Favorite Cooking Herbs

What are my top ten herbs for cooking? Someone at a recent party asked me that question and it got me to thinking.

So here is a list of basic herbs and their uses:

Basil - This is most commonly used in Italian recipes and with tomato-based recipes such as spaghetti sauces, pizza and pesto. It can also be used in soups and bread as well as with almost anything else - fish, eggs, poultry, lamb, beef, pork, desserts and with other vegetables.

Chives - an herb that looks like grass and has a delicate onion flavor. Chop the leaves and use it in salads, cottage cheese or with eggs. The chopped leaves can also be added to mashed potato to create a dish with a difference. Use a few longer leaves as a garnish.

Dill - has a feathery foliage and is very popular for German and Scandinavian recipes. It can be used for soups, sauces and bread. It is also ideal with fish, eggs, meat, poultry and for pickling beets, cabbage and cucumbers.

Mint - has many varieties. The leaves are used for teas, in desserts and mediterranean cooking. English cooking tends to use it most as an accompaniment to lamb. It can also be used in herbal vinegars.

Oregano - This is also called wild marjoram and is commonly used in Italian cooking. Add it to sauces for pasta, lasagne, soups, stews and pizza.

Parsley - Perhaps one of the best known herbs for many cooks and the most commonly used herb especially in North America and North Europe. It is a very versatile herb with the minced or chopped leaves used in soups, breads, eggs, beef and vegetables. The whole leaf can be used as a garnish. There is the curly leaf and flat leaf which is the Italian type.

Rosemary - needle-like leaves which can be used in soups, breads, with fish, eggs, shellfish, lamb, beef and pork. When cooking a leg of lamb make small cuts in the joint and add a sprig of rosemary and a slice of garlic into each cut before roasting. This will help the flavors penetrate the meat while cooking.

Sage - Most commonly used in stuffings for poultry and baked fish. When stuffing a whole chicken or other poultry once the inside has been stuffed reserve a small amount. Gently slide your fingers under the skin of the bird taking care not to break the skin. Very carefully spread some of the stuffing under the skin to get a more intense flavour when cooking.

Tarragon - This has long narrow leaves on a woody stem. It is commonly used in French cooking and has a very distinctive anise-like flavor. Ideal uses are soups, fish, shellfish, beef, pork, salad dressings and eggs.

Thyme - Most commonly used in stuffings and bread dressings. The leaves are used in sauces, breads, fish, eggs, shellfish, poultry, lamb, beef, pork, soups and stews.

Here are some more thoughts on the basics of cooking with herbs:

Using herbs in your cooking will add extra nutrients such as vitamins A and C to your recipes. Many cooks from the complete novice to the most experienced chef should stock these basic herbs to use in cooking.

If you are new to cooking with herbs it can be hard to decide whether to use dried or fresh ones. It all depends what you are using them in. It is better to use fresh herbs for salads, lightly cooked sauces, dips and salsa. Dried herbs are ideal for marinades, spice rubs and soups and stews.

Some herbs should be only be added at the last minute to recipes as prolonged cooking destroys their flavor whilst others should be added at the beginning. A good recipe will tell you when to add them. Salads and uncooked sauces will taste better if the herbs are added and left for several hours. As a rough guide add herbs to soups, stocks, stews, roasts and stuffings at the beginning.