Culinary herbs

Complete Gardener's Library

by Maggie Oster

About the Author Even though I've extensively grown, used and studied herbs for over 25 years, I continue to be astounded by how much better they make food taste. Even the simplest dish becomes something special when herbs are included. And herbs don't add fat or calories! Just flavor, Plus, many of them have health-giving benefits, as well. When I first moved back to the Midwest from the East Coast two decades ago, only one place near where I lived sold herbs. Now every garden center and discount department store carries at least the basic culinary herbs, and many areas have at least one place that specializes in a wide range of herbs. There are wonderful mail-order companies that offer more herbs than you can imagine. This means that there is a wealth of opportunity to use and experiment with herbs from around the world. Although I grow all kinds of plants, there is something particularly endearing about herbs. High on the list of reasons is that almost all of them are incredibly easy to grow, both in the garden and in containers. And it's possible to have most of my favorite herbs in a relatively small space. I also like the historical connection that herbs provide, plus the folklore that surrounds them. Here is a quality to herbs, more than with any other plants, that is inherently soothing. Just walking among them in the garden calms me. And oh, those wonderful fragrances. But because I am one of those people who lives to eat, it is what herbs bring to the table that is most important. Wether in a cold, refeshing drink in summer or a warming tea in winter, in a last-minute stir-fry or slow-simmerng stew, added fresh to a salad or preserved in venegar or a jar of jelly, herbs enrich my life with their flavor.

Genres: Reference, Gardening

154 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Sarah Thrower · Rating 5 out of 5]

Basic information put in an easy to use format

[J Crossley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice book about culinary herbs. It presents how to cultivate them and how to use them.