Category:Herbs
What is the definition of a herb
The Oxford English Dictionary holds the definition of a herb under 2 contradictory descriptions:
- Any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavouring, food, medicine, or perfume
- Any non woody seed bearing plant which dies down to the ground after flowering
In general I'm inclined to use the only first definition, otherwise, by following the second definition, bay is not a herb and and cabbage is!
Fresh herbs or dried herbs?
Most herbs are best fresh. A few, such as bay, parsley, oregano/ marjoram, thyme and mint are ok when dried, but still need to be renewing every year as they lose flavour quickly. Scribble a date on the container when you buy it; you'll be amazed how quickly time passes!
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Bunches of herbs in a French market
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Herb mill
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Using a mezzaluna to chop dried shrimp
Growing your own herbs
If you have the opportunity then grow your own herbs. You don't need a garden, a pot or a window box will do perfectly. There is nothing like the satisfaction of picking herbs and taking them straight to the pot.
Where to buy unusual herbs
I have recently order various 'odd' herbs and spices from the Spice Shop, and they provided excellent service so may be worth a look if you are trying to obtain those hard to find items.
Chopping herbs
Whilst you can chop herbs using a sharp knife there are other ways of doing this, especially if you want the herbs chopped finely. Firstly, you can use a mezzaluna which is a knife consisting of a single or double curved blade with a handle on each end. It is often used for chopping herbs or very large single blade versions are sometimes used for pizza or pesto.
Mezzaluna means "half moon" in Italian, after the curved shape of the blade, and is the most common name used in the UK. Other names used include herb chopper or hachoir which is its French name. They may be found sold with a cutting board that has a shallow indentation in it, and marketed as a herb chopper.
Another gadget is a herb mill. These can come under various guises such as the rotary mill, press top chopper and a mill that twists. Personally I find that the rotary mill tends to mangle the herbs and the press top more suited to the coarse chopping of herbs. For fine chopping I like to use a twist mill - see illustration.
See also
Pages in category ‘Herbs’
The following 132 pages are in this category, out of 132 total.
A
- Aglio Bianco Polesano (Polesano white garlic)
- Ail blanc de Lomagne (Lomagne white garlic)
- Ail de la Drôme (Drôme garlic)
- Ail fumé d'Arleux (Arleux smoked garlic)
- Ail rose de Lautrec (Lautrec pink garlic)
- Ajo Morado de Las Pedroñeras (Las Pedroñeras purple garlic)
- Alfalfa
- Amaranth
- Angelica
- Arrowroot
- Asafoetida
B
C
G
K
L
M
Q
S
T
- Tarragon
- Taste Sensation All Purpose Seasoning
- Taste Sensation Cajun Seasoning
- Taste Sensation fajita seasoning
- Taste Sensation Fiery Moroccan marinade favouring
- Taste Sensation harissa seasoning
- Taste Sensation Italian seasoning
- Taste Sensation Jalapeno and Lime Seasoning
- Taste Sensation Mexican seasoning
- Taste Sensation Philly cheesesteak seasoning
- Taste Sensation Piri Piri seasoning
- Taste Sensation Spicy Mango Marinade Flavouring
- Tex Mex Glaze Dry Rub
- Thousand Island dressing
- Thyme