Fresh Herbs
This Post is for those who want to grow handy tasty herbs for cooking. It’s really easy to do and you don’t need loads of space…So, hope you like it!
My most often used herbs include Parsley, as my favorite; Basil, Oregano,Thyme, Rosemary, Laurel or Bay leaf, Mint and finally but not less is Coriander; you either love this fresh citrus taste, or you reckon it tastes like bath soap and can ruin your meal.
Herbs can be used as seeds, flowers, or leaves; cooked and eaten themselves or used to infuse a dish or drink. They are high value ingredients for lots of dishes with a potential health benefiting and detoxification properties. With your own supply, you can take advantage of edible picks and start enjoying a little more at every meal from now.
💗Quick checks:
- They can be grown in any fast draining potting mix in the container.
- Ideally, they like a sunny, sheltered location. High levels of sunlight are particularly important for obtaining good herb flavour.
- Herbs crop well without much feeding. They are very low maintenance and harvesting encourages the plant to produce more leaves.
- I plant together growing well: Thyme, Rosemary and Oregano.
- The refrigerator is one of the best places to store fresh herbs, even hardier ones like rosemary, covered loosely with a plastic bag.
- You can dry your fresh herbs by tying a bunch together and hanging it upside down.
- These wonderful little plants do more than just give your food a big boost of flavour. They are packed with nutrients, antioxidants, and other properties that may give your health a boost as well and improve your body's ability to prevent and fight off disease.
- They are wonderful infused in hot water to make a refreshing tea, chopped and added to many dishes!
Parsley - While parsley is a wonderfully nutritious and healing food, it is often under appreciated. Flat leaf parsley is well-known around Mediterranean countries and has rather more intense flavour than curly leaf parsley. A hardy biennial, it is sown each year from seed in spring and summer. Parsley is an excellent plant for growing in all sorts of containers. No special care is required - just keep them in a sunny spot and ensure the pot compost is kept moist.
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| Flat Parsley |
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| Curley Parsley |
Parsley is a good source of minerals like potassium, calcium, manganese, iron, and magnesium. Is the richest herbal source of vitamin-K, Vitamin K has been found to have the potential role in bone health. Additionally, the herb is also rich in many antioxidant vitamins, including vitamin-A, β-carotene, vitamin-C, vitamin-E.
Making a flavoured butter is very simple and will add a lot of flavour to your food. It is especially good used in great quantities in fresh salads or in soups and sauces.
Parsley is generally combined with garlic in Spanish cuisine. A mixture of finely chopped parsley and garlic and olive oil is delicious and healthy. Try it for pasta, fish, chicken, toast, potatoes, and omelettes.
Basil - A tender annual best as an indoor
kitchen sill receiving as much warmth and light as possible. Tomatoes and basil not
only work well together on the dinner table, but the pair are also
excellent garden companions. Flies do not like the scent of basil, so
planting basil near the window or entryway it will
prevent flies from entering the house.
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| Purple Basil |
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| Basil |
Contains exceptionally high levels of beta-carotene and vitamin-A. Vitamin-A is known to have antioxidant properties and is essential
for vision.
Basil plays a role in many Mediterranean, and particularly
Italian cuisines. Is a must in cooking The most known receipts pairing of basil
is with tomatoes in soups, sauces, salads, pasta and the classic Margherita pizza and Tomato, Mozzarella and Basil Salad.
Oregano - Oregano is a hardy perennial plant
that grows easily in containers. Can be started from seed sown indoors from
February to May. Allow oregano plants to grow to about 4
inches tall and then pinch or trim lightly to encourage a denser and bushier
plant. Do not require much attention. In fact, these drought-tolerant herbs
need watering only during excessively dry periods. Oregano doesn’t need to be
fertilized either, as these hardy plants can typically take care of themselves.
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| Oregano and Thyme |
Oregano is rich source of dietary fibre, which helps to
control blood cholesterol levels.This marvellous herb is an excellent source of minerals like
potassium, calcium, manganese, iron, and magnesium. Potassium is an important
component of cell and body fluids that helps control heart rate and blood
pressure caused by high sodium.
Also, fresh Oregano herb is an excellent source of antioxidant
vitamin, vitamin-C. Vitamin-C helps the human body develop resistance against
infectious agents.
Culinary uses has become an essential ingredient in
many Italian dishes including pizza, pastas, roasted vegetables, tomato sauces,
meat, and herbal vinegars.
Unlike some other herbs, dried oregano can be added early in
the cooking process for sauces and stews as its flavours will stand up to
cooking. Fresh oregano will have a more aggressive flavour, so it is essential
that you are careful with how much you add.
Thyme - A low growing hardy perennial, thyme is
a fragrant herb with thin woody stems. The culinary varieties are evergreen. Thrives
in well-drained soil in full sun. Thyme is an excellent plant for growing
in containers and requires no particular care if water to keep the
compost moist. I like to plant mine near my rosemary, since their needs are
nearly identical.
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| Thyme, Rosemary and Oregano |
Thyme is a rich source of many important vitamins such as
B-complex vitamins, beta Carotene, vitamin-A, vitamin-K, vitamin-E,
vitamin-C, and folic acid.
Its leaves are one of the richest sources of potassium, iron,
calcium, manganese, magnesium, and selenium. I found out that Thyme
contains much more vitamins and minerals than Rosemary does. It is
richer in vitamins 3 times and in minerals 2 times.
Thyme (100g) leaves provides 0.35 mg of vitamin B6 or pyridoxine:
furnishing about 27% of daily recommended intake. Keeping levels in the brain
which has a role as a stress buster.
Use culinary thyme fresh or dried, as a garnish
and to flavour vinegars, herbed butters, teas, meat dishes, salads, and
soups. Thyme is typically used as a seasoning for lamb and pork dishes,
stuffing, casseroles, salads, and stews. This is an essential herb in Spanish
grilled together with Rosemary. Use it to flavour olives or to make your own
vinegar or oil.
Thyme and Rosemary are a popular flavour drink in
Mediterranean region.
Rosemary - Rosemary is a perennial evergreen shrub
with blue flowers. is best started in the spring from ready-grown plants. Plant
in a sunny well-drained soil it hates wet roots in winter. It is an aromatic
and distinctive. Pick stem tips in the afternoon for best flavour and
fragrance.
In containers, you can grow any type of rosemary variety.
Low growing or trailing cultivars in large hanging baskets.
The herb parts, especially flower tops include antioxidant as well as numerous health benefiting volatile essential oils. Rosemary is exceptionally rich in folic acid. Fresh rosemary leaves are a good source of antioxidant vitamin-C and Iron.
Rosemary herb parts, whether fresh or dried, are a rich source of minerals like potassium, calcium, iron, manganese, copper, and magnesium.
Rosemary is typically used as a seasoning for lamb and
pork dishes, stuffing, casseroles, salads, and stews. Check Thyme culinary
uses.
Laurel - Magical plant! Is an evergreen shrub or small
tree. Makes a stunning, sculpted ornamental in the garden, patio, or simply to
keep nearby as a kitchen herb. Laurel doesn't mind being a little cramped in
a container so take your time upgrading it to a bigger home.
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| Laurel/ Bay leaf |
Thrive in full sun to light shade, water frequently but be
careful not to over water and cause root rot. Select a container with ample
drain holes and soil that drains easily.
Fresh leaves are a very rich source of vitamin-C;
provide 46.5 mg or 77.5% of RDA per 100 g. Vitamin-C is one of the powerful
natural antioxidants that help remove harmful free radicals from the body.
This leafy spice is an excellent source of minerals like
copper, potassium, calcium, manganese, iron, selenium, zinc, and magnesium.
The Laurel leaf is a spicy, aromatic, and
versatile herb that is used to enhance a wide variety of dishes. Glossy,
dark-green bay leaves can be used fresh, the greener the better.
Laurel leaves are picked and dried slowly under the shade
away from direct sunlight to retain their volatile essential oils. Avoid those
with spots or fungus-inflicted leaves.
Laurel leaves are added to Mediterranean stocks, sauces,
soups, preserves, casseroles, stews, rice, and vegetable dishes as well as
puddings, pickles, and marinades. A classic combo of Laurel leaf, thyme, and
parsley or also cooked with garlic and white wine.
Essential ingredient in many classic sauces like béchamel. Whether
it's a stew or a bowl of lentils I always used for flavour.
Mint - Is a perennial Aromatic and flavour grown for its leaves, is an easily grown kitchen herb, grow well in containers to keep from its invasive habit. While it prefers full sun, it can tolerate some shade. Mint is one of the easiest garden plants to grow if the soil is kept moist and is highly recommended!
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| Mint |
Is a total antioxidant strength, it is rich in essential oils, vitamins and fibre, which helps to control blood cholesterol and blood pressure inside the human body.
The essential oil, menthol also has been analgesic (painkiller). Mint leaves are a great source of Vitamin C, A and E as well as beta carotene. Is an excellent source of minerals like potassium, calcium, iron, manganese, and magnesium. 100 g fresh herb provides 569 mg of potassium.
As with Parsley chewing leaves of Mint freshen
breath and offers micronutrients. As an alternative, blend mint leaves into
smoothies. Freshly chopped mint leaves can be a great addition to the green
salad.
Add chopped mint to sauces for red meat,
particularly lamb. I cannot get used to lamb without mint sauce!. Also add
several sprigs of mint to peas, green beans or new potatoes whilst
boiling. Add mint to a homemade chocolate sauce for a choc and mint sauce. It's a great garnish for desserts and drinks.
Excellent in mojito's!
Coriander - Is a fast-growing, aromatic, annual herb that grows best in the cooler weather of spring and fall. Coriander will grow best sown directly in light, well-drained soil, or container rather than grown in seed trays and transplanting. Water regularly.
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| Coriander |
The health benefits of Coriander is a good source of minerals like potassium, calcium, manganese, iron, and magnesium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that help regulate heart rate and blood pressure. Iron is essential for red blood cell production.
It is also rich in many vital vitamins, including folic acid, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin-A, beta carotene, vitamin-C. Is another of the richest herbal sources for vitamin K. Vitamin-K has a potential role in bone mass building through the promotion of osteoblastic activity in the bones. It also has an established role in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease patients by limiting neuronal damage in their brain.
The whole seeds are sometimes used in pickling and brining they have a lemony citrus flavour.
In leaf form, it is best used finely chopped and added at the end of cooking to retain full flavour. Use in marinades, particularly for meat and fish. Use in all types of curries, chutneys, and sauces.
**I've done some research to write this post. In “Nutrition
and you.com” you can check the herbs quality nutrients profile of Just 100 g of
fresh leaves (% of Recommended daily allowance) the data is amazing.
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| From my window sill |
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