Flavor and fragrance!  Cooking with herbs freshly cut from my culinary garden is one of life’s most satisfying experiences.  The sheer pleasure of taste is reason enough to use herbs, however, their delights go beyond the flavors they lend to food.  The simple joy of handling fresh herbs, with fragrance filling the air, connects me to each herb.

It excites me to introduce herbs to my culinary students, both in the garden and in the kitchen, and show them all the aspects of using herbs in their everyday cooking.  I challenge them to be brave and experiment!  It takes time to learn what a certain herb looks like, tastes like, how it will combine with other ingredients and how it changes with cooking.  That comes with experience. 

GENERAL RULES FOR HARVESTING HERBS FROM YOUR OWN GARDEN

1.    Do not cut your herbs back by more than one-third of their total bulk at one time.  The exception is Chives-you can cut the bunch within 2 inches of the ground.

2.    It’s better to harvest sprigs than individual leaves.  Pinching back or cutting off a stem encourages the plant to put out new growth, but stripping leaves from the stems simply weakens the plant.

3.    To keep your herbs healthy and vigorous, it’s often necessary to prune them even when you have no use for the fresh sprigs. 

4.    Woody perennials, such as rosemary, sage, thyme, winter savory, and lavender are considered shrubs.  They don’t die back to the ground in the winter and start their growth from roots in the spring but instead develop a framework that carries over from season to season.  If you don’t prune them, they will become leggy, but they’re still sensitive to being cut back too hard.  The key is to always cut above the leaves on the lower branches.

HERBS IN THE KITCHEN

Removing leaves from stems:  When a recipe calls for a tablespoon of a chopped fresh herb, it really means a tablespoon of the leaf of that particular herb.  Using your thumb and index finger, hold the sprig upright and pull the leaves downward (in the opposite direction of the growth).  The leaves at the very top of the sprig will be in a cluster.  The exception will be parsley and cilantro.  Both have very soft stems and can be chopped with the leaves.

MEASURING FRESH HERBS

To measure whole herbs, remove the stems, chop the leaves, then scoop the chopped leaves into the measuring spoon or cup and level the top.  If you are measuring whole leaves or very coarsely chopped herbs, press them down gently.  Because the strength of any particular herb varies, a little more or a little less will rarely hurt.  If there’s a pinch left on the cutting board after you measure, add it as well; if you end up with a fraction shy of the measurement called for, just leave it out.   The finer you chop herb leaves, the less fluffy they will be, so that you will need to begin with more herb leaves to yield a finely chopped tablespoon than a coarsely chopped tablespoon.

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHICH HERB TO USE IN WHAT DISH?

Start with the classic combinations of herbs and food worldwide:

              Tomatoes and basil from Italy

              Salmon and dill from Scandinavia

              Chicken and tarragon from France

              Lamb and mint from Great Britain

              Cilantro and chiles from many parts of Asia

The key to successful pairing herbs with other ingredients is to match and balance robust and delicate flavors.  Unless the herbs are the focus of the dish, such as pasta with pesto sauce, the flavor of the herbs should complement the other flavors in the recipe, not overpower them or disappear.  The milk fresh flavor of poached halibut fillet will be smothered by a handful of rosemary, while a shower of tender chervil will exalt it.  On the other hand, the gentle flavor of the chervil will be lost in a boldly flavored braise of lamb shanks, but rosemary will contribute a harmonious astringency and spice.