Category — Herbs in the kitchen

Photograph by Wee Keat Chin

Annual
Helianthus annuus
Family: Compositae/Asteraceae

History

The sun-worshipping Aztecs of Peru decorated their temples with wrought-gold sunflowers and crowned their priestesses with sunflowers.

Introduced into Europe by Spanish explorers in the 16th century, sunflowers are now extensively grown for oils and for ornamental value.

Little gets wasted; the stems yield a paper-making fibre, the seeds produce a low-cholesterol oil, and the leaves are used for herbal tobaccos and cattle fodder.

The growing plant is an excellent soil improver, and is also effective in draining water-logged soils.

Bees get wax and nectar from the flowers, which also yield a yellow dye.

Uses

Medicinal: The seeds have diuretic and expectorant properties and have been used to treat coughs, colds and bronchitis.
Culinary: The seeds are high in protein, minerals and vitamins and can be eaten fresh or used as a flour.

Cultivation

Easy to grow, especially in manure-rich soil and with plenty of sun and water.
Harvesting & storage: The seeds are ripe when the flowerheads droop. Cut off heads and leave to dry. When dry the seeds will easily fall out. Store in cool, dry place until needed.

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For maximum flavour in herb and spice salts, use only sea salt as a base — it has the finest flavour, and is without the additives of commercial salt.

To mix your own herb and spice salts grind together sea salt and aromatic seeds such as celery, fennel, lovage or cumin.

A basic recipe is 500g of sea salt ground with 30g each of black peppercorns and coriander seeds and 7g each of bay leaves, cloves and dried basil.

Store in an airtight jar.

Herb pepper is a subtle seasoning with many uses.

Mix together 30g each of black and white peppercorns, 7g each of dried and powdered garden thyme, summer or winter savoury and marjoram, and a pinch of dried, powdered rosemary.

Photograph by Louise Docker

Perennial
Taraxacum officinale
Family: Compositae

History

The dandelion is a hardy perennial herb, native throughout the northern hemisphere — and spreading fast almost everywhere else, including Australia.

It is a highly effective diuretic which contains high levels of potassium salts, particularly important in a strong diuretic, because large amounts are lost in the urine.

Recognising this, the French often call it pissenlit —‘wet-the-bed’. The common name, however, comes from the French dent de lion, tooth of the lion, referring to the jagged edges of the leaves.

It has a long history as a medicinal herb in China.

Uses

Medicinal: Eating or drinking dandelion in any form has a beneficial effect on the body.

Besides it diuretic effects, it is a mild laxative, a tonic, a blood purifier and a digestive aid. It is recommended for liver complaints, jaundice, gall bladder and kidney problems, loss of appetite, eczema and dropsy, and it can relieve the symptoms of rheumatism and arthritis.

It is also rich in protein, sugar, vitamins, minerals and bitter principles.

Modern research by herbalists has shown dandelion to be effective in treating chronic degenerative joint diseases, by increasing mobility, reducing stiffness and decreasing the tendency to develop further lesions.
Culinary: The root can be roasted and used as a coffee substitute. The greens are more nutritious than spinach, and are a delicious addition to soups and salads. The leaves and flowers are made into the traditional dandelion wine, and the young buds make an acceptable substitute for capers when pickled.
Dye: Flowers used to make yellow dye for wool.

Cultivation

Sow seeds in spring in well-drained, nitrogen-rich soil in a sunny position. Drought and frost resistant. Readily self-seeds.
Harvesting & storage: Pick leaves in spring and use as a salad green or as a vegetable juice, or use dried in infusions, liquid extracts and tinctures. Roots are lifted in autumn from two-year-old plants and pressed for juice, or roasted for coffee.

Photograph by Holly Becker

Easy to grow herbs for culinary delight:

• Basil
• Bay, sweet
• Borage
• Caraway
• Chervil
• Chives
• Coriander
• Curry plant
• Dill
• Fennel
• Garlic
• Garlic chives
• Lemon balm
• Lemon grass
• Lemon verbena
• Marjoram
• Mint
• Oregano
• Parsley
• Rosemary
• Sage
• Winter Savoury
• Tarragon, French
• Thyme,
• Vietnamese Mint

Perennial
Monarda didyma
Family: Labiatae/Lamiaceae

History

A highly scented perennial herb, native to North America, bergamot is found there growing wild in woods, along roadsides and streams.

Also known as bee balm because of its attractiveness to bees. The name bergamot comes from the fact that it has a similar scent to the bergamot orange, a Mediterranean plant.

Native Americans brewed the leaves for Oswego tea.

Uses

Medicinal: Leaves contain antiseptic thymol. Infusion recomended for coughs, sore throats, nausea, flatulence, and menstrual cramps.
Culinary: Young leaves flavour wine, drinks, salad and stuffing. Add fresh flowers and some leaves to salads.
Aromatic: Citrusy fragrance brightens scent of potpourris and sachets.
Cosmetic: Used in baths or lotions, infusions of bergamot stimulate the skin.
Ornamental: Very attractive garden plant. Flower colours range from pink, white, violet, salmon and several shades of red.
Craft: Dried flowers retain their colour well.
Companion planting: Stimulates the growth of tomatoes.

Cultivation

Grows from creeping rootstock; needs plenty of water during hot periods. Prefers light, moist, well-drained position. Morning sun only.
Harvesting & storage: Cut down to 2cm above ground level immediately after flowering.
Strip leaves from stems and dry in a warm, shady place for 2-3 days. A drying period of more than three days may discolour the leaves and produce a less flavoursome tea.

Perennial
Borago officinalis
Family: Boraginaceae

Despite being reviled by some gardeners as an ‘untidy weed’ borage is a delightful addition to any herb garden with its sparkling blue or rarer white flowers which entice bees from early spring to early autumn.

Blue, and if you’re lucky, white starry flowers are a very attractive addition to the garden despite its sprawling growth habit.

Plant near strawberries, and see the end result in bigger, sweeter fruit. It also strengthens resistance to insects and disease of nearby plants.

Borage is also one of the best bee magnets wherever pollinators are needed, as they love borage’s plentiful, sweet nectar.

Easily grown from seed; it will self-sow annually. Borage adapts to most positions and is very hardy.

The foliage does not store well, but the flowers can be crystallised.

The flowers and leaves have a crisp cucumber flavour. Delicious in salads. Wash leaves under cold water to reduce prickliness of leaves.

History

The ‘Herb of Gladness’, borage was a favourite of ancient scholars and writers.

John Gerard in his Herball writes:

Those of our time do use the floures in sallads to exhilerate and make the minde glad.

There be also many things made of them, used for the comfort of the heart, to drive away sorrow, & increase the joy of the minde.

The leaves and floures of Borrage put into wine make men and women glad and merry, driving away all sadnesse, dulnesse, and melancholy, as Dioscorides and Pliny affirme.

Syrrup made of the floures of Borrage comforteth the heart, purgeth melancholy, and quieteth the phrenticke or lunaticke person.

The generic name is thought to be derived from the Latin borra, ‘rough hair’, referring to its hairy stems and leaves.

Young borage leaves used to be boiled and eaten as a potherb and, finely shredded, were also eaten in spring salads. The flower is a symbol for courage.

Uses

Medicinal: Diuretic, demulcent, and emollient. An infusion drunk hot helps reduce temperatures and fevers. Very rich in potassium and easily assimilable calcium.
Culinary: Flowers and leaves have a crisp cucumber flavour. Delicious in salads. Wash leaves under cold water to reduce prickliness of leaves.
Ornamental: Blue, starry flowers are a very attractive addition to the garden despite its sprawling growth habit.
Companion planting: Plant with strawberries, as the two are mutually beneficial. It strengthens resistance to
insects and disease of nearby plants.
Other: Attracts bees to the garden wherever pollinators are needed, as they love borage’s plentiful, sweet nectar.

Cultivation

Easily grown from seed; will self-sow annually. Adaptable to most positions. Very hardy.
Harvesting & storage: Foliage does not store well, but the flowers can be crystallised.