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Hot or Not? Herbs in Tubes from Gourmet Garden

2009-09-17-HerbsinTubes.jpgThere are some products, like tomato paste and wasabi, that we love to keep around in tube form. But herbs?

 
 

This line of herbs in tubes comes from Gourmet Garden. They market their product as a convenient time-saver for the busy home cook. The herbs are grown following organic practices (though the company is not certified organic), have no artificial flavors or preservatives mixed with them, and supposedly stay fresh-tasting for several months in their tube. There are 10 different herb products, including basil, garlic, dill, ginger, and parsley.

When we first saw this product on the grocery store shelf, we immediately recoiled. Herbs? In tubes? It seemed unnatural and a little silly given how easy it is to get fresh herbs even year round. No matter what revolutionary process they follow to preserve the herbs, we just can't imagine they taste as good as fresh.

But then we started thinking about all the times we realize we've run out of an herb right before we want to make a recipe. Or how often herbs seem to go bad before we use all of them. Even if it's not as good as fresh, having a product like this in the fridge might be really great to have for emergencies.

What do you think? Have you tried any of these Gourmet Garden products?

Related: Useful Gadget? Herb Saver

(Images: Gourmet Garden)

Tags

Seasonings, meal helper, Ingredients - Herbs, Frugality, herbs, fresh herbs, convenience food, Gourmet Garden, herbs in tubes

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Comments (39)

I've tried the coriander and it really wasn't pleasant. Greasy, bland mush - yuk. And if I remember correctly they don't keep for long once opened.

posted by Madame Is on September 17th 2009 at 11:12am
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I use the ginger as a matter of convenience for stir fries and such. Not the best, but good in a pinch.
The green herbs-I don't think I'd even go there...

posted by JessMess on September 17th 2009 at 11:23am
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Hot only for the ginger. I don't use ginger often enough to use up a fresh piece before it goes bad. But I found a jarred brand from "The Ginger People" that I like better than this one. A tube of dill, though??? I don't know...

posted by cmcinnyc on September 17th 2009 at 11:32am
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I would consider using the chili, garlic, and ginger ones. But like JessMess, I can't imagine the green ones being any good.

posted by jamiealyse on September 17th 2009 at 11:36am
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I use the ginger frequently, and also bought the dill. They store well in the freezer. They're more useful for herbs that are well integrated into a dish rather than as a garnish or in something where the flavor needs to be center stage. It's hard for me to grow herbs where I live, and purchased herbs go bad so fast this ends up being more economical for me.

posted by Rivercat0338 on September 17th 2009 at 11:39am
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In theory, it's a great solution. However, in practice, they're yucky. I tried one months ago, the basil, I believe. Yuck! It was sweet. Looking at the back of the tube, I saw the reason. The ingredients included sugar.

posted by AlyssaH on September 17th 2009 at 11:42am
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I use them in a pinch when I run out of something in the middle of cooking or if the recipe doesn't call for enough to justify buying fresh (basil is strangely expensive at my grocery store!!! and I have nowhere to grow it myself). I agree with Rivercat that they're far better for herbs that are integrated into a dish as opposed to being the starring flavor. I would always shell out for the real thing in that case.

posted by chi_cass on September 17th 2009 at 11:46am
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Tried the cilantro one. Pretty tasteless. I'd go for dried herbs over the tubes if fresh isn't available/practical.

posted by PhoebeArt on September 17th 2009 at 11:47am
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I use the garlic and ginger all the time. As others said, I don't think I'd go there for green herbs.

posted by ohiokavr on September 17th 2009 at 11:55am
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I tried both the basil and cilantro. Hated the cilantro, liked the basil. The basil I mostly used to mix into cottage cheese and use as a salad "dressing"/topping. It worked well for that purpose - not sure for anything else!

posted by wenden on September 17th 2009 at 12:01pm
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I've bought the basil multiple times - I've used it for pastas and stirring into things. Actually, my favorite use for the basil paste was rubbed onto corn before grilling. I thought that was delicious!

posted by Carrie H. on September 17th 2009 at 12:04pm
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The basil was disgusting - first, it has the look and texture of snot, so it must be mixed in REALLY well to whatever you're making. It also has sugar in it. The ginger however is not bad, but buying a tube of this is way more expensive than the 1-dollar glass jars of grated ginger you can get at asian grocery stores and most main-stream chains.

posted by kittystockings on September 17th 2009 at 12:19pm
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I don't like how oily it is, it spilled all over when I first opened the tube I had.

posted by Eve in Hochelaga on September 17th 2009 at 12:20pm
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There's a lemongrass that comes in REALLY handy.

posted by hobsy on September 17th 2009 at 12:33pm
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I've never tried this brand, but I have tried herbs and such in tubes when I lived in Japan. Super convenient, and like someone said above, as long as the herb isn't a garnish, this works just fine.

How is this different than keeping a jar of tomato sauce around? It's not. You're just not used to this, that's all. It's common elsewhere.

posted by Mrs.Mack on September 17th 2009 at 12:37pm
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The ginger we bought turned a nasty brown really quickly after opening it.

posted by asinner on September 17th 2009 at 12:38pm
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i like the idea but i am concerned about how quickly they'd go bad and if being all mushed up in the tube i'd be able to tell if they were bad enough before i put them in my food

posted by carrieactually on September 17th 2009 at 12:42pm
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They sell mini-herb cubes in the freezer section at Trader Joes. They resemble a small ice cube tray and in my opinion they have more flavor.

posted by designerny on September 17th 2009 at 12:47pm
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interested in the frozen cubes - but i definitely have used these tubes and they're fine... i keep a tube of dill in the fridge to make yogurt sauce whenever we need it. of course fresh dill would be better, but this is better than not having anything, or better than having to run to the store for one thing...

posted by TDS7 on September 17th 2009 at 1:06pm
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I've tried the basil tube but thought the additional ingredients really rendered the taste something awful. I MUCH prefer the frozen basil cubes from Trader Joes - and they have far fewer additives.

posted by sdblondie on September 17th 2009 at 1:13pm
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They taste like soap. Disgusting.

posted by mangabanga on September 17th 2009 at 2:11pm
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and the frozen garlic cubes from Trader Joe's are amazing, I use them so much I rarely keep fresh garlic in house anymore.

posted by mangabanga on September 17th 2009 at 2:12pm
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I try to always keep a tube of their lemongrass on hand - it's almost impossible to find lemongrass where I live so the tube stuff comes in very handy for making curries and things.

posted by kate78 on September 17th 2009 at 2:17pm
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I tried the ginger one before and regretted it. I threw it away.

posted by quitecurious on September 17th 2009 at 2:39pm
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Decent and useful enough for camping

posted by lillies on September 17th 2009 at 3:02pm
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definitely not worthwhile. I bought the cilantro one last year when the grocery store I ran into for last minute dinner ingredients was out of cilantro. not only was it tasteless I was allergic to the preservatives used in it. :-(

posted by mrsdot on September 17th 2009 at 4:39pm
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I've been known to keep a tube of anchovy paste around, which comes in very handy on occasion, so these intrigue me from a purely convenience standpoint. I can't really imagine they taste good, though; reading these reviews, it seems they don't. Thanks for the heads-up!

ABreadADay.com

posted by eprewitt on September 17th 2009 at 4:43pm
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I'm so disappointed to hear that the taste is not there for these. I live in a place where even a 60-mile drive and visits to multiple grocery stores yields very limited ingredients.

My boyfriend and I attempted to find lemongrass for two weeks for a recipe, eventually giving up. A few weeks later we happened upon a similar tube (different brand, I think) of lemongrass paste. Short of ordering from an expensive online grocer, that's pretty much the only way we're going to experience anything close to lemongrass while living here. (Ridiculous, I know.)

So the concept, if it actually yielded yummy tubed goodness, would be a lifesaver for me. Too bad they're getting such bad reviews from everyone; I've definitely been tempted to try them out.

posted by nani-susie on September 17th 2009 at 4:52pm
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It's a great idea (I mean, fresh boxed herbs are expensive and I never can seem to use them all before they go bad), but it seems like from the reviews here it might not be so hot. But I'd still want to try it if I ever find them.

posted by Kakugori on September 17th 2009 at 6:23pm
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ive only tried the ginger, it was ok but i still prefer the jarred ginger I find at a local indian market. haven't tried the others

posted by adamwa on September 17th 2009 at 7:17pm
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I actually quite like the lemongrass - it is certainly better than any so-called "fresh" lemongrass I can find where I live.

The ginger is not bad in a ginger emergency, but not as nice as fresh. Haven't tried jarred ginger from the Indian grocery, but will look for that. I go through a LOT of ginger.

The dill and basil etc I haven't tried. Cilantro I can usually find fresh, and I keep a jar of pesto in the fridge for when I can't get fresh basil at a price I am willing to pay.

posted by Bobolink on September 17th 2009 at 10:00pm
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About how long the tubes of herbs etc. keep - the lemon grass seems to keep a long time - doubtless packed with perservatives, but also the only part that is exposed to the air is the little sqeezely bit. It's not like having an open container of something in the fridge.

posted by Bobolink on September 17th 2009 at 10:04pm
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My first instinct was YEAH, because I can never use all my fresh herbs before they go bad. But then I realized these aren't herbs but "spice blends" - in other words, blended with things like sugar and preservatives that I would prefer to avoid. So, I'd say NOT.

posted by chez shoes on September 17th 2009 at 11:15pm
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Alot of people have mentioned ginger, which surprises me. I've found that fresh ginger keeps extraordinarily well in the freezer. Just peel it and freeze it whole in a freezer bag or wrapped up. As you need it, you can either grate it from frozen, or lop of a piece and let it thaw for a couple minutes before slicing and dicing. I had one piece for over 6 months and I didn't detect any difference in the final product. It was still crisp and spicy in the dish.

posted by hmarshall on September 18th 2009 at 8:53am
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I guess I just don't get the "herb in a tube"... Is it not better tasting, just as simple and convenient, and probably cheaper to just buy them fresh?

posted by mspants on September 18th 2009 at 2:05pm
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I've only used the ginger, and that's probably as far as I'm willing to go (although the lemongrass sounds worth a try). I use it mostly for stirfry, where it isn't as central to the dish.
@hmarshall: fresh ginger does keep well, but grating ginger is sort of a pain and I don't love all the fibrous bits that end up in my food.
The frozen mini-herb cubes at TJ's are alright in a pinch, but they don't taste terribly fresh. For basil, which is my most-used green herb, I just keep a small potted one on the kitchen window shelf.

posted by nixiepix on September 18th 2009 at 6:07pm
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I've tried a few of these - they were OK, but they're not *just* herbs... some of them seem a bit greasy, and others have sugar and things in them... I liked the chilli one, as it meant if you only wanted a small amount of chopped chilli it was easily done, but found that I didn't use them within the time on the pack. I now use a jar of Sambal Olek/some sweet chilli sauce for chopped chillis, and buy frozen ready chopped herbs and ginger - not in cubes, but loose in packets - they taste pretty good, and are quick, easy and don't take up much room in the freezer.

posted by Esther77 on September 19th 2009 at 11:21am
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I love having the ginger and lemongrass handy - works great! I would not use the green herbs though...

posted by Ta on September 21st 2009 at 9:56am
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I bought the lemongrass one and threw it away. I normally read ingredients before buying new items, but didn't think a tube of herbs would contain sugar, salt, oil, and preservatives if I remember correctly. I tasted some straight from the tube and immediately knew something was wrong.

posted by OkayNoodle on October 6th 2009 at 1:39am
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