Tips on Cooking with Herbs

  I gathered this info from a website called Cooking with Herbs 1-2-3.  It seems to have some good ideas and lessons so I thought I'd share.

1. Take a clean leaf of the herb and chew but don't swallow.  Experience your herbs like you would a fine wine; check the fragrant bouquet, let the leaf meet the tongue and chew thoughtfully. It is not necessary to swallow. Learning about the flavor of the herb this way will help you to decide if it will make the perfect pot roast or sorbet.

2. Add fresh chopped herbs (one at a time) to something bland yet familiar, like cottage cheese, plain yogurt or potatoes. This allows the intensity of the herb to stand on its own and helps you to know how much of the herb to add.

3. Just start playing; add a little Rosemary or Tarragon to the potatoes or the chicken; sprinkle some Oregano on your pizza or pasta; lay sprigs of Thyme on your roast.  Keep notes, at least at first of what was pleasing, how much was used and what didn’t work. Note whether the herbs were fresh or dried or a combination of both. You will find this invaluable, especially when you start blending herbs together to get more complex flavors

The most flavorful culinary herbs are harvested from well tended plants in their leaf making stage. All herbs have two phases of growth: the leaf stage and the flower (or reproductive stage). When the plant enters its flowering stage, leaf production slows or stops and the leaves on the plant may become bitter, grassy, woody, or yellowed. These leaves are not of optimum quality for cooking. Flowering can be delayed by harvesting kitchen herbs often.  If your herbs grow too fast to use them all fresh, dry or process the extra for later use.

Flowers do make colorful, fragrant garnishes for salads, sautés, and desserts. And, you might want to consider growing two of the same culinary herb, one that can be allowed to flower and one that can be kept pruned for leaf production. Or, just enjoy both phases of growth on a single plant.  After flowering, herbs should be cut back to encourage bushy new growth.

Home grown herbs will delight and surprise you with their clean, sharp flavors. Our Kitchen Herb Garden Six Pack (below) is our choice for the six most essential perennial cooking herbs.

CHIVES:
      
Chives add a dash of flavor and elegance to so many different foods that it is amazing the humble baked potato made them a household word. Chives are best used fresh, but may be frozen. Fresh, they can be chopped fine and sprinkled on corn on the cob, soft cheeses, and salads. Chives are usually added at the end of cooking so that the delicate flavors are not lost.

English Thyme:

Leaves may be small, but they pack a powerful punch. Thyme is one of the savory herbs, which are main course herbs used to flavor hearty meals, bone warming soups, and piquant sauces. They blend their essence with other savory herbs like Tarragon and Winter Savory to create memorable flavors.  Try this one with Salmon: two sprigs each Tarragon, Parsley, and Dill, and one sprig of Thyme. Thyme has a warming flavor that is perfect with winter thyme treats like Baked Butternut Squash.

Spanish Tarragon:

This herb is sumptuous with meats, vegetables and its slight sweetness makes it perfect for rice, pasta and dessert dishes.  It can be used alone or in conjunction with other herbs like Basil to flavor White Wine Vinegar. Chopped Tarragon added during steaming or barbecuing can improve almost any white fish.


GREEK OREGANO:

Dried Greek Oregano is a great way to get through the winter blues. It can be used for herbal marinades or can be added near the end of cooking to any tomato based sauce, sauté, stir fry, or egg dish. Try a sprinkle of dried Greek Oregano on your next grilled cheese sandwich. Fresh or dried Oregano can also be combined with other herbs to make a herb crusting mix for pork chops, tenderloins, or chicken breasts. When substituting dried herbs for fresh herbs, one tablespoon of fresh herbs equals about one teaspoon of dried herbs.

ROSEMARY:

Cooking with Rosemary can be as simple as chopping a few leaves to add to a leftover turkey sandwich or as elegant as mixing a bit of chopped fresh Rosemary with salt, pepper, and flour to rub on Cornish game hens for roasting. Because the leaves are thick, always chop them as finely as possible. Go cautiously at first because a little Rosemary goes a long way. Or, use whole stems by adding them near the end of cooking and then remove as you would a bay leaf.

SAGE:

Besides the traditional use in stuffing, Sage is good with pork, sausage, other meats, and cheese. It is often combined with Thyme and used with beans and in soups. Spice up hamburger night with a blend of freshly chopped or dried Sage, Mint, Rosemary, Oregano and Basil