# How much dry Basil would I need to substitute for 1 cup of fresh basil?



## blossom22

How much dry Basil would I need to substitute for 1 cup of fresh basil?


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## suzanne

Welcome, blossom22!  

The usual substitution is 1 teaspoon dried (chopped or crumbled) dried herb in place of 1 tablespoon fresh. So you would want to use 1/3 cup of dried basil.

HOWEVER: there are uses in which you never want to substitute a dried herb for the fresh one. Pesto, for example -- oh, sure, "they" say you can use dried basil and goose the color with parsley, but really that's not worth making (or eating  ). If your recipe relies on the fresh taste and color of the basil, it's better to make something else instead of use dried.

Remember also that dried herbs are usually added to a recipe at a different point from fresh. Because fresh herbs are mostly pretty delicate, they tend to be added near the end of cooking, if not actually after the food has finished cooking. Dried herbs need more time to reconstitute, and so are usually added much earlier in the process.


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## pete

I usually agree with the 1/3rd rule when substituting dried for fresh, but that is when I am using smaller amounts such as teaspoon and tablespoon. When dealing with larger amounts you may even want to go with less. The issue here is packing. Example when you need 1 Tablespoon of fresh basil you chop it rather fine, to fit in the spoon. It may be just a bit bigger than the dried you are substituting with. In the cup scenario, you probably aren't chopping your basil as fine, if at all, so you then have more air space than if it is a cup of finely chopped basil. So unless the recipe calls for 1 cup of finely chopped fresh basil, I would not add more than 1/4 cup of dried. And I agree with Suzanne, look at what your application is. Some things just don't translate well when substituting dried for fresh.


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## pinot

The only useful purpose I can think of for dried basil would be mulch for fresh basil plants.


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## redace1960

got to agree with pinot. there simply is no substitute for fresh basil. dried is a completely different animal.


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## pete

Pinot and redace, I have to, respectfully, disagree. There is a place for dried basil. Definately not in uncooked or short cooked dishes. These require fresh, but in long cooked soups, stews or sauces (winter type foods) I often prefer to use dried. You can add it early in the cooking process and it creates a whole different taste. Personally I make a traditional Ragu Bolognese that cooks for hours. I have used both, dried early in the process and fresh, added at the end, and I prefer the dried. The fresh adds too much of a bright, fresh note that seems out of place in such a long cooked dish.


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## mudbug

So in conclusion *blossom22,* it depends on what you're using this basil for. If you're needing fresh basil for pesto, you may not want to use dried basil because it just wouldn't be the same and not worth the effort.

What are you needing the 1 cup of basil for?


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## yoyoneedinfo

I need some help, i am only 12 and in Math callas my assignment is to make a respie and figure the costs and all of that, i found this website and thought it would be useful, so, how much is the cost of 'Crutons' and if i'm serving 33 students how much would i need nad what whould be the cost?


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## chefhow

To the OP 1:3 is the standard ratio for all dried->fresh on herbs.  To the others a lot depends on what kind of dried basil you are using, is it Mediterranean, Egyptian or Domestic?  Oil levels and processing procedures of all three are different and give a different outcome.  Do a side by side of all 3 and you may be surprised at what you find. Do this with Mexican vs Med Oregano as well.


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## brendamike01

I am canning brushetta and it calls for 1 cup fresh basil. Where I live NONE of the stores carry freas and there are no markets.


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## petemccracken

You've aroused my curiosity, perhaps you could post the recipe?


brendamike01 said:


> I am canning brushetta and it calls for 1 cup fresh basil. Where I live NONE of the stores carry freas and there are no markets.


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## boar_d_laze

Posted by *brendamike01* 


> I am canning brushetta and it calls for 1 cup fresh basil. Where I live NONE of the stores carry freas and there are no markets.


Brenda you've left me at something of a loss. The English translation of _bruschetta_ is "toasted bread." Presumably you're not canning toast, but some sort of topping.

Assuming you're doing some sort of typical tomato relish for spooning on top of the bruschetta, the amount of dried basil you'll need to substitute for fresh, largely depends whether the original recipe called for loose, packed or chopped basil. If loose, whole leaf basil, you'll probably need something a couple of tbs of dried. If the recipe asked for packed or chopped fresh basil, you'll probably need something like 4 tbs (1/4 cup). If you're doing something else, the substitution amount could be very different.

As a general rule, start with a lesser amount, taste and adjust. Adjusting spice amounts and seasoning levels is one of the first rules of good cooking. Recipes are only guidelines, not commandments handed down on stone tablets.

In any case, it would be helpful if you could provide the complete recipe.

Wherever you live, it's a shame you can't get fresh herbs.

BDL


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## ed buchanan

Agree with Pete . Totally different taste and different uses.  There is a place for both fresh and dry and even frozen.


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## berndy

I assume you are making a tomato topping for bruchetta ;. In this case you can use dried basil.Take boar_d_laze's advise and start with a little and adjust the taste as you go along. Too much of any dried herb can taste very nasty and I don't want you to waste any tomatoes.


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## chef helene

i am using a product called Garden Gourmet - it is a fresh herb but more like a paste. I want to make Pesto, which I have made from fresh basil leaves. I wish to substitute this fresh concentrated basil in a tube but not sure of the conversion ratio. Anyone have any experience with this? If I want 1 cup fresh basil leaves, how much concentrate paste would I use? A 1:1 ratio does not seem right.


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## chazzmor

I had a recipe (One Pot Pasta). All ingredients, Pasta, water, grape tomatoes, sausage, sliced onion, garlic, and a cup of loosely packed fresh basil leaves. The recipe did not mention chopping the basil leaves, so I assumed cooked whole basil leaves would be similar to the texture of whole cooked spinach leaves. All ingredients are placed into a pot, brought to a boil and then simmered uncovered for 8-10 minutes. Everything was good except the fresh whole basil leaves were so tough I had to pull each leaf out of my mouth whenever I bit into one. I eventually just picked all the basil leaves out of the pasta. Do basil leaves always need to be chopped?


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## just jim

Well, since someone else brought this back, I'll chime in.

1:2, 1:3 and 1:4 are all fresh to dry ratios I've heard.

The finer the herb, the smaller ratio.

I use dried basil in my Cajun spice as well as other spice blends.

I also find that a combination of both the fresh and dried versions of an herb gives a more complex flavor than either on their own.

Side story: I was working in a historic local hotel that was slowly going under.

They revamped the menus but didn't consistently purchase the product for said menus.

One day I'm banging out a 12 top for lunch and one order is for the newly added Chicken Pasta with Pesto Cream.

Got most of the 12 top going and ran to the walk-in for pesto.

None to be found.

I hollered at the banquet Chef for help.

He fired up a rondeau on the stock burner with heavy cream, fresh spinach, S&P and dried basil, tightened with some chino shine.

He brought it to me, i finished plating the 12 top, everyone happy.

That's when the banquet Chef told me something that has stuck with me to this day: Anyone can cook when they have everything they need.

Were it not for dried basil in the house we would have had an unhappy guest.


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## phatch

I like whole basil leaves in salads, sandwiches, a few Vietnamese dishes and so on. I haven't found them to be tough


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## rick alan

Just Jim said:


> I hollered at the banquet Chef for help.
> 
> He fired up a rondeau on the stock burner with heavy cream, fresh spinach, S&P and dried basil, tightened with some chino shine.


What is chino shine? Google doesn't even relate anything to food.


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## grande

I'm guessing cornstarch and cracking up?


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## just jim

Grande said:


> I'm guessing cornstarch and cracking up?


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## rick alan

Grande said:


> I'm guessing cornstarch and cracking up?





Just Jim said:


>


I forgot you chefs do take to talking in tongues about the obvious.


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## iridium12

Rick Alan said:


> I forgot you chefs do take to talking in tongues about the obvious.


/img/vbsmilies/smilies/rollsmile.gif

Good point - it has been rumored that this does happen 

Haven't heard anyone use that word in some time now though /img/vbsmilies/smilies/thumb.gif


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## james schacher

What is one third of 1/2 cup of fresh Basil ?


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## french fries

James Schacher said:


> What is one third of 1/2 cup of fresh Basil ?


Do you mean what is one third of 1/2 cup? It's 2.67 Tbsp. It doesn't matter if it's basil, water, feathers or lead.


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## rpooley

When I was poor and in school ages ago and fresh herbs were scarce and expensive, I could make a pretty good pesto by beating the hell out of dried basil in mortar with a pestle.


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## pete

James Schacher said:


> What is one third of 1/2 cup of fresh Basil ?


1/6 of cup


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