Answer from Ask Extension about substituting one fresh herb for another in approved recipes: don’t.

Here's my question and the answer.
another when canning?

I have a lot of lemon verbena this year, and I would like to make jelly from it. There are many tested recipes for mint jelly, such as this one from NCHFP: https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/make-jam-jelly/jellies/mint-jelly-pectin/ and it seems like an easy substitution to swap out the mint for lemon verbena in this recipe.

Is it safe to substitute lemon verbena for mint in this recipe? I am aware that you can safely swap one dried herb for another, but does that hold true for fresh herbs?

If it is safe to substitute lemon verbena for mint in the jelly, is it also safe to substitute one fresh herb for another in any recipe? For example, I make this Ball tomato sauce every year: https://www.ballmasonjars.com/blog?cid=basil-garlic-tomato-sauce and it contains fresh basil. Could I substitute fresh oregano for some or all of the basil in this recipe?

Finally, does it matter if the recipe is a water bath canning recipe or a pressure canned recipe?

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Thank you for your email. You have used some great resources.

When a canning recipe calls for fresh herbs, it is ok to use them but substitutions are not recommended when canning.

Canning recipes are very specific to their ingredients as well as a lot of other different factors when canning recipes are written. Therefore, it is our recommendation to find a specific recipe for canning lemon verbena.

It is not recommended to can food for which there are no modern tested recommendations.