Researchers "Shock" Fresh Herbs Into Retaining Flavor

Researchers at Sweden's Lund University have discovered a way to "shock" fresh herbs in order to preserve that unmistakable taste. This new technique involves applying an electric pulse to fresh leaves, which causes them to open their pores and offer more flavor and green color after drying than their shock-free counterparts.

Everyone with a spice cabinet knows there's a huge difference between fresh and dried basil, which makes this advance all the more exciting. Same with other herbs — dried cilantro is essentially useless if you're looking for the grassy punch of its fresh counterpart, and dried rosemary is really just a bunch of spiky needles that will neither rehydrate nor add rosemary flavor.

Check out this video to see the new technology in action (Lund University's YouTube channel is pretty fascinating in general) and look forward to an upgraded pantry in the near future.