Culinary Herbs

[digitS']

Which ones do you grow?


That's not me. In fact, I have more types of herbs than that but maybe that guy has a customer, like a restaurant, for the dill, basil and parsley I see growing there. I hope he has some thyme, sage and rosemary and, maybe, some anise hyssop and lemon verbena growing somewhere .

Here's a link to the University of Arkansas with a webpage of useful information on culinary herbs: LINK.

Funny about seasonings. I was recently looking at herbs used by Native Americans and went, "Oh, my!" Maybe they were used by a different tribe . It wasn't really that the plants were unusual to me. In fact, I have some of them in my yard. It's just that I had not thought of using them to flavor my food! No, some of those Black-eyed Susan I have around because they are pretty! What it is, is that my tastes have been strongly influenced by my European ancestors. I wonder how long it took them to adopt herbs from the other side of the continent to sprinkle on their food ..?

What do you grow and sprinkle on your food?

digitS'

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

i use a lot of the traditional aromatic herbs like dill, lemon & lime basil & a few of the traditional basils, oregano, i like lemon time better than cooking thyme, & sage. lavender can be used in cooking too but i have rarely done it. had it in cookies once & that was not my cup a tea!

when you look at some specific herbs they weren't all used in cooking to give taste, more for digestive purposes-like sage.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Mom used sage in her meat loaf. To me, meat loaf just doesn't taster right if it doesn't have a lot of sage in it.

The main herbs I grow and use have to include basil and oregano. I dehydrate those by the quart, they are that productive. I use a lot of them too, often fresh, but give some away. I also grow and use sage, parsley, dill, chives, and coriander. I'll include onions and garlic in this list though they are not generally sprinkled on my food. I'm growing shallots and celeriac for the first time this year, we'll see how those go.

The plant and seeds are properly called coriander, but if you use the leaves as an herb it's called cilantro. If I remember right Red is the one that straightened me out when I was misusing the terms. I used to mistakenly call the plant cilantro.

 

[aftermidnight]

Thyme, Thyme and more Thyme, need I say this is my favorite herb . To be more specific Winter or English Thyme. I use a LOT, mainly in soups and stuffing, a bowl of soup never goes to the table without a sprinkling of fresh Thyme on top. I have several large containers of the stuff.
I also grow Rosemary, Tarragon, Greek Oregano, Sage, Several kinds of Chives, Keeled Garlic, used in place of Chives in the winter. I use Basil but don't grow it. The last few years I haven't grown garlic, hasn't done well for me so I won't waste garden space on it. I also grow a few shallots and potato onions. I use so much Parsley I buy rather than grow, I'd need to have two whole rows dedicated to it. The last time I grew Dill DH weeded it out and my Water Cress mysteriously disappeared one day.

Annette

 

[digitS']

Sage has value as a digestive aid? I have seen that said about parsley.

I am determined to try parsley (instead of basil) in a tomato sauce. Can you believe that I've never done that? And yes, I'm quite sure that I said this last year.

Sage is a breakfast sausage ingredient. I don't make breakfast sausage often enough. For simplicity, all I need is ground beef, sage, garlic and salt.

If you want to include garlic as an herb, @Ridgerunner , how about chives? I was sorry to learn that they are an invasive some places. They grow easily for me but I've never seen them escaping gardens and off on their own. Anyway, I look forward to having chives and scrambled eggs soon.

Steve
Edit: there's @aftermidnight at the same moment, with chives. And thyme - yes, thyme is my meatloaf herb. With a sprig of rosemary on top . And now I see Ridgerunner has chives on his list.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I left thyme out though and I should have included it. I'd only had three mugs of coffee then so I'll use that as my excuse.

 

[aftermidnight]

Steve, Thyme is also good for the digestion. I have several varieties of winter Thyme, my favorite grows on stiff upright branches, the leaves tightly packed along the stems,and easy to strip off. It was just labeled Winter Thyme when I bought it, still looking for the exact name of the variety.
http://www.familieseatingbetter.com/2012/02/08/healthy-thyme-tips/

Annette

 

[Ridgerunner]

Annette, I'd love to know the name of that variety. The thyme I have is more of a creeping type and is rather challenging in stripping the leaves. I don't know if it would do well in my climate but it would be worth a try.

I have to go work on chicken broth, it needs to be strained, but if I can remember I'll search some later. That chicken broth has home-grown onions, garlic, chives, basil, oregano, and parsley in it.

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

forgot about chives. they do grow like a weed unless used up by cutting back each year. they seem to grown in clumps so i never think that they could be invasive.

 

[valley ranch]

Nana~wrinkley mint is a must. Garlic, broad leaf parsley(another must) I grow several other that have been mentioned but they are not must haves. Oregano for a sauce, thyme but I don't use it in food, I nibble on it now and then. Rosemary I like but too cold to grow it, maybe in the house one day.

Steve You can't choose between basil and parsley, they're both important, parsley is a must, basil is a should have, both are eaten as greens rather than herbs except in a few things most people don't eat, or do you use them differently?. Sage grows here. Chives but they too I don't consider a spice, I guess the can be to some.