THE USE OF HERBS IN COOKING:
Herbs have many uses in the kitchen. Herbs are the most frequently used ingredient for flavouring food. Apart from flavouring and adding aroma and nutritional value to food, herbs are put to several other uses, such as potpourris, that are used as aromatic placements in houses. Some herbs are also used in making herbal pillows that are believed to induce sleep.
| Uses of herbs | Description |
| Flavouring | Herbs can be chopped, minced, torn and added to soups and stocks, or they can be added in the form of bouquet garni which means “bunch of herbs”. A traditional bouquet garni consists of a few sprigs of parsley, thyme, leeks, and bay leaves. Chopped herbs are used in sausages and stuffing for various kinds of cold cuts. Herbs can also be used for flavouring cheese, cakes, breads, and cookies. |
| Garnishing | Herbs are commonly used for garnishes. They can be minced finely as in case of parsley or used whole in food and also dessert. Some of classic ways of using herbs for garnish are:
Fine herbs: this is popular herb mixture used for garnish in French cuisine. It generally comprises fine minced such as parsley, tarragon, chervil, and thyme. Deep-fried: herbs such as parsley, basil, curry leaves, and rosemary are deep-fried in oil at the temperature of 80*c. This helps the herbs to retain their colour and become crisp. Sprigs: the fresh sprigs of herbs are kept in iced cold water until they become crisp. |
| Seasoning | Saltless seasoning: a mixture of dried herbs, such as dill, thyme, and oregano, are combined with dried onion, sesame seeds, black pepper, dried lemon peel, paprika, and garlic powder to make saltless seasoning. Because of rising health problems, salt-free seasoning are becoming common in health food.
Herbal salts: powdered salt or rock salt is mixed with dried herbs to make herbal salts. To make herbal salt, store the fresh herb in salt in an airtight container for few months. The salt then can be churned in a mixture or ground in a mortar and pestle so that the dried herbs blend well. |
| Herbal oils | Oil can be flavoured by one or more herbs. These oils are used for making vinaigrettes or dressings for salads and also used for glazing meat or used as a sauce such as basil oil in Italian cuisine. |
| Herbal vinegars | In olden days, herbs were infused in vinegar or wine for their preservation. This led to flavoured vinegars and wines. To make herbal vinegars, combine fresh herbs with good quality white wine vinegars and keep the jar in sunlight for at least two weeks so that the flavours infuse in the vinegar. |
| Herb butter | It is made by combining softened butter with chopped herbs. This kind of flavoured butter is also known as compound butter. Some of the most commonly made herbal butter are:
Cafe de Paris butter: this butter is created by the chef of cafe de Paris restaurant in Geneva. The butter is creamed and mixed with ingredients such as herbs, spices, and other condiments such as oregano, marjoram, dill, rosemary, mustard, tarragon, garlic, shallots, parsley, chives, capers, Worcestershire sauce and anchovies. Maitre d’Hotel butter: this is made by creaming of butter, along with lemon juice and chopped parsley. It is also kniwn as buerre a la bourguignon in French. The butter can be used for making sauce or as a stuffing in poulet a la kiev. Chive butter: this is made by creaming butter and adding finely sliced chives. |
| Herbal drinks | Since centuries, herbs have been drunk as herbal decoctions that are believed to be a cure for many ailments including cancer. Before the advent of medicines, it was herbs and spices that were used as medicines. In hotels different kinds of herbal drinks are served such as:
Herbal tea Herbal water Cocktails & Mocktails |
| Sauces and Spreads | Apart from flavouring, herbs can also be combined and cooked to make sauces, soups, and spreads that can be served in variety of ways, such as:
Herb sauce Mint sauce Spreads and marinades |