When should you add herbs: at the start or at the end?

Herbs are not all one ingredient. Rosemary can sit in a pot for an hour and only get better; basil sulks if it so much as sees a hot pan. Once you sort herbs into two families, the timing question mostly answers itself.

The two families

Woody herbs: rosemary, thyme, sage, bay, oregano, marjoram, savory. They have tough or leathery leaves and often woody stems. Their flavour is robust and resinous, and it needs heat and time to come out and mellow.

Soft herbs: basil, parsley, mint, chives, dill, tarragon, chervil, coriander. Tender, juicy leaves and soft stems. Their flavour is bright, green and fleeting, and it fades fast with heat.

A quick test: if you can rub the leaf between your fingers and it bruises and goes limp, treat it as soft. If it stays firm and needles or crumbles, treat it as woody.

Woody herbs: early and in the fat

• Into the oil at the start. A sprig of rosemary or a few sage leaves in warm olive oil or butter flavours the fat, and that fat carries the flavour through everything else.
• Into long-cooked dishes. Bay leaves in a bean pot, thyme in a slow stew, rosemary in a tray of roasting potatoes.
• Whole sprigs are easy to fish out later; chopped leaves stay in and soften.
• Crisp-fried sage in brown butter is the classic exception that proves the rule: it goes in hot and fast, and becomes a crisp garnish.

Use woody herbs with restraint. Their flavour builds as they cook, and a heavy hand with rosemary can make a dish taste medicinal.

Soft herbs: at the end, or raw

• Stir in off the heat, just before serving: basil into a tomato sauce, parsley over beans, mint through peas.
• Tear or chop at the last minute. Soft herbs bruise and darken once cut.
• Use them raw in sauces such as salsa verde, gremolata or pesto, where their freshness is the point.
• Scatter whole leaves over salads, soups and pasta for a fresh top note.

The exceptions

• Parsley stalks are tougher than the leaves and full of flavour. Put them into stocks and soups early, and save the leaves for the end.
• Basil in a long-cooked sauce: some cooks add a sprig early for background and fresh leaves at the end for perfume. Both, not either.
• Oregano is unusual: many cooks prefer it dried, sprinkled on pizza or tomatoes, rather than fresh.
• Mint can go into a pan with courgettes or peas for the last minute or two, which softens its edge without losing it.

Dried herbs follow the woody rule

Dried herbs, whatever the plant, behave like woody ones: they need heat, fat or liquid and a little time to wake up. Added at the very end, they taste dusty. Our page on dried herbs instead of fresh covers swapping and amounts.

The two-stage trick

For most dishes where herbs matter, we use them twice. A little early, in the oil or the pot, for a deep background note. More at the end, fresh and raw, for brightness. It is the difference between a dish that tastes of herbs and one that smells of them as it reaches the table.