Nature's Pantry: Herbs

Cut basil is the leaf of a delicate plant that can be found as a staple in gardens and kitchens all over the world. Categorized under the mint family along with oregano, marjoram, lavender and thyme, the Ocimum basilicum plant has upwards of 150 forms. The most common type being sweet, or great, basil or St. Joseph’s wort. The popular herb originated in India before making its way through tropical regions in Southeast Asia and Africa, then on into Europe and the Americas.

The smell of basil is undeniable, and its taste is very similar. Its distinctive aroma and flavor are both sweet and pungent, enriching an array of culinary seasonings, primarily Italian and Asian. Now dried and chopped, our cut basil delivers an even more powerful, concentrated flavor, and produces more essential oils in the herb itself. Dried basil is often added to salad dressings, tomato bases, pasta salads and dry rubs. It can also be sprinkled over vegetables and green salads. Besides being a great source of vitamins and minerals, basil’s essential oils are used in the medical and chemical industries.

Basil has a high nutritional value and is used often in teas to treat various ailments including anxiety, depression, asthma and diabetes. As a cleansing herb and natural anti-inflammatory, basil is thought to have therapeutic benefits and is attributed to helping treat:

• Stress
• Respiratory issues and head colds
• Kidney conditions and fluid retention
• Many stomach issues such as gas, bloating, nausea, cramping and loss of appetite
• Snake and insect bites

Chives are an excellent addition to any kitchen and worth buying for several reasons. First and foremost, chives are packed with flavor, and their subtle onion-y taste pairs perfectly with a variety of different dishes. Whether you’re sprinkling chopped chives over scrambled eggs, baked potatoes, or grilled chicken, they add a delicious kick to any meal.

Not only are chives great for adding flavor, but they’re also incredibly versatile. You can use them as a garnish, mix them into dressings, marinades, and sauces, or even use them in soups and stews. They’re also incredibly easy to use.

Moreover, chives are also an excellent source of vitamins and minerals. They contain antioxidants, vitamin A, C, and K, iron, calcium, and potassium, all of which are essential for good health.

Chives are an incredibly flavorful, versatile, and nutritional ingredient that every kitchen should have. So, if you’re looking to add some zing to your dishes while maintaining a healthy diet, chives are the ideal choice to achieve both.

Dill is one of the oldest cultivated herbs, making its debut medicinally thousands of years ago. In first century Rome, dill weed was considered a good luck symbol, and in Greek and Roman cultures it was deemed a symbol of wealth. Dill carries the healing components monoterpenes and flavonoids, oferring various medicinal affects such as:

• relieving indigestion, cramps and gas
• helps with insomnia
• supports a healthy immune system building defenses against bacteria and viruses

The delicate herb – Anethum graveolens – is grown widely throughout Eastern Europe and Western Asia and is popular in Mediterranean, Persian and Southeast Asian cuisines. It is a member of the celery family – Apiaceae – and has thin, feathery, bright green leaves, similar to a fern. Interestingly, only the top eight inches of the plant are used.

Dill weed is dried and chopped and has a unique odor reminiscent of caraway seeds. The herb produces a lingering, strong aroma and a flavor that pops. In European cuisine, dill weed is used regularly to season fish and various soups, as well as in salad dressings and for pickling cucumbers. Its pungent flavor compliments chives and parsley well. The seeds of a dill plant can also be ingested. The brown and oval-shaped seeds offer a more citrusy, bitter taste than its leafy weed.

Marjoram, an ancient slightly pungent herb, comes from the same family of herbs as anise, dill, fennel, and cumin. It is similar to oregano but with a more delicate flavor. A fragrant herb with similar aromatic and flavor profiles to basil and thyme, it’s fresh and spicy with notes of camphor.

Originating in the Mediterranean region, marjoram is a much-loved spice in European and Mediterranean cuisine. Europeans once saw marjoram as a symbol of love, romance, and youth. In Greece, it was known as “Joy of the Mountains” and a symbol of happiness and peace. Before hops came along, marjoram took center stage in brewing beer and in France it was part of the winemaking process.

All over Europe marjoram was used in traditional medicine because of its known health benefits. It contains many vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. When made into a tea it treated nervous disorders, headaches, colds, and sinus issues. It also acts as an antidote to poison and eases stomaches and muscle pains.

This lightly perfume-scented herb is rich in Vitamin A and vitamin K. Vitamine K promotes healthy bone mass. Vitamin A is important for strong eyesight and vigorous skin. It’s high in calcium, potassium, magnesium, zinc, dietary fiber, beta-carotene, and folates. In it’s dried form it provides a source of iron.

Marjoram provides depth and adds body to many recipes. In it’s dried form it retains a stronger flavor than other dried herbs. Add it to the last stage of cooking to keep its robust flavor. It’s a delicious seasoning for tomato-based sauces, olive oil and vinegar salad dressings with anchovies. It compliments portobello mushrooms and fresh vegetables such as eggplant particularly we

How dull the world would be without herbal diversity! We are blessed, for example, with several varieties of oregano. Mexican oregano certainly shares common ground with the more familiar Mediterranean herb and can serve as a substitute for the Mediterranean version, with less needed for any given recipe. In both cases, it is the leaves – dried or fresh – that flavor food. In both cases, cooking enhances the flavor, which is why oregano intended for uncooked dishes (like guacamole or gazpacho) should be warmed before blending. But the two cousins also have clear differences. The Mexican version is stronger, more pungent, and features some citrusy notes missing from the Mediterranean herb. In addition, it has a somewhat sweet, minty undertone.

That’s ironic because Mexican oregano, unlike the Greek or Italian version, isn’t even in the mint family. It’s a member of the related verbena family. Like other verbenas, Mexican oregano is an attractive, slightly shrubby plant for a sunny garden, with small, aromatic white flowers and a pleasing mounded shape. Native to central Mexico, as well as neighboring Guatemala, it is becoming naturalized in the southwestern United States, because of increasing popularity among foodies. Its citrusy pungency brings out the flavor of indigenous Mexican food and will not blanch under the heat of adobo sauce or other spicy chili dishes. At the same time, it also pairs well with blander fare like avocados and cheese, by lending them a subtle piquancy.

Like its Mediterranean cousin, Mexican oregano has naturopathic applications, especially as a remedy for respiratory congestion. For centuries, Mexicans have steeped the leaves to make a traditional “country tea” to treat colds and regulate menstrual cycles.

Antibacterial and antifungal properties may explain rosemary’s widespread culinary application in the millennia before refrigeration. Because it not only preserved meat dishes, but made them more interesting, rosemary found its way into many meat and fish entrees, cooked vegetable sides, soufflés, breads, even fruit desserts. Often described as both woodsy and pungent, with light citrus notes, the herb imparts strong flavor and pairs well with robust-tasting meats like lamb and goat. For more subtle applications, a pinch of whole rosemary blended into oil or vinegar will lend special flair to the most basic salad dressing. A small amount mixed into softened butter will enliven the ordinary baked potato.

Whole rosemary is a staple of Italian and southern French cooking. This is no accident, because the evergreen shrub grows wild in many Mediterranean regions. A member of the mint family, rosemary is resilient, capable of withstanding both drought and light frosts. The medieval boast that rosemary thrives only in the gardens of the righteous suggests a plethora of righteous Europeans.

Medieval Europeans often wore the herb to ward off the bubonic plague. Ancient Egyptians, Romans and Greeks believed rosemary enhanced mental focus and improved recall. It figured in ancient funeral wreaths, as a symbol that the departed would not be forgotten. Modern medical studies provide some validation for these beliefs. Researchers have established that components in rosemary can combat gingivitis, ease joint pain, detoxify the liver and reduce the stress-inducing hormone cortisol. The herb is under scrutiny for its ability to inhibit the growth of cancer cells and to prevent the breakdown of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in Alzheimer’s patients. Clearly, Shakespeare’s Ophelia was right when she recommended rosemary “for remembrance.”

Tarragon is popular in many cuisines, especially French and Mediterranean, but it is one of the newer herbs in history. Although this herb has a bittersweet licorice flavor to it, it complements all the dishes it’s added to. In French recipes, it’s a standard ingredient in béarnaise and hollandaise sauces. In Persian cuisine, it surprises and refreshes the palate in savory pickle dishes or raw vegetable salads.

Tarragon made its appearance in France around the 1600s, so it has a shorter history than many of the other herbs you’ll find in your kitchen. It’s a perennial shrub regrowing year after year with dark green leaves and a woody stem.

Known by it’s less appetizing name dragon wort, Tarragon is a phytonutrient and antioxidant powerhouse. If you want to stimulate appetite, add Tarragon to your recipes. Lower blood sugar levels? Tarragon. Up your vitamin and mineral intake? Tarragon. This aromatic herb is rich in Vitamins A, B, and C as well as riboflavin, niacin, and folates. It’s loaded with iron, calcium, magnesium, copper, zinc, potassium, and manganese.

Tarragon is a versatile herb that heightens the flavor of other herbs and adds a distinctive touch to sauces, salads, dressings, and egg dishes. Spices that make different savory, aromatic blends with tarragon include parsley, chervil, thyme, anise, and mustard seed.  Create an herbed butter with it. Tarragon is a tasty herb with shrimp and other fish recipes. It complements mushrooms, tomatoes, and poultry.

Add this flavorful herb to the last stage while cooking recipes to help retain the best, most robust, flavor. Seasonally, tarragon grows late spring and early summer. But you can stock up on our dried variety all year long. Order bulk orders of Tarragon along with other wholesale herbs to make tasty dishes in your kitchen.

Thyme is an aromatic Mediterranean herb with a distinct flavor perfect for seasoning soups, stews, meat pies, and sauces. Infused oils with whole thyme bring a fresh subtle flavor of this herb to many dishes. The dry herb has a mildly minty and lemony flavor with a bit of piney and peppery taste.

While thyme compliments many different recipes it also has dietary and medicinal qualities. Before modern medicine thyme was used to protect against the black death and as an ingredient in embalming bodies. Today, It is thought to have antifungal, antibacterial, and insecticidal properties.

Possible medicinal uses include:

• Reducing blood pressure
• Protecting against colon cancer
• Treating acne

It is also considered a natural food preservative making oils last longer before spoiling when added. Fresh thyme is a hardy growing plant. The leaves are cut from the plant stems and dried for adding to recipes and oils.

Whole Thyme is such a versatile herb you can add it to almost anything. It’s a great addition to bean, lentil or chicken soups. Sprinkle it over homemade bread and brush with olive oil before baking. It is an ideal herb for lamb and veal recipes. This cut herb acts as a prominent seasoning in many chicken, meat, and vegetable dishes. It is also the main seasoning in clam chowder and fish soups.

Thyme also goes well in many dishes with our whole rosemary which carries a complimentary woodsy and lemon flavor. We also carry ground thyme great for mixing in a spice blend. And finally try French thyme with a musky flavor profile for use in classic Herbs De Provence and other French cuisines.

Xanthan gum is a flavorless food additive most home cooks probably don’t know about, but maybe they should. It is a plant-based product that’s widely used as a thickener or to stabilize other foods and products. It’s often found in baked goods, pastry fillings, ice cream, commercial jams, jellies and sauces as well as salad dressing and yogurt. For many, the most exciting thing about xanthan gum is its use in gluten-free baking.

Xanthum gum can be used as a binding agent in baking as an alternative to gluten. It adds volume to gluten-free baked goods including cakes, cookies and breads. Gluten works as binder – it’s what gives dough the sticky elasticity needed to hold together when it bakes. Baked goods made with gluten-free flours have a reputation for being dry and crumbly without the magic of gluten. Our Mount Hope Wholesale bulk xanthan gum replicates the properties of gluten.

Vegans may also use bulk xanthan gum as a thickener for sauces instead of butter, eggs or cream. The easiest way to incorporate it into your recipes is to combine one cup of liquid with one-eigth teaspoon xanthan gum or mixing it with a small amount of oil before adding it to liquids. Xanthan gum makes it easier to enjoy delicious, comforting foods while avoiding gluten and animal products.

Xanthan gum is safe to use in small quantities. Consuming more than 15 grams (which is far more than anyone would use in a day of regular use) may upset the digestive system similarly to eating too much fruit. People who have a known allergy to corn or soy should use xanthan gum with caution.