Growing and Cooking With Culinary Herbs

People have been growing herbs and cooking with herbs for centuries. But their unique, robust flavors and aromas have inspired a huge array of uses over their long history of cultivation. Ancient Greeks crowned their heroes with dill. They also used parsley to cure stomach ills. In the Middle Ages, mint was used to purify drinking water. Early Dutch settlers in America even grew chives in pastures so their cows would eat it and produce chive-flavored milk.

 

 

While medicinal herbs tend to be woody plants and shrubs, culinary herbs are generally leafy plants. The addition of culinary herbs can take a simple dish and add a burst of flavor. The rich flavors can often be used to replace less healthy additives such as salt, sugar and other fats. Cooking with herbs uses all different parts of the plant—leaves, berries, buds, fruits, bark or roots.

 

Cooking with herbs provides more than flavor to your favorite dishes. Some experts believe herbs have medicinal properties and can promote good health. Many herbs contain powerful antioxidants that fight disease.

 

The popularity of culinary herbs can be seen in your grocery store's produce section. Many herbs such as basil, rosemary, thyme, parsley and mint are available fresh. But you can also grow your own. Growing herbs can serve as a fruitful hobby. Herbs can grow in any environment, including indoors, and they don't take as much room as a full garden. They require minimal care and have few problems with insects or disease.

 

This section will look at some uses for popular culinary herbs as well as ways of growing herbs in your home garden.

This flavorful, culinary herb is easy to grow and adds a splash of unique flavor to dishes. Sausages often are flavored with anise.

Basil ranks among the most important culinary herbs. Noted for its importance to French cuisine, basil is today used in a number of cuisines.

From sauces to curries, coriander and its leaves, commonly called cilantro, form a staple of culinary herb collections. Discover the uses and cultivation of coriander.

Cooking with cumin spices up Indian dishes, especially curries. If you like smoky flavor but don't want too much heat in your dishes, try cumin.

Chefs enjoy cooking with dill for its versatility. From soups to salads to pastas, dill can add flavor to a number of dishes.

A staple of Italian and French cooking, fennel is one of the hardiest herbs and among the easiest to grow. A salad made with oranges, red onions and fennel is a perfect first course.

Growing mint rewards gardeners with a pleasant-tasting, aromatic herb. Drinks, salads and meats are enhanced with mint.

One of the most frequently grown culinary herbs, parsley provides cooks with variety and flavor. Once used solely to garnish plates, parsley is now used by a number of cooks to flavor dishes.

Highly aromatic, sage takes an important spot on the list of culinary herbs. Cooking with sage brings out the flavor of luscious meats, among other things. Chicken is delicious when roasted with sage.

 

 

Food Reflections (2008). Healthy Cooking With Fresh Herbs. Retrieved March 28, 2008, from the University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension of Lancaster County Web site: http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/ftapr03.htm.

 

Herb Research Foundation (2008). Herb Information Packet Series. Retrieved March 28, 2008, from the Herb Research Foundation Web site: http://www.herbs.org/.

 

West Virginia University Extension Service (2008). Growing Herbs in the Home Garden. Retrieved March 28, 2008, from the West Virginia University Extension Service Web site: http://www.wvu.edu/~agexten/hortcult/herbs/ne208hrb.htm.