it early on? or say, fresh basil in a tomato sauce?

I put the fresh basil in during the last 10-15 minutes of cooking generally, which seems to give it enough time to diffuse. I've never used fresh dill, just the dried.

the problem with this thread is the question seems too broad. there are times when you would like the herb to permeate the dish and you may use it as a bouquet garni where you would fish it out. i would say in general salt and pepper as you go, anytime you add a new bit to the pot. be careful with garlic b/c it will go bitter if sauteed too long, which i think may be a general phenomenon as well: what are you adding your spices to? if there is little or no liquid be very aware of how long it is on (and how high the flame), the longer the more you risk off flavors, but i think slow simmers and you can add spices with no worries of creating off flavor.

well, if it's too broad, then by all means please give more specific examples - like if you're simmering there is less of a concern than high heat with little liquid.

I think there can be a real issue with garlic - it burns so easily and gets bitter if sauted over high heat. If it's cooked long and slow in liquid, the flavor mellows. If it's more poached in oil, it almost sweetens, as when you roast it.

Yeah, you have to make sure not to burn the garlic. It is virtually always the first thing I add in dishes with garlic but you have to be careful to either have plenty enouh oil to kind of poach it, or you have to be ready to add more liquid after the initial saute fairly quickly.

It really does depend on what you are trying to do with your dish, as to when the spices go in. You can put almost any of them in at any time--it just depends on A) how you are cooking these spices B) what you are going for (ie what are the spices). I mean you wouldn't want to throw in a bunch of fresh cilantro straight into a pot as you're starting to cook and burn it and have that flavor overpower the entire dish (plus I agree it looks manky if cooked for more than a few seconds), but if you're poaching garlic in olive oil with red pepper flakes and black pepper as a base of an Italian dish then obviously you add all those things right at the beginning with a decent amount of oil.

It seems to matter less to me whether or not something is fresh produce or dry out of a bottle.

I think the theory behind that is that fresh produce is strongest right when you cut into it, right when you break the cells, but dried produce has already lost much of its potency and is further along in its half life, so to speak.

But yes, of course, it's all really much more complicated than that.

In some cases it's good to add the same herb twice, once early to simmer for a while and then again at the end without any cooking time, to get two different flavor elements. I've seen Mario Battali do this several times on his shows — I don't have any specific examples in mind, but it always makes sense when he does it.

i.e. bouquet garni

I mean, you could put a bouquet garni into something while it simmers then add a bit more thyme or parsley at the end. I'll shut up now.

In my limited experience, the only herb that should almost exclusively be used dried is oregano, but others can be used in a pinch (better than nothing despite what some chefs will say), and there's one particular one (marjoram) that I use a lot 'cause no one can figure out what it is.