Adding Flavor with Herbs

Hi Jessica,

I often want to use herbs to flavor my foods but never know which ones to use.  Could you please provide some guidance as to which herbs pair best with which foods?

Thanks,

Mary

Dear Mary,

Herbs can definitely be tricky.  I often find myself using All Purpose Seasoning because I don’t know what to use either!  I did some research about commonly used herbs and here’s what I found:

Basil:  The sweet basil variety is commonly used in Mediterranean dishes, especially Italian, and has a pungent licorice, clove-like flavor.  It is often used to flavor tomato sauces, pizzas, soups, salads and pasta dishes.  It is typically the key ingredient in pesto.

Bay leaf:  Dried bay leaves can be found in the spice section of grocery stores (fresh is difficult to find).  It has a pungent taste and adds great flavor to soups, stews, and braises.  Overuse of bay leaves may make the dish bitter.  Remove the bay leaf before serving.

Chives:  Chives have a mild onion flavor and go well with potatoes, soups, salads, eggs, and dips.  Chives can be used anywhere you want to add onion flavor without the pungency of onion.  Chives should be added towards the end of cooking to retain flavor.  Fresh chives are also an attractive garnish. 

Cilantro:  Cilantro is an herb that people often love or hate.  It has a pungent flavor, with a faint overtone of anise that some describe as “soapy”.  It is commonly used in Mexican, South American, Thai and Vietnamese cooking.  It has a distinctive flavor that lends itself well to spiced foods.  Use fresh cilantro to flavor salsas, soups, stews, salads, vegetables, fish, and chicken dishes.

Dill:  Dill has a light anise flavor.  It is used to flavor salads, seafood (especially salmon), omelets, cheeses, sauces and vegetables (especially pickles). 

Mint:  There are over thirty varieties of mint with peppermint and spearmint as the most popular.  Mint has a cooling flavor which pairs well with lamb, salads and vegetables such as carrots, bell peppers and tomatoes.  It also goes well in drinks and lemon or chocolate flavored desserts.  

Oregano:  Oregano is a pungent herb and is commonly used to season Mexican, Italian, Greek and Spanish dishes.  Use oregano to flavor vegetables, roast beef, lamb, chicken, soups, pasta sauces, pizza and salad dressing. 

Parsley:  Fresh parsley is often used as a garnish to add color or texture to a recipe since it has a mild flavor.  It comes in two varieties, curly and Italian flat leaf, the latter having a stronger flavor.  Fresh or dried parsley lends itself well to eggs, potatoes, soups, pasta, vegetables, fish, and poultry. 

Rosemary:  Rosemary is a very aromatic and pungent flavored herb.  It goes well with roasted lamb, garlic, and olive oil and can be added to slow cooking soups, meats (especially lamb), stews, sauces, etc.  It is typically used sparingly due to its strong flavor. 

Sage:  Sage is a strong flavored pungent herb with a slightly bitter flavor and musty aroma.  Use sage to flavor pork, beans, sausages, potatoes, cheese and stuffing.  Foods absorb the flavor of sage quickly so it is often used sparingly.

Tarragon:  Tarragon is commonly used in French cooking and has an anise, licorice-like flavor.  It goes best with chicken, fish and vegetables and is frequently used in béarnaise sauce.  Use sparingly since it can easily dominate other flavors.

Thyme:  Thyme has a subtle minty, lemon aroma and taste and is frequently used in American and European cuisine, especially French.  Thyme is often used to flavor meat, poultry, fish, vegetables, soups and cream sauces. 

Have fun cooking!

Jessica

In her free time, Jessica enjoys researching food and healthy eating.  If you have a food-related question that you would like answered in the journal, please email her at Jessica_L_Tucker@yahoo.com