Herbs - A Key to Healthy Meal

Basil Herb

Since the concept of cooking has been introduced to human beings, herbs had found their way inside our lives. Not just as a flavour to food, but herbs have also been used by mankind for their medicinal values. It is said that Native Americans have been using herbs such as dried sage in various rituals which included driving away evil spirits. Slowly and steadily herbs found their place in kitchens. Nowadays herbs are so important in cooking, that they could actually turn out to be the Limelight of a particular dish. It is not just the flavour they impart to foods, but also the vibrancy, colour and the texture they give to food that makes simplest of foods turn out amazing. Herbs not just add flavour, as mentioned before but they also increase the nutritional value of the food. Herbs both fresh as well as dried are used widely in cooking. Herbs such as basil, oregano, mint, sage, chives, dill leaves, parsley, marjoram, thyme and many more can be used fresh as well as dried. They not just flavour up a dish but liven up a dull, boring meal.

What are Herbs

Herbs are plants that are used for flavoring foods, imparting fragrances to food as well as for medicinal purposes. There are varied use of herbs, be it culinary or medicinal.

How are Herbs different from Spices 

Rosemary herb

Herbs are way different from spices. Herbs are usually the leaves of the plants that are used either like fresh or dried. On the other hand, spices are the bark or a root or a stem or even a seed of a plant that is dried up and used in cooking. Like for example cinnamon is a spice which is a bark of a plant. Coriander seeds are spice which are as it suggests seeds, and so on.

Tips for Use of Herbs in Cooking 

Triple up the Quantity of Fresh Herbs

If you plan to use fresh herbs for cooking a recipe, try and triple up the quantity of this particular herb. Dried herbs can impart strong flavors as compared to fresh herbs, so when a recipe calls for a particular quantity of herb in a recipe say 1 tsp, then you should use two and half to three spoons of fresh herbs.

Use Fresh Herbs in the End

Thyme Herb

Dried herbs are usually used right from the beginning of the cooking. But unlike dried herbs, the use of fresh herbs should be done at the end of a cooked dish. This helps to preserve and impart the flavour of the fresh herb used up in the recipe.

Use of Delicate Herbs

Delicate herbs include herbs such as basil, dill leaves, parsley, marjoram and even thyme. These herbs being delicate should be used either at the end of the cooking of a recipe or can be served right before serving by sprinkling on the food just before it is served.

Replacing Herbs for Salt and Sugar

The sole purpose of cooking with herbs should be reducing use of artificial flavorings such as salt and sugar. Some strong herbs such as basil, marjoram, rosemary, dill, tarragon, thyme can impart such strong flavours to food, that use of salt and sugar in such foods can be totally or partially avoided.

Avoid Too Many Herbs

Dill Herb

Each and every herb has its own flavour to impart, and using many such herbs in cooking may play havoc to a dish. It is ideal to use only one strong herb and one or two mild herbs in a recipe. Never make use of more than one strong herb in one single recipe. The ratio for strong herb and mild herb in a recipe should be 1:1 or 1:2 not more than that.

Cooking with Herbs for Healthier Meal

Herbs when used in cooking not only enhance the flavour of the food but also allow us to enjoy a healthy and nutritious meal. Recipes with herbs and spices can actually turn out divine, but one just has to know it's proper combination.

Growing Your Own Herbs

Parsley Herb

Growing your own herbs at home is the best way to enjoy fresh herbs. As fresh herbs are always to be enjoyed at the younger stage, it is best to have them growing in your kitchen, so you just have the fresh and the best when you wish to pluck them. But one has to understand the soil and temperature conditions while growing herbs in one's kitchen or garden.

List of Herbs to Grow at Home

Before planning to grow your own herbs, it is necessary to understand which herbs should be planted in your house. Herbs that can be useful for your daily cooking as well as for medicinal purposes should be grown in your kitchen window or garden. Here's a list of herbs with pictures to grow at home:

1. Basil Herb - if you have a very limited space, and can grow only few herbs, than basil has to be one of them. Basil is useful both for cooking as well as medicinal purposes. It is easy to maintain and grows beautifully in your kitchen window, within a very little space. It can be used while cooking beef, fish, chicken, eggs, pork and also go along great with vegetables like tomatoes, beets, carrots, peas and spinach. Basil can be included in sauces for pastas and salads.

Mint Herb

2. Rosemary - Rosemary is also one must be planted in your kitchen garden herb. It is one of best herbs when it comes to flavouring foods and also for its medicinal uses. Fresh rosemary can be uses for marinating and roasting chicken, as well as it can used in flavouring dishes that include any poultry, vegetables, lamb and pork.

3. Thyme - An evergreen herb, thyme is widely used in cooking for it's strong flavours. It is perennial in nature and adorns beautiful mini flowers in white, lilac or pink colour. It is used in cooking for flavouring soups, sauces and stocks.  It goes well in foods such as Beef, fish, poultry, carrots, onions, tomatoes, peas and cheese.

4. Dill Herb - Dill is an perennial herb and is widely used in cooking vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian dishes. Dill is know to impart an unique flavour to foods and is usually added to season  sauces, stocks, stews which include poultry, fish and vegetables such as cabbage.

Learn more about Benefits of Dill Herb here

5. Parsley Herb - One of the most popular herbs in cooking as well as medicinal uses, parsley can be easily grown in kitchen gardens. They can easily be used up in most of the recipes for theri strong and enhancing flavour. Most fot he foods that go well with parsley include almost anything from fish, egg, poultry, lamb, pork, beef and vegetables such as carrots, cucumber, potatoes, and many such vegetables. Parsley is also used in preparing stocks, tomato sauce and beans.

6. Mint Herb - Mint herb too is a immensely popular herb known for its culinary as well as medicinal uses. Mint herb can be grown in kitchen garden easily as it is very convenient to maintain and stays happily tucked in a corner. Mint enhances and imparts flavour to most of the cuisines which includes poultry, lamb, cabbages and many other vegetables. Mint is also used to flavour teas.

Health Benefits of Herbs

Herbs dried or fresh can be very healthy as they provide nourishing benefits for our body. Herbs are known to help in body detoxification. It also helps in blood circulation and speeds up innate healing process. Herbs are known to be rich in vitamins, minerals, chlorophyll and they include natural anti-oxidants. Some herbs such as basil are known to strengthen the immune system. Herbs such as mint aids in digestion. Herbs such as mint leaves in water are said to be good for health. Mint herb is also widely used for weight loss. Many herbs have alkaline benefits.