How Can You Use Your Herbs?
Herbs can have many uses.
They can be used in a variety of cuisines.
Many offer a variety of medicinal properties from antiseptic to cancer fighting.
Some even make delicious, flavorful teas.
It is not unusual to find a single herb adding flavor to Italian and French dishes, making a tasty tea and being used for its healing benefits.
In culinary uses, herbs can be used fresh, dried or frozen.
In most cases, fresh is considered superior in terms of flavor.
However, there are some herbs that intensify in flavor when dried.
Frozen herbs are generally ones that do not dry well.
Rosemary, for instance, will get hard and woody if dried.
Most cuisines have specific herbs that are commonly used.
In French cooking, chefs often use Herbs de Provence, a mixture of fennel, bay leaf, summer savory, oregano, thyme, mint, marjoram, rosemary, tarragon and chervil.
Italian cuisine generally includes basil, oregano, thyme and garlic.
Ginger, anise and lemon grass, as well as varieties of chives and basil, are commonly used in Chinese cuisine.
Herbal medicine goes back thousands of years.
Recent scientific studies have shown the effectiveness of many herbal remedies.
Turmeric, for instance, is a potent cancer fighter, altering cells to cause them to self-destruct.
Ginger calms the stomach.
A combination of peppermint, elderberry and rosemary makes an effective flu treatment.
Leaves are often used to make poultices and medicinal teas.
Roots may be eaten, used to make tea or pulverized into a powder for capsules.
Seeds and flowers are sometimes used as well.
Extracts, tinctures and syrups are also made.
Many of the products you see on the shelves in a health food store started out as an herb in a garden.
Herbs often make tasty teas.
While leaves and flowers are commonly used for teas, there are some that are made from roots or seeds.
Peppermint's rapid growth means you will also be able to brew a pot of peppermint tea.
Lemon balm tea has a light, pleasant taste.
It is often combined with other herbs in teas to improve the flavor.
Cinnamon tea can bring warmth to cold, winter days.
Some herbs are not brewed for tea, but rather used to imbue flavor and scent on tea leaves.
Jasmine tea, popular in the Orient, is the result of drying jasmine alongside the actual tea leaves.
Many of the teas made from herbs are medicinal.
Chamomile tea, while delicious, is often used to calm nerves and aid sleep.
Red raspberry leaf helps tone the female reproductive system.
With so many ways to use the herbs you grow in your garden, none should ever go to waste.
If your herb garden offers more bounty than you or your family can use, share with a friend or neighbor so that they too can enjoy the many uses of herbs.
They can be used in a variety of cuisines.
Many offer a variety of medicinal properties from antiseptic to cancer fighting.
Some even make delicious, flavorful teas.
It is not unusual to find a single herb adding flavor to Italian and French dishes, making a tasty tea and being used for its healing benefits.
In culinary uses, herbs can be used fresh, dried or frozen.
In most cases, fresh is considered superior in terms of flavor.
However, there are some herbs that intensify in flavor when dried.
Frozen herbs are generally ones that do not dry well.
Rosemary, for instance, will get hard and woody if dried.
Most cuisines have specific herbs that are commonly used.
In French cooking, chefs often use Herbs de Provence, a mixture of fennel, bay leaf, summer savory, oregano, thyme, mint, marjoram, rosemary, tarragon and chervil.
Italian cuisine generally includes basil, oregano, thyme and garlic.
Ginger, anise and lemon grass, as well as varieties of chives and basil, are commonly used in Chinese cuisine.
Herbal medicine goes back thousands of years.
Recent scientific studies have shown the effectiveness of many herbal remedies.
Turmeric, for instance, is a potent cancer fighter, altering cells to cause them to self-destruct.
Ginger calms the stomach.
A combination of peppermint, elderberry and rosemary makes an effective flu treatment.
Leaves are often used to make poultices and medicinal teas.
Roots may be eaten, used to make tea or pulverized into a powder for capsules.
Seeds and flowers are sometimes used as well.
Extracts, tinctures and syrups are also made.
Many of the products you see on the shelves in a health food store started out as an herb in a garden.
Herbs often make tasty teas.
While leaves and flowers are commonly used for teas, there are some that are made from roots or seeds.
Peppermint's rapid growth means you will also be able to brew a pot of peppermint tea.
Lemon balm tea has a light, pleasant taste.
It is often combined with other herbs in teas to improve the flavor.
Cinnamon tea can bring warmth to cold, winter days.
Some herbs are not brewed for tea, but rather used to imbue flavor and scent on tea leaves.
Jasmine tea, popular in the Orient, is the result of drying jasmine alongside the actual tea leaves.
Many of the teas made from herbs are medicinal.
Chamomile tea, while delicious, is often used to calm nerves and aid sleep.
Red raspberry leaf helps tone the female reproductive system.
With so many ways to use the herbs you grow in your garden, none should ever go to waste.
If your herb garden offers more bounty than you or your family can use, share with a friend or neighbor so that they too can enjoy the many uses of herbs.
