Herbs

Pesto is such a perfect summer sauce — basil’s abundant and cheap, there’s no cooking involved, and it’s versatile enough to toss into pasta, spread on bread, or toss with grilled vegetables. The one downside is that it loses its vibrant green color quickly if it’s exposed to air, but supposedly blanching the basil leaves first will keep the pesto keep its color. Does this actually work? We tested it to find out.

When a twig of thyme is perfect, at least for my purposes, the leaves practically separate themselves from the branch. But that rarely happens. The twig is too thin, or too green, or there are twiglets hanging off the twig that fall into my dish along with the leaves. Picking the leaves off one by one is tedious and I like to add a lot of thyme. But the other night, I finally figured out a way to make this easy. Without even checking the stems, I ripped a handful of thyme from my plant.

The basil plant that has thrived on my windowsill since July has finally conceded defeat and given us its last few summer-seasoned meals. Farewell, sweet basil! Clamshell packages of basil, rosemary, and other fresh herbs can get spendy, so over the winter months, I find myself relying more heavily on my stash of dried herbs. With a bit of strategic thinking, we pull every last bit of flavor from those dried herbs and save the fresh herbs for when they’ll really count.

Want to expand your horizons beyond the standard herbs like basil, rosemary, and mint? Here are 12 lesser-known herbs to try this spring and summer. Not all of them will be available in grocery stores, but you might find them at farmers’ markets, growing in parks, or in your own garden if you’re inspired to plant something new! TOP ROW 1 Anise hyssop: Leaves and flowers have a licorice flavor.

Last weekend I hosted a small dinner party in my apartment. (You’ll hear all about it next week!) At the end of the meal I served a lemon verbena tisane — essentially, a handful of lemon verbena leaves steeped in hot-but-not-boiling water — with a splash of St. Germain. It was delicious: fresh, delicate, and cleansing, like spring in a teacup. As a result, lemon verbena may just be my new favorite herb. Here are 5 ways to use it: Make a lemon verbena tisane, as I did.

Did you notice that all three of our previous Expert Essentials posts mentioned working with dried herbs and spices? That’s because spices are an absolutely foundational ingredient for every cook the world over, whether you’re working in a shiny new kitchen high on the hill or on a simple wood fire and packed-dirt floor. Today’s expert, John Beaver, knows a thing or two about herbs and spices. Read on for his tips and recommendations!

While visiting a roadside honor standHave you tasted salad burnet (Sanguisorba minor)? Its fern-like scalloped leaves have a delicate cucumber flavor, which makes it a lovely addition to salads, as the name implies, and an array of other dishes from tea sandwiches to light soups, fish, cheese spreads, and even iced tea and lemonade. Although burnet is not well known today, it was commonly grown in Medieval kitchen gardens and was used medicinally to heal wounds and protect against the plague.

Q: I recently bought a pineapple sage plant when getting seedlings because I couldn’t resist its wonderful pineapple smell. Now I have it, I have no idea what to do with it. I think it might taste good muddled with mint in mojitos or perhaps in marinades.Do you have any good recipes that call for pineapple sage or any other ideas on how to use this luscious-smelling herb?Sent by HeatherEditor: Heather, we agree that this is wonderful muddled into drinks.

all the herbsoff the stemsThe leaves gradually loosen during cooking and come off on their own, he explained. The leaves are generally so small that it doesn’t matter that you didn’t mince them beforehand. When cooking is done, just pull out the now-stripped stems of thyme along with the bay leaf and anything else you’re not actually serving.We gave this a try in our last batch of Beef and Barley Stew and it worked like a charm.

Have you ever noticed how many common spices, herbs, and even veggies there are that have the same licorice-y anise flavor as, well…anise? This came up in conversation at a dinner party recently and we couldn’t believe how many there were once we started thinking about it!Here’s what what we came up with:1. Anise (of course!)2. Star Anise3. Fennel – bulb, fronds, and seed4. Basil5. Chervil6. Caraway7. Tarragon Can you think of any others?Related: Try This!

When shopping at Asian markets, you might see these long, flat, brightly-colored green leaves sold in big bunches. They look like very long blades of grass. Take a whiff and you’ll notice a very distinctive smell of garlic. These are nira, otherwise known as garlic chives and Chinese leek!Nira are common in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean cooking. They are added to dumplingsstir friessoupskimchigreen onion pancakesThey taste a little bolder than bulb garlic and they have a very good flavor.

Q: The weather here in Seattle has warmed considerably over the past few weeks and my oregano is in heaven. Only problem is that it’s now taking over my garden quicker than I can use it.Aside from tossing it in pasta sauce or drying it for later use, what are some good ways to use my hearty crop of oregano?Sent by RacheleEditor: Rachele, I have the exact same “problem” right now! As you can see, my oregano has overrun one of my herb boxes.

By now, most of us are pretty proficient when it comes to using fresh herbs in the kitchen. They’re hands down one of the best ways to impart fresh, clean flavors into your food, but did you know simply picking them off their stem isn’t enough? You can bruise and you can chop, but do you know which is better? Don’t worry, we drew you pretty pictures to explain it all.

We have a love-hate relationship with the small grocery store/bodega closest to our apartment. The produce section is bleakOk, we know these things run a very distant second to fresh cilantro, but we so rarely use an entire bunch that maybe it would be nice to have a shelf-stable version that could be used in increments?In the edge of the photo, you can see that there is an onion (cebolla) version of the same product. We didn’t buy either.

We’re not ones to spend a ton of time gussying up our food, but if we’ve put some effort into a recipe, it is nice to present it with a little flair every now and then. These mint leaves — sugared, crystallized, candied, or however you describe them — are super simple and a lovely way to top off a scoop of ice cream…It’s a little tough to see the sprinkly sugar crust on the mint leaves above, but we had a hard time finding a close-up, detailed photo.

Personally, I love cilantro and can’t get enough of it – I add heaps of it to my guacamole and salsa. It tastes fresh and citrus-like to me. However, supposedly there’s a genetic trait that makes cilantro taste like soap or ground metal shavings to some people. Most people agree on what most foods taste like. Strawberries taste sweet, lemons are sour, and steak is savory. But a large amount of the population cannot agree on what cilantro (also known as coriander) tastes like.

We recently made a simple vegetable dish that called for a healthy amount of tarragon. The tarragon was fresh and tender and beautiful — and completely overwhelming.It made us think that, hmm, maybe we just don’t love tarragon. What about you? Tell us below…Tarragon has a distinct, anise-like flavor that just tasted off to us. Maybe it was the dish, or maybe we’ve found an herb we can’t take when it’s used liberally.

Walking home last night, the neighborhood was thick with the smells of barbecue. Oh, how we love that smoky smell. And we love tasting it in our food even more!Barbecue wood chips, liquid smoke, bits of smoked bacon–whether we’re grilling or not, we have lots of tricks to infuse our favorite dishes with a subtle smokiness.But have you ever considered tea?Lapsang souchong is a tea from the Fukien province in China.