Herbs are used for many many things, for health, for cleaning and disinfecting, preserving, for flavor and for religious rituals. Obviously I'll be focusing on the flavor ad health aspects of herbs. I think they are truly important. There are four major groups that utilize herbs and they use them very distinctively different. Chinese, European, Ayurvedi or Indian and Native American.
The Chinese use herbs and spices for medicine, and we owe our medicinal knowledge to them and their creation of agriculture. While the Chinese don't cook much with many herbs, they consume them whole or mixed into their teas and hot drinks. East Indians use it for their whole identity. Everything iconic about East Indian cooking is spice and herby and full of flavor. Europeans usage of herbs and spices is how we identify our flavor profiles. We are the most comfortable with a European and Mediterranean approach to flavoring our foods. Most combinations stay relatively the same. Simon and Garfunkel didn't get it wrong when they sang parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme for those savories and cinnamon, cardamom, garlic, bay and clove. Once the Mediterraneans jumped in and offered some help did their flavor profiles wake up with mint, caraway, allspice, basil and various peppers. Native Americans are even more medicinal like the Chinese. Rarely do they use spices and herbs for their cuisine traditionally, but when they did, they utilized sumac, file or sassafras, wintergreen, wild ginger, oak and acorn. I love that! This world is an amazing place, and it's humans are so inventive and adaptable.
Fresh herbs are best used fresh. Proper storage will help in prolonging their life. They shouldn't be stored for more than 2 days. Delicate varieties like cilantro and basil should be first wrapped in damp paper towels before they are placed in bags for storage in the fridge.
To dry herbs, hang them up by their stalks to dry in a cool place. Drying them concentrates their flavors and can be stored for up to a year. You can freeze herbs easily in ice cube trays with water or oil and then dropped directly into sauces or curries straight from the freezer.
It's not practical to store your herbs in the freezer or fridge, but certain spices are doable. Basil, cilantro, ginger, peppercorns, coffee and cinnamon.
Every kitchen should contain basil, sage, thyme, oregano, bay, cinnamon, parsley, mint, chervil, dill and coriander and either red pepper or cayenne. I didn't list rosemary, wanna know why? Think back to the last time you used straight up rosemary. Unless you were cooking a lamb, probably not. A blend with rosemary, garlic, onion and various peppers is pretty much all you'll need. Try an Italian blend. I know it's hard to buy spices in expensive small quantities. Unless you're a spice guru then you don't need large quantities. You'd be surprised the difference in flavor of new spice and old.
-Seeds not necessary: When you first start out trying to grow fresh herbs, I recommend you begin by trying to grow from seedlings rather than planting your own seeds. These great little starter plants are widely available in grocery stores in the late spring. For the same price as a packet of fresh herbs from the produce section, you can buy your own little starter plant. Lots can go wrong in the seed to seedling transition (including not thinning out plants properly), so its probably best to begin by skipping that complicated task or you are in danger of washing out before you really begin.
-A Variety:I recommend you start by trying to grow fresh basil first. It is the perfect trainer herb. First, basil grows quickly, allowing you to observe the effects of your care more easily. Second, basil leaves wilt visibly when not watered enough, but recovers well if you water the wilted plant. This makes basil a great ‘canary in the mineshaft’ to help you figure out how much water is enough.
-Herbs are like houseplants? NO! Water herbs a moderate amount every day. While some houseplants flourish with one solid watering per week, most delicate herbs require moderate and regular watering. This is particularly true during hot summer months. If you have good drainage at the bottom of your pot (at least a drainage hole, possibly rocks beneath the soil), it will be difficult to water herbs too much.
-To cut or not to cut: It may seem like your puny little plant just isn't ready for a trip to the barber, but then you will find yourself sitting there wishing for leaves without much success. Again, basil is a great herb to practice pruning. As with all herbs, you want to cut the herb just above a set of growing leaves. With basil, when you cut the plant that way, the originally trimmed stem will no longer grow. However, two new stems will grow around the original cutting, creating a “V” shape. If you don’t trim basil aggressively, it will continue to grow straight up, and become too tall and top-heavy. Making your first trim approximately 3-4” above the soil produces a nice sturdy plant. Of course you want to be sure you are always leaving a few good sturdy leaves on the plant (see below). As it continues to grow, continue to prune it approximately every 3-4" for a nice solid plant. I like to let it grow for some time and then cut back to within 2-3 inches of the original cut. After only a few early trial cuts, this usually makes for a nice clipping with plenty of basil to use for a pizza.
-Plant food? Tired soil that has been sitting in your garden or lawn for ages often looks grey and a little depressing. Would you want to grow in that stuff? Give your plants a dose of the good stuff and they'll thank you for it. I grow my herbs in a combination of potting soil, coffee grounds and compost. Miracle grow is very useful.
My #1 tip is plant with your littles. They love getting their little hands dirty, they will listen and learn a lot more than you think they will and it's good quality time you get to spend with them. When we finally moved to an actual house with a yard, one of the first things I wanted to do was plant with my child. It was like a fairy tale dream to finally get him out there with shovels and starter plants. We talked about garden fairies giving love to the plants, and thinking about all the wonderful foods we were going to make with whatever grew. I knew that my child felt special and learned something valuable. He always talks about his sweet 100's and it always makes me smile. I am grateful that at his elementary school they have a community garden and they teach the children how to grow different herbs and vegetables and helps to reinforce the things I'm teaching at home. So don't forget, they are great diggers and great at watering too. And remember, herbs like oregano, rosemary, thyme, coriander, parsley etc can all be transplanted outside at the end of the summer season. They'll be happy to pot up in spring and make you look like you're a garden expert. Remember, when planting in the ground, do not place dill or rosemary next to the delicate varieties like basil, chervil, parsley and chive. Dill and rosemary will overtake those herbs and become so huge you're jaw will drop. I choose to keep rosemary and dill in pots so they don't cross pollinate or go cray cray. I also don't recommend planting mint near your other herbs. Plant it in walk ways, small planter boxes or next to sidewalks, it will thrive.
You can mix the herbs, or keep it to one variety. I recommend keeping some individual frozen basil alone not mixed with anything else. Once the herbs are frozen, place them into plastic bags and label them.
Here's some great ways to use these wonderful flavor cubes:
- Melt a cube in a saute pan before scrambling eggs or making an omelet
- Use them to saute fresh vegetables
- Rub on top of hot corn on the cob
- Slice pats on top of grilled steak
- Saute chicken or fish on the stove-top
- Drop in a pot of homemade soup
- Add to pasta sauces
- Toss a couple with fresh hot pasta or ravioli
- Soften and spread on french bread and broil until golden brown
- Melt on hot baked potatoes
- Toss with roasted vegetables, either pre or post roasting
Have you seen these kitchen tools? This one is called Herbsicle it's $7.95
You simply pack fresh, leafy herbs into the cylinder, twist on the cap and handle and pop it into the freezer. Turn the handle to dispense the frozen herbs, and then grate or cut off just the right amount you need for soups, stews and other flavorful recipes. It's pretty cool and works great.
This one is called Looseleaf Kale and Herb it's also $7.95
You separate your stems and drag them through the holes. This cleanly removes the herbs and woody stalks from herbs and lettuces, kales, collard and chard.
This one is called Prepara Oil Mister it's $15.00
Perfect for seasoning salads, misting cookie trays, grilling meats etc. Simply add desired oil and herb blends, spritz and add flavor to lots of things.
This one is called Joseph compact herb chopper $22.95
This innovative tool comes with a herb chopper housing unit that doubles as a chopping surface. The herb chopper chopping surface is also slightly concave making it easier to control on the surface as well as keep the chopped foods on the choppers surface. When you are finished chopping it is easy to transport the food to pot, pan, or bowl.
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