The Mistake: You used dried herbs in a recipe in place of fresh ones, resulting in a heavily overseasoned dinner.

Adding a tablespoon of dried oregano in place of a tablespoon of fresh seems like an easy fix. The problem is that some herbs, like basil and parsley, lose some of their flavor when dried, while others, like oregano and tarragon, “are massively more powerful, and if you put in too much, you’ll overwhelm a dish,” says director Richard Simpson.

What to Do Next Time: When making substitutions, let the strength of the herb guide you. Here’s how to season smartly.

For especially fragrant dried herbs, use about a third of the amount of fresh herbs called for in the recipe. For extra-mild dried herbs, add a little more. Don’t know if the dried herb is fragrant or mild? As a general rule, if a recipe calls for a fresh herb to be added at the beginning of the cooking process, it is probably stronger when dried; if it’s called for at the end of the process, it is probably mild when dried.

The best way to judge an herb’s strength is by taste. If your dried oregano has almost no flavor, neither will the sauce, so use a heavy hand.

You can wake up the flavor of dried herbs by toasting them in a pan for a minute or two, says author Linda Carucci.