Herbs for Table and Beauty!

Last year, Al asked me to feature herbs in this column during the fall. So now, as we finish up the harvest and fill our larders for the winter, I’ll do just that. Herbs and spices will play an important role in our culinary adventures during the coming winter months. Some cooks wouldn’t consider a stuffing without sage to be worthy of their Thanksgiving bird. Many holiday dishes depend on fragrant spices; and even the apple pie that some of you might be baking right now is redolent with the alluring scents of allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Defined simply as any flowering plant whose stem above ground does not become woody, “herb” in common usage has come to mean an edible plant with leaves that have medicinal or culinary usefulness. It is not within the purview of this column to comment on possible health benefits of plants (other than the healthful benefits of the work it takes to grow them!), so I refer the reader to other sources for that. The term “spice” is generally applied to the aromatic bark, seed, or root of a plant—parts other than leaves. These include nutmeg (and mace, the web-like covering of this fruit of Myristica fragrans), cinnamon (the bark of Cinnamomum zeylanicum), pepper (the berry of Piper nigrum), cardamom (the seeds of Elettaria cardamomum and also Amamum cardamomum), turmeric (the rhizome of Curcuma longa), and so many more. Even the coffee that is such a part of our Northwest culture is considered a spice, since it is brewed from the roasted seeds of Coffea arabica. Of course, exceptions are sometimes the rule in the plant kingdom, and the widely used Coriandrum sativum offers its leaves as an herb—cilantro—and its seeds as a spice—coriander. One flavors foods from salsa to pad Thai and curries; the other turns up in Asian dishes as well as in sugar cookies and jawbreakers. The leaves of Anethum graveolens are used fresh as an herb to flavor salmon, breads, and potatoes; the spice of the seeded flower heads give dill pickles their name. Both coriander and dill can be grown quite successfully here; but we should leave the nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom, turmeric, and their spice-y cousins to the tropical regions where they thrive. Coffea arabica is an attractive houseplant, but I wouldn’t count on your harvest making a dent in Starbucks’ market share.

Herbs can be grown for culinary purposes or for their ornamental value alone. The creeping species of Thymus make very attractive ground covers and are favorites of our harried bees. Sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum, formerly Asperula odorata) looks splendid as an edging in shady areas, particularly under rhodies; as an added benefit, you can use it to make May wine. Oregano (Origanum vulgare) and its sibling marjoram (O. majorana) are dependable perennials for tough, dry, sunny spots. Like many herbs, they are exuberant in their growth. Members of the mint family are even beyond that and are best grown in containers. These and other perennial herbs, suitable for our area, do best when given regular clippings throughout the summer. The leaves can be dried and stored for use in the winter. Pluck the leaves in the morning, when the dew is still on them, for the best flavor. And do harvest before the flowers form, for the leaves develop a strong, bitter flavor after that.

Annual herbs such as sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum), chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium), summer savory (Satureja hortensis) are also best when harvested and used before flowering. These and other annuals can be grown in a specially designated herb garden; in your vegetable plot; in containers; or in a mixed border. While some try to grow annual and perennial herbs in a sunny window during winter, my experience has been that the plants are scraggly and the flavors muted. I believe that Confucius had it right when he refused to eat anything in other than its own season. So gather herbs when they grow, dry them if appropriate, but most of all, enjoy the delights that come from growing them and using them in your kitchen. Try new ones, both for their form and their flavors. One that you won’t be able to grow here but is worth tasting is Stevia rebaudiana. You may recall that Stevia was a mystery to me but thanks to the help of several alert readers, I was able to track it down. It is a small shrub that grows wild in Paraguay and adjacent areas of Brazil. Used by the Guarani Indians as a sweetener since pre-Columbian times, it is now widely used in Asia and in South America as a natural sugar substitute. Its leaves, when dried, are up to 400 times sweeter than the cane sugar that is a staple in this country. They contain a glycoside, a complex molecule called Stevioside, that is the source of the sweetness. Interestingly, plants cultivated outside its native region are much less sweet, so countries that use it depend on imports rather than local cultivation for their supply. Crushed stevia leaves are available at health-food stores here in Bellingham. For more information about stevia and recipes using it, the definitive source seems to be Stevia Rebaudiana: Nature’s Sweet Secret, written by David Richard in 1996 and published by Blue Heron Press.