The Importance of Herbs
In many ways herbs are the poor relation of the spices mostly because so many commonly-used herbs are found growing in all our gardens. Whereas spices were expensive commodities that needed to be imported over long distances from far-away climes herbs (in soome form or other) were commonly available to all. Which is not to say that certain dried herbs aren't expensive (though these, like saffron, tend to be classed as spices). But in the absence of spices herbs are one of the few ways of flavouring food and even today herbs remain the mainstay of many dishes (most notably fish dishes).
What is a Herb?
By definition a herb is any herbaceous part of a plant. This means any combination of the stems the leaves and the flowers. Basically those parts of a plant that live above ground (in contrast the roots of a plant if used as a flavouring are generally considered as spices, as are the seeds and fruit of a plant). The list below therefore describes as many parts of a plant as possible if they are used (either fresh or dried) as a food flavouring.
There will be many herbs that you will find familiar here and hopefully there will be a number that you have not heard of before. The aim of this guide is to open your eyes (and your culinary skills) to the wealth of plants and plant parts that can be used to enhance the flavours of many dishes. If you come away from reading this guide with a new appreciation for the herbs that are avialable to your kitchen then I believe that my work in generating this page has, to a great extent, been vindicated.
It should be recalled that the definition of 'herb' is relatively modern and in more ancient times the lines between herbs and spices were often blurred and a 'spice' seems to have been defined mare as anything that bore a strong aroma. Thus herbs, spices and incense could all come under the label 'spice'; mainly because they were not perishable and could be tarnsproted for many months with little loss of pungency. A herb, in contrast was a flavouring that could be picked fresh from the garden and used in a dish.
The glory days of herbs were in the Middle Ages and the Tudor era where herbs were an essential part of any apothecary's garden and both monks and physicians would grow herbs more for their medicinal than their culinary value (though this did not preclude these herbs from being used for the pot!). It was only during the 18th century with the advent of the modern cookery book that herbs came back into vogue for their culinary value and today a well-stocked herb and spice rack is an essential for any serious cook's kitchen.
Using this Guide
To use this guide simply click on the first letter of the herb that you're looking for (above or below). This will take you to a table of all the herbs that begin with that letter where you can chose the herb you want. There are over 50 herbs in his guide so far, including common and rare herbs and herbs used in cuisines from around the world, and you can search by common name and scientific name.
You can also use the search box below to find the herb of your choice. You can use the common name or the scientific name or any text you choose:
Just so you know what to expect, each time you refresh this page you will get a random herb displayed below. This is exactly the same kind of information as displayed on the main herb pages, which you can navigate through using the links above and below:
Pennyroyal
Pennyroyal, Mentha pulegium is a perennial herbacious plant in the Lamiaceae (mint) family. Indeed, it looks superficially very like common mint, thoug the leaves are smaller and the inflorescences tend to be larger. Thogh commonly used in Roman cookery it is now known that pennyroyal includes many toxice compounds and a very strong abortifacient (compound that promotes abortion). Though pennyroyal tea is still used to promote mild increases in menstrual flow this herb should be treated with extreme caution. Never serve it to a pregnant woman and only consume in small amounts. It is probably best to substitute this herb with garden mint in any ancient recipe that calls for its use.
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If you're looking for a particular recipe, or a recipe using a particular ingredient or set of ingredients, why not try my recipe search facility. You can even use a combination of period and ingredient such as 'Elizabethan Lamb' or 'medieval eggs'.
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you remain anonymous as all eMail details are destroyed once your gift has been verified and a 'thank you' email has been sent. I need your trust and do not keep or sell eMail addresses. Once your donation has been made you will receive a copy of my The Guide to Spices and their Uses PDF file which contains a description of 57 spices along with recipes showing you how to use them. In addition the book contains recipes and techniques to create restaurant-style curries at home (recipes that are not on this website). Any donation you make goes towards the Help Stefan charity campaign. For more information see the Frequently Asked Questions. Also, if you purchase a book through any of the Amazon links below then a portion of the price will go to the maintenance of this site. Thank you for your help in keeping 'Celtnet Recipes' running.
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