Using Herbs In Your Cooking

Using herbs in your cooking is absolutely essential for good flavorful cooking; they give variety and savory flavors to any dish they are used in. The different herbs called for in various receipts can be bought at almost any grocery store, or farmers markets. You could obtain the seeds from some good florist and make little kitchen gardens of your own, even if the space planted was only a box or pot setting in the kitchen window. Sage, thyme, summer savory, sweet marjoram, tarragon, sweet basil, rosemary, mint, burnet, chervil, dill, and parsley, will grow abundantly with very little care; and when dried, and added judiciously to food, greatly improves its flavor. All herbs should be gathered in the sunshine, and dried by artificial heat; their flavor is best preserved by keeping them in air-tight containers.

Common Uses For Herbs:

SAGE: Used for flavoring fatty meats and with onion for poultry or pork stuffing.

Thyme: Is often used to flavor meats, soups and stews it is a primary flavor with lamb, tomatoes and eggs.

Summer Savory: You can use to flavor wild game, sausages, pork, peas and beans. You can add to soups and stews near the end of their cooking time.

Sweet Marjoram: best used in dishes that are not cooked or cooked very little. Cuisines of France, Italy, and Portugal use marjoram extensively. It is especially good with meats, soups, and stuffing. It complements other herbs--bay, garlic, onion, thyme, and basil. Marjoram also makes a sweet-flavored tea.

Tarragon: It has an aromatic property reminiscent of anise. Tarragon is used a lot in French cooking, and is particularly suitable for chicken, fish and egg dishes. Tarragon is one of the main components of Bearnaise sauce.

Sweet Basil: Is one of the main ingredients in pesto. It is used in tomato base recipes, with vegetables, and in tomato sauces.

Rosemary: Can be used in a wide variety of dishes, like fruit salads, soups, vegetables, meats especially lamb, fish, eggs, stuffing, dressings, and even desserts.

Mint: Mint leaves are used in teas, beverages, jellies, syrups, candies, and ice creams. Mint is also popular on lamb dishes.

Burnet: Used as an ingredient in both salads and dressings, having a flavor described as "light cucumber".

Chervil: Used to season young vegetables, seafood and poultry. It is more delicate than parsley and has a slight taste of liquorice. It can be added to salads, soups and omelettes.

Dill: Most commonly used as flavoring for Dill Pickles. Also used in dishes such as dips, sauces, fish dishes, soups, stews, baked or roasted potatoes, stuffing, roasted vegetables, egg dishes and to season ground beef for meat pies or stuffed vegetables.

Parsley: Commonly used in boiled buttered potatoes or mashed potatoes, rice dishes, with fish, fried chicken, lamb or goose, steaks, meat or vegetable stews, stocks, soups, and sauces, and many more dishes.

Bay Leaves: Commonly used to flavor soups, stews, meat, seafood and vegetable dishes while cooking. Should be removed before serving.

The bouquet, of herbs, so often called for in foreign cooking, is made as follows: wash three or four sprigs of parsley, one sprig of thyme, and two bay leaves; fold the parsley over the thyme and bay leaves, tie it about three inches long and one inch thick. The bouquet is used for seasoning soups, sauces, stews, and savory dishes in general, and is removed before the dish is served.

Spice-Salt

An excellent and convenient spice-salt can be made by thoroughly mixing the following ingredients:

1 1/2 teaspoon powdered thyme
1 1/2 teaspoon bay leaf
1 1/2 teaspoon pepper
3/4 teaspoon rosemary
3/4 teaspoon marjoram
3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or powdered capsicums
1 tablespoon powdered clove
1 tablespoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons salt to every 4oz of this mixture
Keep this mixture in an air-tight container. Two tablespoons of this mixture added to three pounds of stuffing, or ground meat of any kind, makes a delicious seasoning.