Top 20 Herbs Used For Cooking : Part 1

There may not be a whole lot happening in the garden in this strange muddy late winter/early spring tease we are stuck in at the moment, but you can still satisfy your craving for herbs by experimenting with them in the kitchen!

Like me, you may have a decent collection of herbs and make a half-hearted, ignorant attempt to add them to a soup or stew occasionally, but you really aren’t confident or educated about how to use them well in your cooking.
I have challenged myself to learn how to use 20 of the most common culinary herbs to make my cooking more interesting, and I am happy to share what I have learned with you all! Here are the first 10 herbs in my list; the next 10 will be coming soon.
Why did I pick these particular herbs? I gave myself a few requirements for the 20 herbs that I have collected to learn about further.

• First, it had to be something that I had heard of. Reading through some of my herb books, I realize that there can be a LOT more that goes into seasoning your cooking than I am familiar with, so I want to start with the basics.
• It also needed to be an herb or spice that is used for savory cooking/ meals more than baking or desserts. I did this because I have more often used a recipe for baking (except for bread!) and have generally made things up as I go along when I cook meals. Because of this I feel like I need to know what I am doing more when I cook our meals whereas I just follow directions when baking! I also have always thought of baking & desserts as “fun cooking” and meals as more “necessary cooking” so I want to change that up & bring some fun to my everyday work!
• The herbs and spices had to be readily available. I used my own herb/spice cabinet for inspiration since just because I have an herb in my kitchen and sprinkle it on some meat or in a stew occasionally, I really don’t know much about them. I also used the grocery store’s stock to help fill out my list since I want them to be convenient for you all too.

Without further ado, here’s the first part of my list of 20 common herbs & how to use them in your cooking. I’ve included what parts are generally used, what the flavor is, what it pairs well with, when it should be added, and whatever else popped into my head as I went along. I haven’t included any health benefits of the herbs because I want this to be a useful blog post, not an entire book! In the coming months I’ll delve deeper into each herb individually and explore their health benefits further.

1. Basil. So I don’t think I can narrow down the flavor of basil since there are so many different types. Some taste & smell more reminiscent of lemon while others favor cinnamon. The curly variety of Sweet basil is what we generally call Italian Basil, which is the most common variety. People use either fresh or dried leaves & flowers as seasoning. Books I have read suggest using basil to flavor salads, soups, fish or chicken dishes, and pastas. Some even suggested combining basil with frozen fruits like watermelon and strawberries to capitalize on the contradiction between hot & cold. You can also infuse oils and vinegars with basil for a flavorful topping on salads or pastas. From what I have learned, adding basil to your pot when you begin to slow-cook something will infuse the basil flavor, but can make it less intense. Some chefs suggested both infusing it throughout the simmering and adding some as garnish right at the end for an extra pop of flavor. Note that fresh basil bruises & turns brown easily, so use it quickly or keep it covered. If you end up growing too much, you can also easily freeze basil on cookie sheets to save for winter.
2. Mint. Peppermint. Spearmint. Horsemint. There’s many different varieties of mint! Some have slightly different smells & intensities, but that is a post for another time. The mint has a slightly bitter camphorous (sharp, cooling, pungent) flavor. Ideally the best time to harvest the leaves from mint plants is on a hot sunny day, just before the flowers emerge. (John Lust)
   What to do with all the mint you can collect? Good question. I’m still not sure. Some ideas I’ve found include using mint to make tea, flavor drinks, garnish fruit, in meat sauce recipes, and in mint jellies. Really, I just grow mint for the fun of having a perennial herb that grows wild without much care from me. I am going to try adding it to my herbal lemonade this summer.
3.  Rosemary. Like the other herbs listed, you harvest the leaves & flowers to use in your cooking. The younger more tender sprouts can be used to flavor things like drinks, salads, sauces, and soups while the more mature leaves are used as a seasoning in things that are baked/cooked longer such as stuffing, biscuits, breads, cookies, jam, veggies, etc. Rosemary has a strong piney-nutmegish scent with a somewhat resinous, bitterish taste. A bit of research will quickly show that rosemary goes very well with lemon and garlic, especially over chicken. I love the smell of rosemary & have been working on incorporating it into our suppers. One of my most successful experiments included using a mixture of rosemary and nutmeg to season my roast sweet potatoes along with some coconut oil, brown sugar, and almond slices as a topping.
4. Sage. There are many varieties of sage in a number of different colors & textures. The flavor is generally described as warm, bitter, and somewhat astringent. The Food Network describes it as minty but earthy with light piney and citrus note. The leaves can be used fresh or dry; chefs suggest adding dried sage at the beginning of the roasting process to mellow it, while adding fresh sage toward the end because it has a more mild flavor. Many sources I read encouraged using a light hand as sage can be overpowering. Sage combines especially well with herbs like rosemary and bay leaf. Look to add sage to fatty meat recipes, cheeses, and sausages, but generally refrain from using it raw in salads.
5. Cumin. This hot, bitter herb is popularly used in many Spanish & Mexican dishes. It is an essential ingredient in curries & chilies. It is also used in some European cheese & bread. Though I didn’t enjoy an overwhelming amount of cumin in my suppers as a child, I now add it to many of our savory dishes like rice, venison stir-fry, chicken soups, etc.
6. Paprika. I just learned something new; paprika is made by grinding up sweet bell peppers (sometimes with bit of chili pepper, which obviously makes for a hotter end product) Paprika is great for adding color/interest and a little zing to your meals. It seems to go well with just about any savory dish from rice to potato wedges to eggs. You can add it to salsas, meat seasoning mixes, sauces, etc. Many sources suggested adding paprika at the end of the cooking time for your specific dish since heat can dull the color and flavor. I generally forget this bit of advice & add it while I am adding other seasonings when I start to cook my meal and it doesn’t seem to affect anything too terribly.
7. Lemon balm. I grew lemon balm last summer and besides brushing up against it to enjoy the lemony scent, I wasn’t sure what to do with it. I have researched some suggestions for using lemon balm both fresh and dried. This season I am going to try adding it fresh to my fruit, salads, and kombucha. We are also going to try to make a completely herbal lemonade from stevia and lemon balm by brewing it & letting it cool. I am going to try using it dry to enhance meat dishes that I flavor with lemon pepper, add it to soups for a little kick, and add it to some homemade dressing recipes I am working on. I would venture to say that it could go well with rosemary, basil, and mint since they all compliment lemon.
8. Chives. Chives seem to be a versatile, prolific herb that is easy to grow. To harvest you simply trim the long, slender leaves off at the base & snip them into little pieces with your kitchen scissors. (which are very hard to keep exclusively for your kitchen without having them get borrowed for other things) They have a delicate oniony/garlicish flavor depending on the type of chive you use. I’ve read suggestions to add them as garnishes to soups, sandwiches, salads, omelets and more. Though recommendations advice not to overcook them, some also suggest adding chives to vegetable stock, potato dishes, etc. I am excited to try growing and using chives this year because my family absolutely loves onions; I sauté a big sweet onion into our meals almost every day. Adding some oniony goodness into our dishes without having to remember to allot enough time for slow cooking them will be convenient. If you ask me, I would say that they could complement almost anything savory, because I happily add onion flavors to any dish rather indiscriminately.
9. Parsley. According to my herb book, parsley is the most common herb in home gardens and is generally used as a garnish and seasoning in small amounts. It has a mild, somewhat spicy, lemony flavor that my 3 year old would probably place under the heading of “ficy” like everything from salt to tomato. It is commonly found in Mediterranean and Italian dishes such as pastas, stews, and soups. It is generally suggested to add parsley while cooking. Parsley can be combined with Thyme and bay leaves to make the French combination, “bouquet garni” Not sure why you need to know that, but it might come in handy! It also compliments lemon, pepper, and garlic nicely. I’m excited to try to get a little patch of parsley growing in my herb garden this spring
10. Cilantro. Funny note; I swapped out coriander for cilantro as the 10th herb on my list just before I realized that they are the same plant! The dried seeds are generally referred to as coriander while the leaves are called cilantro. While it looks similar to parsley, cilantro has a much stronger lemon/sage flavor. Strangely enough, some people think cilantro tastes soapy because they can identify a chemical called aldehyde that is found in soap as well. Cilantro/Coriander is commonly used in Mexican, Asian, and Indian cooking. To keep the flavor at its peak, cilantro leaves should not be overcooked; add it at the end of your meal prep or use it raw. The flavor of the seed has been described as “warm, nutty, spicy, and orange-flavored.” The seed can be roasted to enhance their flavor and used either whole(some cultures eat them just like this as a snack) or ground. The ground seeds are combined with Cumin in Indian dishes.