Today is ‘More Herbs, Less Salt Day’.  While Salt is a wonderful all-purpose seasoning that would be hard to do without, Herbs play another role in our culinary efforts.  Herbs impart wonderful flavor, each one distinctive from another.  Even the different herbs in the same family have different distinctive flavors and aromas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My favorite all-around Herb is Basil.  There are dozens of varieties of Basil, but of all the ones that I have encountered, Sweet Italian Basil is my favorite.  Here are just some varieties of Basil that are available in  local nurseries in Southern California.  Varieties will vary throughout the country and throughout the world.

 

BASIL VARITIES:

African Blue Basil – blue hue to the leaves and has purple flowers

Greek Basil – small green leaves – lasts long into the Fall

Italian Sweet Basil – large green leaves (probably the most popular)

Lemon Basil – small leaves with slight lemon scent

Thai Basil – smaller leaves with some purple hue to them – purple flowers, slightly spicy

 

The Varieties of Basil above are listed in alphabetical order.  The Greek and Sweet Italian are probably the most popular and used most frequently in Italian and Greek Cuisine.

 

The Thai Basil is used in South Eastern Cuisine and does have a distinctive taste, somewhat sharper than the sweet varieties.

I prefer to use the Sweet Italian most of the time just because it is easier to clean and mince because of the size of the leaves.  I also use the African Blue, but usually just use the whole leave as they are small.

I use Thai Basil in all my Asian Cooking.  I really love the Thai Basil and if you don’t grow it you can easily find it in Asian markets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oregano –The second most popular Herb is probably Oregano.  I planted Oregano when we first moved into this house and the same plant is still growing.  It sometimes freezes in the Winter but always comes back in the spring.  It is an essential in Italian and Greek Cuisine and is of course used in other types of cooking as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pineapple Sage – normally I don’t like Sage, but the Pineapple variety is another story. It actually smells like Pineapple when you tear a leave or water and does impart the flavor of Pineapple to your dishes.  I planted a tiny plant several years ago.  This plant is now huge in spite of being constantly cut back.  I have also endowed many of my friends with a shoot from this plant.  All you have to do is stick a piece in water and let it root, then plant it.  The result eventually will be as pictured here in this blog.  One of the assets of this Sage plant is the Red Flowers which attract Humming Birds to our yard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mint – is popular in mixed drinks, desserts and in South East Asian Cuisine.  This too grows like crazy and is easy to root.  We have mint that comes over from our neighbors yard and I constantly have to pull it out.  I sometimes will wash it and then steep it in hot water and make a mint fusion which can be used for drinks or mint jelly.  Mint also comes in several varieties, such as Spearmint, Peppermint and my favorite, Chocolate Mint.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lemon Grass – an essential in South East Asian Cuisine, especially Thai and Vietnamese. In fact, there is a restaurant named after this Herb on the Hawaiian Island of Kauai.  This too grows like crazy.  I just planted a small plant and this is the result.

Chives – part of the Onion Family – frequently served as a topping for Baked Potatoes – but beware!  those Chives in the Restaurants are more frequently Green Onions or Scallions which are thicker and less flavorful (but stronger) than the Chives.  Chives are very thin and it is best to cut them with scissors.  Chives make a nice flavorful addition to many vegetable and meat dishes.

Try some Herbs today and you will find that you don’t need to use too much salt in your food!