When it comes to cooking with fresh herbs, Shaun Mercer says you might make an occasional misstep and overzealously season a dish too strongly. “But you’re going to have a lot more good meals in the end,“ said Mercer, of Lavender Fields Farm in Glen Allen, which sells a wide assortment of herbs and holds classes on how to cook with them.

When adding fresh herbs to sauces, add them at the end so they don’t turn brown or dissolve and disappear.
  When storing fresh herbs in your refrigerator, place them in a cup with about a ½ inch of water or wrap in a damp paper towel and place in a sealed plastic bag.
  Use a sharp knife for chopping herbs since a dull knife will tear the herbs and cause them to bruise and brown.