Grandma Ducky » Recipes for intolerant people » Cooking with flowers and aromatic herbs » Aromatic herbs and spices: their uses and properties in the kitchen

Aromatic herbs and spices: their uses and properties in the kitchen

Aromatic herbs and spices are invaluable in the kitchen.

Spices and herbs with strong aromas are a treasure in the kitchen. They enhance the flavour and scent of food, making it possible to use less table salt—a substance that should not be undervalued because overuse can lead to serious health problems. In addition to being excellent, they are also healthy.

In fact, they are rich in beneficial properties, vitamins, and minerals. They stimulate the digestive processes, are anti-fermentative and anti-inflammatory, limit the proliferation of bacteria, and tone the internal organs.

It’s crucial to keep in mind that the majority of these should only be used in the final stages of cooking; they should be fresh and raw. In actuality, the essential oils they contain diffuse with heat, negating any beneficial properties.

The most used aromatic herbs in Mediterranean cuisine are: rosemary, sage, bay leaves, parsley, basil, etc. For spices, we find: cloves, chilli pepper, saffron, cinnamon, etc. There are really many, all healthy and with an excellent taste that will help us give an extra touch to our dishes and a boost to our bodies.

Always present in the kitchen!

Knowing them and figuring out how to incorporate them into our dishes is helpful. Let’s look in detail at the uses in the kitchen and the virtues of some of the best-known herbs and spices.

Aromatic herbs and spices are used in very small quantities because their characteristics depend on aromatic components perceived by our senses in minimal quantities. They improve the flavour and palatability of food and, in a very good way, reduce the need for salt and fats used for seasoning.

Herbs are made from the stigmas, flowers, roots, and sometimes seeds of different plants. Spices are made from the roots, bark, fruit, or berries of perennial plants such as cinnamon, nutmeg, and pepper that cannot be easily grown at home.

The essential oils that herbs and spices possess are what give them their aroma and scent when they are chopped or ground.

How to select and store aromatic herbs

Certain aromatic herbs contain a good quantity of mineral salts (calcium and iron in particular), vitamins (particularly B vitamins and vitamin C), and other nutrients, but they are used in such little amounts that their nutritional worth cannot be considered. If you want to substitute dried aromatic herbs for fresh ones, cut the amount suggested in the recipe into half.

A common mixture of aromatic herbs (bouquet garni) is used to flavour soups, stews, or casseroles and is generally eliminated before serving the food. Spices are commonly sold dehydrated and ground in glass or cellophane containers.

Herbs can be purchased fresh at the market, but their shelf life is limited, while drying can cause them to lose some of their characteristic qualities, such as flavour, vitamin C content, etc. This is where the use of herb gardens came from—small pots of herbs grown in a corner of the balcony or kitchen so as to harvest the quantity needed at the time of use.

Store dried herbs and spices in sealed containers in places sheltered from heat and sunshine. When the colour changes or the scent fades, replace them. Some fresh herbs, such as rosemary, chives, basil, and parsley, can be frozen.

Aromatic herbs

Laurel: The very aromatic laurel leaves are often used in cooking, sometimes whole, sometimes chopped or crushed, to flavour roasts and other preparations based on white or red meat, fish, marinades, sauces, braised meats, terrines, and pates. They are also almost always part of the bouquet garni.

Dill: This fragrant herb, which has an anise-like perfume, pairs especially well with hot or cold fish dishes. It can also be used in salads, cold sauces, and vegetable preparations. The leaves, fresh or dried, the dried seeds, and the flowers are all used in cooking.

The chopped leaves are used to flavour salads or buttered potatoes, tomato creams, fish soups, etc. The seeds add taste to vinegar and pickled cucumbers.

Basil It is an annual herbaceous aromatic plant, varying in size from a few centimetres to over half a meter, depending on the variety and the environmental conditions in which it is grown. As an aromatic herb, it is useful in the kitchen, especially for the preparation of tomato sauces and pesto.

Pesto, as it’s commonly known, is a rather thick sauce prepared with basil, olive oil, pecorino cheese, pine nuts, salt, and garlic, finely crushed and mixed. You have to pick the basil before it blossoms. The leaves can be preserved dried, frozen, or immersed in olive oil; although they tend to darken, they maintain their aroma.

Capers: It is a perennial plant linked as a habitat to the rocks and old walls of which it constitutes an irreplaceable ornament, with shiny, fleshy leaves and white flowers with large petals. Its fruit is a berry that contains numerous blackish and kidney-shaped seeds.

The small, firm, dark olive green flower buds of the caper are used; they have a fragrant flavour and are closed. They are preserved in vinegar or brine and used as a garnish for appetisers, to make sauces, or to add flavour to meats or fillings.

Chervil: It has a fairly similar appearance to parsley, although the leaves are a paler green and have a more delicate flavor. It is used together with other aromatic herbs to flavour omelettes and in the preparation of sauces, soups, salads, and vinegars.

It tastes a little bit like anise and goes well with some veggies, including carrots. Additionally, it can be combined with béchamel or mayonnaise to serve a variety of foods (fish, eggs, and boiled vegetables).

Tarragon: It is grown for its sweet leaves and refined aroma, which add flavour to sauces, soups, or fish and meat dishes. Primarily, it’s used in French cuisine and for making tarragon vinegar.

Marjoram: It is commonly used in the making of Neopolitan pizza and is frequently confused with oregano. Its flavour is subtle but powerful, and marjoram goes well with any kind of meat. It’s also great on veggies in tomato-based dishes.

Mint: One of the characteristics of this herbaceous plant is the extraordinary range of different aromas and scents offered by its numerous species and varieties. Currently, the most used varieties are Roman mint and peppermint; however, round-leaved mint and pennyroyal, also known as nepetella, have a softer flavour and are also becoming more and more popular.

Mint comes in a variety of forms and is used to make sauces, flavour a variety of vegetable-based meals (such as soups, salads, and artichokes), as well as make drinks and other fruit-based preparations.

Oregano: It is a perennial, aromatic plant that multiplies by seed or cutting and planting. Used in cooking as a condiment, the most used is the oregano of the southern regions, the only one to have a fairly intense aroma. The flowering tops of oregano are used, which, in the markets of Southern Italy and the neighbouring Mediterranean areas, are put on sale in bunches with a pleasant aroma.

In terms of culinary applications, oregano is a flavouring that cannot be replaced for Neapolitan pizza and “pizzaiola” meats. It is also a delightful addition to fresh tomato and mozzarella salads.

Parsley: These days, parsley is frequently used to flavour sauces and fillings and to garnish a broad variety of dishes, both cooked and raw. Parsley loses its flavour if the leaves are not picked before they blossom.

There are many varieties, but the two most popular are curly and flat-leaved parsley. For decoration, the former is more ornamental than the latter, which is more flavouful. Be it an ingredient or decoration, use freshly picked parsley whenever possible.

If you really have to stock up on parsley in advance, soak the stems in cold water, and if the wait is long, put it in the refrigerator. Frozen parsley is an excellent flavouring but cannot be used as a garnish because it wilts. It is also rich in vitamin C.

Rosemary: Evergreen rosemary is a shrub that grows naturally along Mediterranean coasts. It can also be produced as ornamental hedges. Its deep green needles and pale blue blossoms fill the air with their potent fragrance. Fresh or dried, the sweet-smelling, aromatic leaves of rosemary are used in cooking to add flavour to grilled seafood and roast meat.

Sage: Sage is an aromatic herb that grows in all Mediterranean areas up to 800 meters above sea level. The leaves are harvested all year round. Thanks to their aroma, they are widely used in a large number of preparations.

Savory: A plant native to the Mediterranean area, cultivated for its aromatic leaves, slightly bitter flavour, and mint scent. There are two types: summer and winter. The summer savory is an annual, upright, bushy plant that grows up to about 30 centimetres in height.

Its leaves are more aromatic than winter savory’s and are at their peak flavour towards the end of July. The leaves can also be dried. In contrast to the summer savory, the winter savory is a perennial plant that widens more than its counterpart. It should be picked when it is young, before the leaves become hard.

Thyme: The common thyme used in cooking should not be confused with wild thyme, which has much larger leaves and is native to the Mediterranean regions. It is a perennial shrub with thin oval leaves of a greyish-green colour and pungent flavour.

Horticultural thyme: This is similar to the previous one, it has a less intense scent but has a hint of lemon flavour. It is part of the bouquet garni used to flavour broths, soups, meats, and vegetable preparations along with parsley and bay leaves. It can be preserved dried or frozen.

Spices always add that extra touch of flavour to our dishes…

We have “borrowed” many spices; they come to us from the East—or even from America—and we love them more and more. They have won over many chefs and have won me over too. We are working with amazing vegetable scents that, depending on how much of them are used, can contribute to and enhance the tastes of the foods they accompany and give our dishes a burst of colour and fragrance.

They prove to be invaluable ingredients for making a wide range of meals, including soups, broths, fish and meat-based second courses, pasta and rice-based first courses, vegetable side dishes, and desserts.

In this section of the cooking school, we will discover the characteristics of the most used spices and also how to use them when we get to work in front of the stove. So, don’t be afraid: by paying attention and following my suggestions, you can use spices correctly and learn to love them more and more!

With these assumptions, let’s discover which fragrant herbs we will pull out of the pantry and use in our dishes.

The reason spices are a staple and necessary component in most recipes is because they can bring out the flavours of the meal they are used in.

Nonetheless, from a nutritional and therapeutic standpoint, we must not undervalue them. As a matter of fact, a large number of them contain high levels of antioxidants along with antibacterial, antiseptic, and anti-inflammatory qualities.

Each has a unique potential and varies in the amounts of macro- and micronutrients it carries. Our everyday usage of them will undoubtedly make the biggest impact on our wellbeing, even if we just take them sparingly.

Let’s discover some of the most used spices:

Anise: It is an annual plant whose dried fruits are used. Due to its sweet scent, anise is widely used in pastry making, in the preparation of biscuits, liqueurs, and drinks.

Star anise: It is distinguished by a strong flavour that is akin to liquorice, which is why very small amounts are necessary. Primarily used in cooking but also elsewhere, is the essential oil derived from the seeds of the star-shaped fruit, which are naturally highly greasy.

Wild cinnamon: The majority of the world’s cinnamon is grown on the island of Ceylon, but it can also be found in the Seychelles, Guyana, Jamaica, Brazil, and southern India. It is mostly used in the making of liqueurs, preserves, and confections.

Cardamom: The dried fruits contain very fragrant brown seeds. These are used to flavour various dishes, cured meats, sauces, and some varieties of spiced bread. It is also utilised in the preparation of curries and other spice-based combinations.

Cloves: They are made up of the unopened flowers of the Euglena Caryophyllata plant. In cooking, they are used in the preparation of cooked pears and, more generally, fruit cooked in wine, mulled wine, and in the flavouring of creams.

Cumin: Cumin is a biennial herb whose flowers are used in the preparation of spices. It is used to flavour certain preparations (bread, desserts, cheeses) and in some oriental dishes.

Coriander: This spice is widely used in oriental cuisine. It is grown for its seeds that have an unpleasant odour, which they lose once dried. The dried seeds are an ingredient in the spice blend known as curry.

Coriander seeds work great as a seasoning for soups, pickles, sausages, and hot meat dishes, whether they are whole or ground into a powder. They are ground and added to rice and milk puddings.

Curry It is a mixture of powdered spices with a very variable composition depending on the brand. It almost always includes black pepper, cumin, coriander, and cinnamon, and possibly nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and chilli pepper. The nature of the spices used and their proportions give the different curries very different flavours, from sweet to spicy.

Wild fennel: It is obtained from the small fruits of various species of this plant, which grows spontaneously in the Italian subalpine area. Wild fennel includes many varieties that produce more or less sweet, peppery, or bitter fruits, and a cultivated variety of which the fleshy base of the leaves is eaten. Fennel seeds, when dried, are used as flavouring for roasts, boiled meat, fish, and hog dishes.

Juniper: It is a common plant throughout the Mediterranean area. The leaves and fruits (berries) of juniper are used in the preparation of meats, marinades, and sauces. Juniper berries are the basic element in the preparation of gin and are used to smoke ham, to which they give an unparalleled flavour.

Nutmeg: When the seeds are completely dry, they are crushed, and the nutmeg as we know it is extracted. Although it can be used in many different ways in the kitchen, nutmeg is primarily used to flavour meat fillings, vegetables, and desserts.

Pepper is the fruit of a plant from tropical regions and is certainly one of the oldest and best-known spices. The black pepper and white pepper on the market come from the plant called Piper Nigrum.

Black pepper is the fruit collected before it is fully ripe, when it has a reddish hue that tends to darken with drying. On the other hand, if you wait for the fruits to fully develop on the plant, they will produce white pepper when they are peeled and dried.

Chilli pepper: powder chilli pepper currently occupies an important place in the diet of all the peoples of the Mediterranean and tropical countries. Different species and varieties are cultivated, some with small fruits and a spicy flavour, others with larger fruits and a less strong flavour, and the rest with almost fleshy fruits and a sweet taste.

Typically, the fruits are picked towards the end of summer, shade-dried, and then hung in areas with good ventilation.Chilli pepper is particularly rich in vitamin C.

Mustard: is a very well-known and appreciated spice in modern cuisine. Mustard seeds are used, mostly in powder form, which form the basis for the preparation of mustard. Mustard paste, used as a condiment, became widespread around the 18th century and was obtained by crushing mustard seeds in verjuice or wine must.

Saffron Originally from Asia Minor, saffron is now grown in several countries, including Italy; however, production has gradually declined. Saffron is easy to grow, but its harvest is very expensive.

The spice is made up of the dried stigmas of the flowers, and the weight loss is enormous: from 80 kg of flower, you get about 1 kg of fresh saffron, which is further reduced to 80 grammes by drying. Saffron has a characteristic bitter, aromatic smell and taste, and it’s mainly used in Milanese risotto.

Ginger: It is obtained from the rhizome of a plant native to Asia and the Pacific Islands. It is used in the preparation of aperitifs and digestives, to sweeten and flavour syrups, and to make liqueurs and drinks pleasant.

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