Cooking With Herbs Part 1

“As for rosemary, I let it run all over my garden walls, not only because my bees love it but because it is the herb sacred to remembrance and to friendship." Sir Thomas More (1478-1535)

I just totally love cooking with herbs. It is one of the tastiest and healthiest ways to enhance the flavours of food without adding one calorie or a gram of fat. The usage of fresh herbs brings a wonderful and complex flavour to any dish, whether it is poultry, fish, beef, pork, soups, stews, or sauces. The most commonly fresh herbs used in everday cooking is: Bay Leaves, Basil, Coriander, Marjoram, Mint, Oregano, Parsley, Rosemary, Sage, Tarragon and Thyme. Herbs in their dried form are more concentrated than fresh and should be used a bit more sparingly than fresh herbs.

 

TWO MAIN TYPES OF HERBS:

 

Woody Herbs:

Extremely powerful in their flavour. Added in the beginning stages of cooking and sometimes removed once the cooking process is complete. They also dry very well and is a worth substituting instead of using the fresh woody herbs. Examples of your woody herbs are: bay leaves, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, sage and thyme.

 

Soft Herbs:

These herbs are less pungent than your woody herbs. Due to their very delicate flavour they are eaten either raw or added 5min before the cooking process is complete. Soft herbs are also mostly used in salads. As the soft herbs have a soft flavour it is best to use fresh instead of the dried verstion. Examples of soft herbs are: basil, chervil, chives, coriander, dill, parsley and tarragon.

 

“Pounding fragrant things -- particularly garlic, basil, parsley -- is a tremendous antidote to depression. But it applies also to juniper berries, coriander seeds and the grilled fruits of the chilli pepper. Pounding these things produces an alteration in one's being -- from sighing with fatigue to inhaling with pleasure. The cheering effects of herbs and alliums cannot be too often reiterated. Virgil's appetite was probably improved equally by pounding garlic as by eating it.” Patience Gray, Cookery Author

 

COOKING WITH HERBS:

 

Cooking with herbs completes a dish. As a beginner cook it maybe extremely overwhelming at first. So many herbs and so many recipes to choose from - where does one begin? Using a recipe that includes herbs is the perfect way to get started. The pleasure comes when the distinctive flavour of each herb is fully understood and has a signature of your very own creation.

 

Here is a few tips to help:

 

Obtain a clean fresh leaf of a herb, and chew it slowly, move it slowly around the mouth, enjoy and experience the leaf as one may do to a very fine wine. Let the leaf meet all your taste senses. Think about the flavour of the herb: Is it very strong? or soft and delicate? Is it sweet or savoury? Think about what food may compliment a dish/food. You don't have to swallow the herb if you don't want to.

 

Add freshly chopped herbs to something that is familiar to you and slightly bland in flavour, for example add chives to sour cream, rosemary to potatoes, thyme to bacon. The power of the herb on its own assists you to know how much to add. Have a little "herb note book" and make notes of what herbs you used and whether it complimented the dish or not. If it was fresh or dried or a combo of both. Don't be afraid to experiement, and play around with flavours.

 

The best things about herbs you can even make use of the pretty little flowers. They make awesome little garnishes. Not only do they flavour a dish but also add colour and presentation is just as important. Pretty to the eyes - heaven on the taste buds. Flowers can be added to sauces, salads, sautes and desserts.

Freezing herbs: is a fantastic way of storing them for a longer period of time. Very gently clean the herbs, blot them dry with a paper towel, remove the leaves from the stalks, and pack your gorgeous little herbs in a freezer bag or air tight container. It is up to you if you would like to freeze them whole or chopped - entirely your choice. Another handy little trick that I do so often is to chopped different types of herbs and put in an ice tray, cover with water and freeze. Once required is to put a blog of ice or two in my soup or stew or sauce, and pop the rest back into the freezer for the next time.

Dried Herbs: most of the the herbs flavours and aromas is released by means of heat. Most of the time fresh herbs is required but you can also use dried versions. Use a sone mortar and pestle just before cooking to enhance the flavours of the herbs (bashing the herbs you release the oils that is in the herbs)

******Rule of thumb: 1 teaspoon crumbled or 1/4 teaspoon for powered/dried herbs for every tablespoon of fresh herbs.******

Fresh Herbs: when herbs ares for cold dishes ensure that the herbs are used at room tempreture. A variety of fresh herbs can be cohopped up very finely and added once the meat or dish is finnished cooking. Avoid mixing two very strong herbs together, instead use one strong herb and one with a milder flavour to compliment one another. When chopping fresh herbs chop the leaves very fine as the will release more of the herbs oils and flavours. You can make your own flavoured vinegars and oils simply by bruising (mortar and pestler or flavour shaker) one cup of herb leaves for every 2 cups of oil/vinegar. Allow for it to seep for 2 weeks.

IMPORTANT TIPS:  A few important tips to keep in mind when cooking with herbs:

Fresh herbs must always be fragrant, fresh looking and not wilted or have any discolouration.

Store your fresh herbs in a loosely wrapped damped paper towel and then in a perforated plastic bag that it can breath. Store in the crisper drawer in your refrigerator.

Add fresh woody herbs in the last 30min of your cooking as they loose a lot of their flavour and nutritional value if cooked any longer.

Herbs in uncooked dishes must be added an hour before serving as the herbs can fuse with the other foods and can be to overpowering.