Favorite Herbs?

[angelique]

Hi All,

What are your favorite herbs to cook with and which are your favorite herbs to grow?

Every year, I grow:

Lemon Grass
Basil (at least 3 types, cinnamon basil is a yearly must).
Thyme
Rosemary
Stevia (which usually dies in the Sacramento heat)

Herbs that I cook with but don't grow:

Mexican Oregano (my uncle grows and he shares his with me).

Bay leaves (my uncle grows and he shares his with me).

Cinnamon, cilantro, cumin and the other spices that are my cooking staples are easier to purchase than grow.

[travis]

To Grow:

Basil ... several kinds for pesto and tomato sauces.
Greek Oregano ... the one I grow is invasive and returns on its own.
Lavender ... just for the aroma in the garden.
Dill and Fennel ... mainly for the butterflies, but both have some culinary uses ... one for fish and potatoes and the other for Italian sausage and tomato sauces.
Mint ... for Greek and Middle Eastern dishes.
Thyme ... for chicken and Middle Eastern and Creole dishes.
I think I'll try Cilantro this summer for the mommies at my favorite watering hole. They make some din-o-mite salsa.

PV

[cosmicgardener]

Basil
Fennel
Coriander
Thyme
Sage
Oregano
Cilantro
Hyssop
Eyebright
Feverfew
Lemon Balm( feral)
Mint (various)
Rosemary
Parsley
Caraway
Evening Primrose
Wild strawberries
Marjoram
Saxifrage
Lavendar
Aniseed
Angelica
to name a few - I have a 4m x 4 m herb bed slap bang in the middle of the veg garden - commonly referred to as 'who's stupid idea was this bed' or ' the stupid bed'. and at the end of this season will pull out all herbs, preserve or dry them off, grab the seeds and start from scratch in a different location, putting the bed under strawberries.

[travis]

Cos,

What do you do with Hyssop? I grew it three years in a row simply because I started one plant and it held on through the winters and grew like gangbusters every summer and momma rabbit kept hatchin' out bunnies underneath it. Then all of a sudden in the middle of the drought last summer it expired. Kaput.

The lavender was planted right next to it and now it's taken over that space. So, should I start another Hyssop? What is it good for besides ridding stone huts of mold Leviticus style?

PV

[cosmicgardener]

Hyssop is an old remedy for coughs and colds, asthma and other lung problems. It is recorded by Dioscorides as needing to be boiled with honey and drank three times a day and Culpeper recommends to use it in an oxymel ( honey and vinegar mix) to 'purge gross humours by the stool'. Now this might sound gross, but towards the end of any infection - especially viral ones, three doses a day clears the way for better heath! A small amount each morning is a good tonic.

Hyssop with figs is an excellent cure for constipation and can be given to kids safely in small doses. Boil the figs with hyssop and give a small amount - combats Big Mac! Also good with figs for spleen stimulation and so good for cholesterol control and weight control.

Boiled in a bit of wine it is good for bathing abrasions and also helps bring our bruises and ease strains. I bruise easily and have a bottle of it ready. ( a good Semillon Sauvignon Blanc !) It beats Arnica and if I clout myself in the garden which is common - I just grab a handful and rub in on the knock and it often stops bruising in its tracks. Mixed with salt, cumin seeds and a bit of honey it is great for insect stings. I keep a concoction for the grandies and they swear it works - even when you lick it off! Hyssop Oil kills head lice - a better alternative to chemical treatment and when sandalwood gives you asthma. Mixed with rue it makes a good bedstraw for dogs - repelling fleas. When I was breeding/showing dogs I made mats stuffed with dried hyssop and rue and and sold them to fund my travel expenses.

Companion for grapevines, cabbages and indeed all of the brassicas. If it gets too leggy, I cut it down and use it as a 'carpet mulch' between the rows of brassicas.

So as you see I love the stuff - it is pretty and the butterflies like it too. It doesn't seem to have too many culinary uses unless you are wanting a 'bitter' herb dish. I haven't tried it on my stone hut but I think the hyssop there is more a form of oregano.

In Ayurveda there is a great tea that can be used in winter just as a warming drink but also to ward off colds.
Hyssop
Licorice root
Cardamom
Long Pepper or
Ginger
Cinnamon
You can add Turmeric if you like it and sweeten with honey if you must.

[Dunkel]

Several Basils and Summer Savory. I collect and grow heirloom pole beans and some fresh Summer Savory on some fresh pole beans is a real good diddley dealo! C'mon Summertime! :wink:

[GManess]

My favorite herb to grow, cook with, and eat fresh from the garden is BASIL followed by Italian Flat Leaf Parsley and then true greek oregano Origanum vulgar hirtum formally known botanically as Origanum heracleoticum.

I grow about 10 different varieties of Ocimum basilicum and I always plant basil beside each of my tomato plants. Not only is it an excellent companion plant in the garden but it also adds a fantastic touch to tomatoes in the kitchen as well. Nothing better than picking a small ripe tomato off the vine, wrapping it with a Basil leaf, and chowing down while you work in the garden (ok maybe with a splash of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a piece of fresh Mozzarella cheese wedged in between it all ..............if you insist)

I planted my 1st patch of True Greek Oregano 3 years ago around a patch of rocks that protrude out of the ground in the middle of my backyard garden. It quickly spread into a nice mound of the most bland tasteing herb i had ever eaten. Problem.. this was not Origanum vulgar hirtum ..... it was Origanum vulgar, commonly called Wild Marjoram (this is the *&^%$ you buy in the 2 lb containers of dried herbs). This past year I finally bought a True Greek Oregano palnt at a local herb fest at our local Farmers Market. 2 things about T.G.O. #1 the flowers are white when in bloom and #2 the leaves are hairy and #3, I know, I know I said 2 but this is the most important one. Chew a leaf, if it isn't hot with a sharp bite it's not True Greek Oregano. I have since grown out my own plants and use it every chance I get.

[angelique]

Dunkel thanks for reminding me about Summer Savory. I love using this herb for salad dressings.

I almost forgot about peppermint. My husband and brother always request that I make homemade peppermint ice cream. I still haven't created the perfect recipe, but the one's I use are to their liking.

I know some people might see this as wasteful. Sometimes, I use extra basil (sweet and cinnamon) in flower arrangements. I let the plants go to flower. The smell and look of the bouqets with basil is incredible.

[nctomatoman]

Favorite is basil by far - we've run through the list of various exotic basils - licorice, cinnamon, thai, lemon, lime, etc etc - but the reality is that it is the Genovese strain that we focus on these days - we toss it into just about anything as well as make mass quantities of pesto.

We've grown many others - tarragon, chervil, oregano, thyme, parsley, rosemary, bay, cilantro, summer savory, dill, lavendar, mints, marjoram, scented geraniums, lemon balm, anise hyssop.

Again - we tend to vote with our palates, and many of these have gone by the wayside. We tend to keep oregano, thyme, parsley, rosemary, and bay going. Hyssop keeps reseeding everywhere, as does Lemon Balm (more clumps of it here and there than we can count), though we don't really use them so much as brush them for the scent as we walk by.

So a big number one for basil!!!! As we gain an interest in cooking Indian dishes, we are also using large amts of cumin, cardamom, and black mustard seed.

[Cecilia_MD7a]

Number one for me, like most of the other posters, is basil. Number two would have to be rosemary (unless you consider garlic an herb rather than a veggie!)

I also grow chives, tarragon, oregano, lemon thyme, lime thyme, winter savory, parsely, peppermint, lemon balm, and sometimes cilantro and dill. I try very hard to grow catnip, but the neighborhood cats always seem to destroy my plants before I can harvest them for my own cats.

[giardiniere]

My favorite is Basil, Genovese Basil to be exact. I also love the Italian Leaf Parsley. It's great chopped up or torn, and thrown on top of Fettuccine Alfredo. Them's good eats.

[Suze]

Basil is my favorite as well -- I like the Genovese and Red Rubin/Purple Passion, as well as Bush Spicy Globe (F1).

Garlic chives is another herb I like to grow.

[landarc]

Strangely, basil has been a problem for me, but, I grow sage, thyme and tarragon just fine, and rosemary to the point it is becoming a hassle.

Bob

[Adenn1]

Really liked spicey globe basil and Thai Basil... having the thai basil resulted in trying some home-made Thai dishes...that came out great.

I took out three trees in a large bed along one side of my property...replanted arborvitae and also planted last summer among them the following:sage, oregeno, sweet marjarom and rosemary. I hope they will make it though the winter....

[JohnF]

Those I grow and cook with: I am able to have several fresh inside over the winter

Rosemary--overwinter inside
Greek oregano- survives outside-but also have some inside
Mexican Oregano--overwinter inside
Several Thymes--survive outside-but also have some inside
Lemon Grass--overwinter inside
Sage--survives outside- sometimes have inside also
Several Basils- usually keep a columnar variety going inside in winter
Cilantro--doesn't do well for me inside
Dill-- also doesn't do well inside
Parsley, Italian--sometimes bring inside for winter use
Bay--overwinter inside