tarragon
Also known as: Dried Tarragon
A slender-leaved herb with a distinctive anise or licorice note, central to French cooking (bearnaise sauce, fines herbes, chicken dishes); sold fresh or dried, with the dried form noticeably more muted than fresh.
Buying guidance
Fresh tarragon should have crisp, unwilted stems and vivid green leaves with no blackened or slimy patches -- it loses aroma quickly once cut, so buy it close to when it'll be used. Dried tarragon fades fast in the jar; if it smells more like hay than licorice, it's past its useful life.
Substitutions
- Chervil -- a milder, similarly delicate anise note; use a bit more to match tarragon's strength.
- Fresh basil or parsley plus a pinch of fennel seed -- approximates the freshness and faint licorice note without being a true match.
- Dried tarragon in place of fresh -- use about a third the amount and add earlier in cooking, since dried herbs are more concentrated but less bright.
Tips & common mistakes
Its anise-like flavor is stronger and more assertive than milder herbs like parsley, so it's easy to add too much and have the dish taste mainly of licorice rather than picking up a background note -- add it gradually and taste as you go.
Storage
Fresh tarragon's stems are more delicate than sturdier herbs like rosemary and blacken at the cut ends within days, so wrap it loosely in a barely damp paper towel in the fridge rather than standing it in water. Dried tarragon fades faster than heartier dried herbs like oregano, so keep it away from light and check it more often.