Herb Alchemy
Sauces That Slap: 101
Greetings Friends,
Today we are going to dive into Fresh Herbs.
A basic understanding of fresh herbs, flavor combinations and a few sauces can take you to Flavor Wizard status in your kitchen quickly.
When you see fresh herbs, you are looking at 100’s of flavor possibilities to enhance enjoyment of everything from eggs, to meats, fish or vegetables.
March Coffee’s ☕️:
With shipping prices going up and inflation at all time highs, guess what’s not going up?
Octopod Premium Coffee’s for March are holding the same price since launch in 2021 and offering free shipping in the US. 🙌
That means you’re getting the best deal possible on the highest quality and most delicious beans you can get your hands on.
Yes… the best.
Coffee’s ship out early next week so order now to get these premium coffee’s delivered to your door… no hassle!
This months offerings:
Ethiopia (Natural Process):
Flavors: Grape, Fruit Punch, Dark Chocolate.
Columbia (Washed):
Tasting Notes: Brown Sugar, Red Grape, Cocoa.
Take your coffee game to the next level of enjoyment! ☕️ 🙌
HERB MAGIC:
One of the things I remember early on in my fine dining cooking career was how much fresh herbs can make a difference on the final taste and outcome of a dish. A sprig of fresh thyme, a sprinkling of fresh chives, or a handful of tarragon leaves all can elevate a dish to gastronomic pleasures… pure alchemy!
The issue is most home cooks don’t have fresh herbs on hand, and when they do, they spoil quickly and end up losing a lot of their flavor prematurely.
So lets’ talk Herbs, Storage and 3 Killer Herb Sauces that can transform your meal times!
FRESH VS DRY
The difference between fresh and dried herbs is vast enough that both have specific uses that shouldn’t be overlooked… (dried herbs, as well as spices, were written about previously ⬇️ )
Where dried herbs hold concentrated flavors and are best used in small amounts, fresh herbs are vibrant, bright and should be used in generous amounts.
Example: While it’s quite easy to add too much dried thyme to a sauce, fresh thyme is much harder to “over do”.
In most cases I’ve seen, homecooks use too much dried herbs and not enough fresh.
The downside to Fresh Herbs is durability. Once picked, or cut, their flavor begins diminishing quickly. That’s why fresh herbs tend to be best when cut, snipped, or sliced to order.
This isn’t exactly convenient or time efficient, and that’s where Fresh Herb Sauces come in to be your best friend in the kitchen. By adding some acid and fat, to make a sauce… you can extend the freshness of the herbs and some shelflife to have on hand for easy use.
Fresh Herb Sauces that Slap… for the win!
COMMON HERBS
This is by no means a comprehensive list of fresh herbs; as you’ll see next week when we visit the Pantry of SouthEast Asia 😉 .
What follows is a list of widely available fresh herbs to consider as ‘culinary allies’ when you’re cooking.
Parsley: Widespread use in many cuisines, prominently Italian and French cuisine. Fresh flat-leaf (sometimes called Italian) parsley is the epitome of “green and vegetal” flavors. Adding fresh earthiness with a touch of pepper. *Note: curly leaf parsley is bland and should be avoided
Dill: Grassy, tangy and sweet… this fresh herb is used widely in Greek cuisine, as well as in Nordic Cuisines. A very important herb in pickling (Dill Pickles) and the famous “gravlax”, cured salmon. It works well incorporated into mayonnaise and sour cream sauces.
Cilantro: Bright, zippy, citrusy and sometimes soapy… cilantro can be a polarizing herb for some people. However, it is used the world-over from Mexico to Thailand and celebrated for it’s ability to bring a bright, fresh quality to sauces, marinades, salads and more.
Basil: An essential fresh green herb characterized by sweet, mild pepper and a subtle anise-licorice flavor that is intoxicating. There are many varieties of Basil, all with noticeable flavor differences. Sweet varietals like Italian & Genovese. Also purple basil, Thai basil, Holy Basil range from peppery to floral.
Thyme: This woody herb has important uses in cuisines all the way from France (Herbes de Provence) to the Middle East (Za’atar spice). Thyme carries flavors of earth, mint and lemon that make it versatile for 1000’s of uses.
Sage: This fresh herb is magic when cooked in butter until crisp and doused over Gnocchi…. sound familiar? ⬇️
Sage has mild minty, peppery and assertive flavor that also pairs extremely well with pork. This is the distinctive herb in Thanksgiving stuffing and also breakfast sausage.
Tarragon: One of my favorite herbs… by far. The delicate flavors of fennel and licorice make this herb magical when used in applications from salad to seafood. It is also the key ingredient in Bearnaise sauce. This tender herb can be finicky to keep so if it starts to degrade, it makes a great flavoring for vinegars.
Rosemary: Woody, hearty, piney and resinous… Rosemary is one of the most bold fresh herbs. A little goes a long way, and this herb is crucial in the Italian Steak Fiorentina and also makes a good herb to top focaccia or flatbreads studded with olives.
Mint: Chutneys, relishes, tzatziki sauce, tabbouleh and more are all characterized by fresh mint. Most commonly from 2 plants, peppermint and spearmint, mint contains menthol which provides a bracing and cooling blast of flavor.
Oregano: Ubiquitous with Italian cuisine, and especially tomato 🍅 sauces, fresh oregano provides a sweet-yet-peppery flavor to soups, stews and braised dishes.
Chives: The most subtle of flavors from the Onion (Allium) family. Fresh cut chives cannot be substituted. The sweet and mild sharpness is delicate. A dull knife will cause them to taste like a lawnmower bag so always use a sharp knife or scissors when cutting.
SOURCING
There are options for growing your own. If you have a green thumb or the desire, space and interest, this would be the best option!
If you’re unable to grow your own, then here’s a few tips.
*Asian Markets are great for finding a plethora of fresh green herbs like mint, cilantro etc (some not even listed above) at a good price. They rotate out often and are usually very fresh.
*Middle Eastern markets will usually have bulk parsley, cilantro, mint, dill and a host of other fresh green herbs. Again, these usually rotate quickly so fresh and at a good price.
*For either of the options above, find out which days the fresh herbs are delivered and you can plan your shopping trips on that. Eg: Thursday’s seem to be delivery days for Vietnamese and Middle Eastern Markets.
*If you have access to a restaurant wholesale account, this is a great place to get fresh herbs (all of the above listed) in bulk. You’ll be paying pennies on the dollar compared to buying at a grocery store.
*Some larger/specialty supermarkets have open herb displays that you can pick and bag, which is a better alternative to buying pre-bagged.
So you have your fresh herbs… but how do you keep them from spoiling in a few days?
STORAGE
You can save a lot of wasted $$$ by simply storing your fresh herbs correctly.
Some TLDR tips for you:
For Woody/Sturdy Herbs: Store, wrapped in a damp paper towel in a zip-loc bag in the fridge. This applies to: Sage, Thye, Rosemary… and also works great for chives and tarragon. *Make sure the herbs themselves are dry to begin with.
For Delicate/Light Leaf Herbs: Best results are when the herbs are stored upright with water (like a bouquet of flowers). Snip the bottoms off the stems, place in a container, upright, with 1 inch of water at the base. Then cover with a zip-loc bag and seal the bag to the container with a rubber band. You can store in the fridge, or try on your countertop. If on the counter, you may need to change the water every other day or so.
MORTAR & PESTLE
Will write more in depth at a later time, but worth mentioning here that mortar and pestles are fantastic for making flavorful herb sauce. The friction and pressure from bruising and smashing the herbs produces a more robust flavored sauce than one just chopped in a food processor. The issue is the mortar and pestle takes more time and energy, which a lot of people aren’t interested in.
There are many styles of mortar and pestle from clay, marble, granite to wood… I have 3 myself of different styles 😂 (not sorry!)
Now follow me on a quick trip around the world 🌍 for 3 Fresh Herb 🌿 Sauce recipes that are versatile, quick and obscenely delicious!