Ingredient guide no. 035

Dill

A culinary herb with both leafy and seed forms, which should be chosen for different tasks.

Categoryherb

Botanical identityAnethum graveolens

Food formleaves and seeds

Flavorgreen, grassy, anise-like, bright

What it is

A culinary herb with both leafy and seed forms, which should be chosen for different tasks.

Plain-language buying tip

Use dill weed for leafy freshness and dill seed for a warmer, more spice-like note in pickles and bread.

Forms and use

Add fresh dill near the end of cooking; use seed earlier in brines, pickles, and longer-cooked dishes.

Common forms include fresh weed, dried weed, seed. Match the form to the job: dill weed added near the end for leafy freshness, dill seed added earlier for a warmer note in brines, pickles, and bread.

Storage

Dried weed: six months to a year, and weak from the start. Buy it small.
Dill seed: two to three years whole, like other seeds. The better thing to keep in a dry pantry if you pickle.
Fresh weed: about a week in the refrigerator (at or below 40°F/4°C), stems in a little water with a bag loosely over the top, or wrapped in a barely damp cloth. Dill wilts quickly and does not recover.
Freezing: chopped dill frozen in a little water or oil keeps its flavour better than drying does, which is worth knowing if you buy a large fresh bunch.
Gone when: the dried weed has faded from green to khaki and smells of dry grass. Dill seed is gone when a crushed seed gives no warm, caraway-like lift.

Quick questions

What should I check before buying Dill?

Check the stated botanical identity or style when available, the form, and the ingredient list. These details are more useful than relying on a broad category name alone.

Is this guide a product offer?

No. This is culinary editorial information. Leaf & Larder will connect only verified, available products when inventory exists.

Editorial boundary

This guide describes flavor, form, storage, and culinary use. It does not make medical, therapeutic, or supplement claims.

Sources & notes
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: Anethum graveolens.
USDA SNAP-Ed: Herbs.
Last reviewed: August 15, 2026.

About this guide

This is an editorial ingredient record, not a product offer. It is being expanded under the Leaf & Larder editorial standards.

Last reviewed: 2026-08-15 · Record version 1.5 · Machine-readable guide data.

Substitutions

Dill weed and dill seed are different ingredients: The weed (the feathery leaf) is grassy, anise-fresh and delicate. The seed is warmer, more caraway-like, and belongs in pickling brine, rye bread and cabbage. Do not swap one for the other.
Fresh dill weed for dried: dried dill weed keeps more of itself than basil or parsley do, but not much. Use the 3:1 ratio — 1 tbsp fresh for 1 tsp dried — and accept a flatter, hay-like result. In anything cold and fresh (a cucumber salad, a yoghurt sauce, gravlax), dried dill is not a substitute at all.
Fennel fronds: the closest fresh substitute for dill weed, at the same quantity. Sweeter, more licorice.
Tarragon or chervil: partial stand-ins where the anise-green role matters more than dill itself. Use half the quantity of tarragon, which is stronger.
Parsley: gives green and freshness and none of dill's character. Fine as filler, not as a substitute.
Caraway for dill seed: works in bread and cabbage at about the same quantity, and is more assertive.

Pairings

Ingredients: cucumber, yoghurt and sour cream, soft cheese, butter, lemon, white wine vinegar, mustard, garlic, onion and scallion, potato, beetroot, carrot, cabbage, peas, green beans, egg, salmon and other oily fish, trout, prawns, chicken, lamb, lentils, white beans, barley, rice, parsley, mint, chive, caraway, coriander seed, black pepper.
Dishes: cucumber and yoghurt salad, tzatziki, potato salad, gravlax and cured fish, borscht and beet soups, a lemon-and-dill salmon, pickles (seed and weed both), egg salad, buttered new potatoes, avgolemono-style soups, lentil salad, dill bread with the seed.
Go carefully: heat destroys fresh dill fast. Stir it in at the very end or use it raw. Dill seed is the opposite — it wants time in liquid, so add it early.