Herbs

As of late, I received a special request from a certain someone to give my 2cents on the topic of herbs. You might be asking yourself... Who is this certain somebody that makes the request so special to wee-ole Kelsey?

HER BIG SISTER! OF COURSE!

My Reaction went a little something like this:

Raise the Roof!

YAAAY!

Then I composed myself & got to work.

A little insight on herbs. Kelsey Style.

To start off, it's nice to finish a dish with a sprinkling of chopped parsely or any other what have yous. This usually adds visual appeal to what ever you've made, which is good. There's nothing wrong with that.

I want to point out though, that more often than not, the actual act of herbing is more for yourself than that of the finished product. It marks the completion of a cooked recipe. It's sort of like a final "bun-nuh" on the drums to end a song. It's not really needed, does no harm, but makes you feel good about its finality - so it's welcomed.

Main thing to remember: never feel like you need/have to buy herbs, love herbs, advocate herbs, grow herbs, etc. etc. If you give in to any of these verbs with any kind of herb, don't feel bad... I get the same urges too.

Moving on.

Z (that's what I call my sister) asked for me to specify which herbs go with what. Fresh vs. Dried. Life expectancy. and some Storage Suggestings. So here goes nothing.

(Listed in order of appearance in my kitchen)

Parsley

Chive/Green Onions

Cilantro

Bay Leaves

Oregano

Thyme

Basil

Dill

Rosemary

Sage

Tarragon

I always store my herbs in the bag/original packaging from the grocery. Herbs will keep in the fridge for 5 days. Give or take 24hrs.

Parsley

Flat or Curly, hands down, the most generic herb. I prefer flat leafed, but that's just me.

Use it to garnish, marinate, and cook with just about anything.

I always buy it fresh. I don't really think dried parsley brings much to the table. (pun intended)

I never take the time to pick off the leaves, like I maybe should. I don't know if it's because I don't want to play the "He loves me, he loves me not" game with it or if it's because I'm lazy. Probably because I'm lazy. But, I simply scrunch the leaves together and chop what I need. Stems and all. Sometimes the chopped parts need a little extra mincing, so if this is the case, you know what to do.

Nigella Lawson even has a recipe where parsley is a main ingredient.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/nigella-lawson/bacon-and-tomato-hash-recipe/index.html

Click if you're curious.

Parsley goes good with bland tasting & looking food.

Chive/Green Onions 

I hardly ever buy chives. This is because with green onions you get twice the amount for half the price.

I usually cook with the white parts & garnish with the greens. When it comes to the amount of green onion's parts, white < green. Because of this, I always chop the greens and save in a bowl on my counter. They'll naturally dry & come in handy when garnishing soups, eggs, etc.   

Green onions are a must-have whenever making Asian cuisine. Fried rice, stir frys, chinese soups, etc. etc. all cry out for green onion just like they cry out for soy sauce.

Green onions go good with Asian-fare, creamy foods, and/or delicate flavors.

  

Cilantro

Cilantro is one of those "you either love it or hate it" type things. I love the stuff. I love it so much that I want to marry it. Okay, not that much.

Cilantro is all things Tex-Mex and Mexican fare. In my opinion, it needs to be eaten raw or as a garnish. If you cook with it, (by adding prolonged heat) its flavor tends to get lost. For instance, I used to add it to the beginning stages of my chicken tortilla soup & ended up having to add loads more @ the end. Now, I replace what once was cilantro with ground coriander seed. (Cilantro grows from coriander) And then garnish bowl by bowl, with fresh cilantro.

It has other ties with Asian recipes stemming from mainly Vietnam. These are flavors I'm unfamiliar with so far. But I felt like I should at least mention to inform.

Cilantro is good with spicy foods, firm fleshed fish, and pairs well w/acidic ingredients.

Bay Leaves 

I always buy dried.

I usually use no more than 3 bay leaves per recipe, since it's such a strong flavor.

Bay leaves are good with slow cooking pots of things like: beans, gumbos, soups, and stews.

 Oregano

Also, another strong flavored herb that I prefer to buy dried.

Oregano is of course, all things Greek. Oregano translates to "joy of the mountain" in Greek. I know this from watching hours on end of Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals. (I love to hate that woman)

An interesting little tid bit that I picked up some time ago about oregano, is that it's also great to use in Tex-Mex cooking. I use it in my chilis, Mexican soups, marination of taco meat, etc. etc.

Not to be out be outdone by Italian eatery, mind you. It's great as a pizza topper or cooked w/sauteed zucchini. (Inside joke to Z: Zoo-Cheen-Ee) As I'm writing this out, I'm realizing its versatility that I've never noticed before. Sorry about that, Oregano. Hope you & me are still cool.

Oregano goes good with Greek, Italian, and Mexican fare.

Thyme

I always have a bottle of dried thyme on hand. I sometimes buy fresh, but not usually. Mainly, because it goes bad before I have time (not thyme) to use it all up. I hate throwing away herbs, just like I hate throwing away flowers.

Thyme to me, is the All-American herb. I'm not saying that it actually is... so all you know-it-alls out there, (in my Jersey accent) shut ya pie hole. I say it's' All-American because it reminds me of meatloaf, chicken and dumplings, and all things beef. It adds so much savory flavor. It's warm/homey addition to a recipe is always magic.

Thyme is good in hearty, red-blooded & bred recipes.

Basil

I want to like fresh basil on its own like I want to like wine on its own.

It's just not there for me though.

With that, comes a bit of guilt. I feel like I should hang my head in shame to every great Italian cook that ever lived, is living, and will come to be. I buy it at least once a month in hopes I'll finally snap out of it & begin to love it. It's like I'm in church looking around @ everyone else understanding the gospel. While, I'm sitting there wondering why and if I'm the only one that just doesn't get it.

For some reason, it's flavor is too strong for me to enjoy my food. I like it in pestos and sometimes tear a leaf into my noodle soup, but that's about it. Whatever the reason, it's a misunderstood herb to me.

I can't talk about Basil without tipping my cap to Thai/Indonesian/other Asian cuisines. It's great in summer rolls, but I think it works well because of the other strong flavors it has to compete with.

Basil is good with sweet vegetables like: corn, yams, and carrots.

Dill

Fresh dill tastes like a cross between parsley
and cilantro, if the parsley and cilantro were a little spicy.

It's really a one of a kind flavor.

I don't often buy it for the same reason I don't often buy fresh thyme.

Dill is great for pickling cucumbers, mixing in potato salads, serving with fish, or adding to a dipping sauce like ranch, tartar, or a garlic mayo.

Dill is good to be creative with.

Rosemary

Fresh rosemary is reminscent of fresh thyme in the fact that the dried version has the same flavor, but the oils in the fresh make it appealing to buy. I have a jar of the dried stuff in my spice cabinent, but I rarely use it.

Rosemary is great with gamey meats like lamb, duck, and venison. This is probably why I rarely use it. Gamey meats turn me off.

Fresh rosemary is great for grilling though. A neat trick is to strip the leaves off of its branch & use the bare branch as a skewer. I think it to be really keen. I'm not that big of a rosemary expert, because like I said, I rarely use it.

Rosemary is good with smoked foods, sweet vegetables, and strong flavored meats.

Sage

If any herb could be argued against America's herb being thyme, it would have be sage.

Its flavor is definitely underrated, and is the key to any tasty Thanksgiving stuffing.
I myself, only buy it once a year come Thanksgiving. As much as sage is about American tradition, it can be used in other cuisines.

For instance, ricotta (hailing from Italy) benefits from the flavors of sage. Butter (Frenchies love this stuff) mixed with a little sage action never hurt anyone.

Sage is good with browned butter, squash, and turkey.

Tarragon

Tarragon tastes like licorice to me.

What's ironic is that I love black jelly beans. I don't care for fennel or Jager (shutters). I guess I'm monogamous with my black jelly beans when it comes to licorice tasting things.

As far as I'm concerned, the only thing tarragon is good for is to make tarragon vinegar. In which case, I leave the making of it up to Great Value @ Walmart. I've maybe used the stuff once to make a mignonette sauce for my oysters. (I threw most of it away too.)

So yah, this is basically a hate note to tarragon.

A Few Things to Remember.

A good rule of thumb (Everytime I use this expression, it reminds me of The Boondock Saints. I'm afraid at any minute, some hee-man woman is going to come barrelling around the corner and beat me up for saying it) when swapping dried herbs for fresh:

Use 3-4 times less the amount of dried to fresh herbs. This is because dried herbs' flavors are always concentrated & stronger. Example, if a recipe calls for 1Tbl of fresh thyme, reduce the amount to 1teas of dried thyme. You get the pic.

Herbs shouldn't be confused and used like you would a spice or seasoning. They're purpose is to add aroma and highlight the rest of the recipes best qualities.

*Bay Leaves & Green Onions aren't technically herbs, but I classify them as herbs for some reason. These two of the bunch are probably the only 2 you can actually cook with to extract flavor, making them again, not herbs. I guess to prove I'm open minded, I included them.

This has been herbs according to Kelsey.