Herbs: Key Ingredients to Turn an Ordinary Product
Ingredients
into a Culinary Experience
By Mark Crowell, CRC
The adroit use of herbs goes a long way in
characterizing the greatness of a cuisine.
Think of pesto, that all-time great culinary paean to basil or Ras el Hanout, the Moroccan spice mixture that translates as “top of
the shop.” Certain versions of this ubiquitous
spice blend contain as many as 100 ingredients. Mexican cuisine has mole, considered
the defining dish of the Oaxaca region, a
rich, complex sauce that can contain more
than 30 ingredients including chocolate and
herbs. What would Caribbean cuisine be without jerk seasoning or Argentinean cooking
without chimichurri? Thai foods are defined
by the inclusion of galangal root, lemongrass
and basil. Even All-American meatloaf gets an
uplifting flavor boost from seasonings such as
sage, thyme, dry mustard and garlic.
Trends in Herbs Today. More than ever,
herbs are moving from supporting actors to
starring roles in a number of cooking meth-ods/techniques such as marinades, rubs,
cures, brines, stocks, sauces and beverages—
and don’t forget desserts and confections,
too. Basil, rosemary and thyme have now become basil-berry sorbet, rosemary-lemon
pound cake and thyme-scented vanilla panna
cotta. Dagoba Organic Chocolate features a
Mint with a Hint of Rosemary Bar and a
Lavender with Blueberry Bar. Even further
out on the culinary horizon, Vosges Chocolate makes a drinking chocolate mix called
Bianca Couture that features Australian
lemon myrtle and lavender flowers.
Even water has been given a gourmet
flair—and health benefits—by adding herbal
infusions. Ayala’s Herbal Water features six
unique herbal flavor blends and is the first nationally available, organically certified, enhanced flavored water. Herb flavors include:
Lemongrass Mint Vanilla, Lavender Mint,
Lemongrass Thyme and Jasmine Vanilla.
The most popular herbs are associated
with the cuisines showing the greatest popularity over the last few years—broadly, Latin
(cilantro, oregano, parsley), Mediterranean
(parsley, marjoram, rosemary, thyme and
mint) and Asian (cilantro, chive, mint, Thai
Dagoba has mastered the art of mixing herbs and
cocoa, creating a unique flavor experience.
basil and lemongrass). Global fusion is also
another big trend, with products emerging on
the scene like a Japanese Niçoise salad dressing made with ground Japanese-style dried
sardines mixed with shiso leaf, a pungent
herb in the basil family.
Another area that is growing is fair trade
certified herbs. Since herbs are grown around
the world, they present an opportunity not
only to improve flavor, but also to improve the
communities that grow them. Mint, hibiscus
and chamomile are available and Mountain
Rose Herbs has also recently introduced fair
trade certified dill, lemongrass, lemon balm,
basil, oregano, parsley, rosemary and thyme.
In Good Taste and Good Health. Most of
the herbs we use today as seasonings were
originally medicines. Culinary herbs contain
high concentrations of phenolic substances
Herbs add health benefits and flavor to products like this.
and antioxidants, some 1000 times more po-
