How long has it been since I did an installment of The Herb Series? Yeah, I can’t remember either. A bit strange, especially as it’s one of my favorites pieces to do; I love learning interesting tidbits about everyday things in our lives. So this time around I decided to look at an herb that’s everywhere, from toothpaste to cocktails. Mint has been used by folks for what seems like forever, so get comfortable and let’s chat about this common herb with the uncommon flavor.
It’s that time again gang. I noticed it had been awhile since I did an Herb Series installment, and this time around I’m going to talk about one that doesn’t get a whole lot of love. Having the appearance and texture of something you just raked up in your back yard, bay leaves sometimes get a bit of a bad rap. But I’m going to talk about some of the good reasons why you should add (and then remove) bay to your cooking. So let’s get to it…
In this edition of the herb series, I’m going to be talking about a major player in the culinary scene, one that just about everyone is familiar with and stars in a slew of dishes, basil. It isn’t referred to as the “King of Herbs” for nothing. But we’ll get into that in a few…
Although you can’t really go by the weather here in the mid-South, it is in fact spring, and that reminded me that I had not done an installment of the Herb Series in quite awhile. I decided to explore an herb that maybe a lot of you haven’t heard of, and if you have perhaps you aren’t certain what its primary uses are. So sit back, relax and let’s have a little chat about chervil.
In my fourth installment of The Herb Series, I wanted to take a look at an herb that doesn’t receive the usual bright lights and raves that others such as cilantro and parsley get. And yet its use in various recipes are both long-standing and wide-ranging; anethum graveolens. And for all you non-scientific folks out there, dill.
As we like to say here in the South, “It’s fall, y’all!!” And for some reason unknown to me, sage is an herb that I have always associated with autumn. Is it that it’s the perennial pairing of choice with those other ubiquitous ingredients of fall, butternut and acorn squash? Is it the appealing mossy-green color or the earthy scent? Who knows. What matters is that sage is a lovely and versatile herb that has been in our food, medicine and perfume throughout history. And this week, I’m going to talk about it.
Sage has basically been in regular medical use for millennia, and what exactly it was used for was dependent upon the culture. The ancient Egyptians applied it in the use of women’s fertility, while the Greeks steeped the leaves to make a kind of tonic-like tea. And let us not forget Four Thieves Vinegar, that 14th-century concoction put together by those wanting to treat the plague.