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In Season Herbs
These small garden treasures are packed with distinctive flavors and fragrant aromas that make everyday fare simply extraordinary. Here’s a sampler of summer herb favorites.
Basil
Characteristics:
- Intense sweet and spicy flavor, often described as a blend of licorice and cloves.
- Signature herb in Mediterranean and Italian cuisines.
- Available in other varieties, such as lemon, clove, cinnamon, and Thai basil.
Herb Ideas:
- Toss chopped basil with mixed salad greens.
- Sprinkle sliced tomatoes with chopped basil, Parmesan cheese and olive oil.
Recipes to try:
Cilantro
Characteristics:
- Extremely aromatic with a pungent, acidic flavor.
- Sometimes referred to as Mexican parsley or Chinese parsley
- This flat-leaf parsley look-alike is a global herb used in Mexican, Indian, Middle Eastern and Asian cuisines.
Herb Ideas:
- Stir into sour cream, salsa or dips.
- Add to chicken salad.
Recipes to try:
Chives
Characteristics:
- Bright green with hollow stems.
- Delicate onion flavor.
- Heating chives diminishes their flavor, so add right before serving.
Herb Ideas:
- Sprinkle over grilled or roasted vegetables.
- Stir into cream cheese or cottage cheese.
Recipes to try:
Mint
Characteristics:
- Strong, sweet flavor and cool aftertaste.
- Although “mint” encompasses numerous varieties of this herb, peppermint, and spearmint are the most notable.
- Adventurous cooks may want to try chocolate, pineapple and apple mint.
- Peppermint has large, bright green leaves and spearmint has small, dustier gray-green leaves.
Herb Ideas:
- Slightly bruise leaves, and add to your favorite beverage (tea, lemonade, sparkling water)
- Stir chopped mint into chocolate sauce or hot fudge sauce, and serve over cake or ice cream.
Recipes to Try:
Parsley
Characteristics:
- Distinctive tangy, peppery flavor.
- Most popular in the U.S. is curly leaf parsley, which has small, curly, dark green leaves. In most of Europe, however, flat-leaf parsley or Italian parsley, with its flat, dark green leaves, is more popular.
Herb Ideas:
- Stir chopped parsley into tuna salad or egg salad filling for sandwiches.
- Toss with melted butter or olive oil and cooked vegetables.
- Make a parsley pesto by using half basil and half parsley in your favorite pesto recipe.
Recipes to Try:
Sage Advice
- Home-grown fresh herbs should be picked early in the morning after the dew has evaporated but before the sun is too strong. Pick the tops of the herbs (about 2 to 3 inches) because those leaves contain the most oils.
- Most fresh herbs can be stored in the refrigerator. Wrap stems of fresh herbs in a damp paper towel, then put the herbs in a plastic bag and refrigerate.
- For herbs like mint, parsley and cilantro, fill a small jar or glass with about 2 inches of water. Place the stems in the water, and place a plastic bag over the herbs. Secure with a rubber band around the neck of the jar.
- Experimenting with a new herb or adding fresh herbs to a recipe? Use 1 teaspoon of fresh herbs for every four servings the recipe makes. Taste the recipe to decide if you have enough herbs. If you’d like a little more, add a little at a time until the flavor is right.
- Fresh herbs can’t be beat, but if you’d like to (or need to) use dried herbs, substitute in a 3-to1 ratio. For every 3 teaspoons of fresh herbs, you’ll need 1 teaspoon of dried herbs.
Herb Blends
The best way to combine different herbs is to experiment, starting with two or three and then adding from there, depending on the recipe. Start with these tried-and-true herb mixtures.
Fines Herbes is terrific for delicately flavored foods like green salads, eggs and cream sauces. Make this with equal parts of summer favorites chives, chervil, parsley and tarragon.
Bouquet Garni is a French-inspired herb combination used to flavor soups, stews, casseroles and even rice and grains. Wrap a whole bay leaf, thyme sprig and several parsley sprigs in a small piece of cheesecloth or linen, and tie with string; simmer in the liquid or mixture.
Mixed Herbs are a bit stronger than Fines Herbes so correspondingly are used with more robustly flavored foods like meat, fish and some vegetables. Make with equal parts of sage, thyme, marjoram and parsley.
Summer Herbs, Winter Flavor
Freezing
- You can freeze herbs either before or after chopping.
- Herbs such as dill week, sage, rosemary and thyme can be rinsed, lightly dries and then placed in a heavy plastic freezer bag while still on the stem. When you want to use the herbs, toss them whole in soups or stews, or snip the leaves into measuring spoons or directly into recipes.
- Another option is to rinse the herbs, remove the leaves from the stems and dry the leaves thoroughly – several hours on paper towels works well. Freeze in heavy plastic freezer bags.
- You can also chop rinsed herbs and place in small containers or plastic bags. These will freeze in small clusters, so to use, just break off the amount you need.
- If you use an herb blend frequently, mix and freeze it in small containers or bags.
Drying
- The best way to dry fresh herbs is the old-fashioned way of air-drying. The slow removal of moisture leaves the concentrated herb oils behind.
- Herbs with low moisture, such as sage, dill weed, bay leaves, rosemary and marjoram, dry faster and easier and are less susceptible to mold. Higher-moisture herbs, such as basil, mint and tarragon, should be dried in small batches and may take longer.
- To dry, rinse herbs (on stems) with water, and dry with paper towels. Cut small holes in a paper bag. Place herbs, stem end toward the top, in the bag, and seal the bag or tie stems with string. The holes provide air circulation and the bag keeps out dust and other contaminants. Hang the bag in a warm, airy room for at least two weeks or until herbs are dry. After they’re dry, store up to one year in a covered container.
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