Herbs Category

Alexanders was a widely used vegetable for centuries. It grows naturally mostly in coastal areas through out Europe and the Mediterranean. Alexanders is attractive because the green shoots are available in the late winter. It has fallen out of favor.

Angelica is prized for its crunchy stems, which are often candied and used to decorate baked goods. You can also use the leaves and stems to add a celery flavor to liqueurs, sauces, and vegetable side dishes.

This is used in Southeast Asia.

Mexican cooks use these to impart an anise-like aroma to foods. They're often used as wrappers, or crumbled into stews. Toast the leaves before using.

This name is also used for screwpine leaves. Bai-toey leaves are about four inches in diameter, and smell a bit like a dentist's office. Look for them in Southeast Asian markets.

African cooks use leaves from the massive baobab tree to thicken their stews. Like okra, the leaves give the dish a slimy texture that's characteristic of West African stews.

Basil is widely used in Mediterranean countries, where it flavors everything from pasta sauces to pesto, and in Southeast Asia, where it's often stir-fried with other ingredients. There are numerous varieties, ranging from the more pungent Asian basils to the sweeter and milder European varieties. Use dried basil only in a pinch--it's not nearly as flavorful as fresh.

Bay leaves are a staple of Mediterranean cuisines, lending a woodsy flavor to sauces, stews, and grilled meats. It's best to add whole leaves, then remove them before serving the dish. The Turkish bay leaf is smaller and less potent than the California bay leaf, but more highly prized due to the complexity of its flavor. Dried leaves are a good substitute for fresh.

The Vietnamese wrap beef in these leaves, while others chew them like gum.

Black stone flower is a lichen used as a spice in soups and meat dishes.

These small leaves have a strong woodsy aroma. They're hard to find, but Hispanic markets sometimes carry dried leaves in cellophane bags.

Borage is best known for its attractive blue flowers, but Europeans sometimes use the leaves as an herb in salads and soups. Borage has a mild flavor that's been likened to that of cucumbers. The leaves are covered with prickly, throat-catching hairs, so it's best to either blanch them or chop them finely before serving them.

The more potent California bay leaf is highly prized due to the complexity of its flavor.

This feathery green herb tastes like a subtle blend of parsley and anise. It's far more plentiful in Europe than in America. Avoid the dried version--it has very little flavor.

This herb isn't nearly as hot as the chile that comes from the same plant. It's sometimes used as a cooking green in Southeast Asia.

Unlike regular chives, these have flat leaves and a distinct garlicky flavor.

These slender, hollow shoots have a mild onion flavor. Many cooks use scissors to cut fresh chives, sprinkling them like confetti on potatoes, eggs, and salads. Always use fresh chives--they lose much of their flavor when they're frozen or freeze-dried.

This fern-like herb has a strong anise flavor. It's not well known in the United States, but it's popular in Scandinavia, where it's often used to flavor desserts.

Cilantro leaves are used throughout the world as a fragrant herb. Hispanic cooks use it in salsas, Asians in stir-fries, and Indians in curries. The seeds (called coriander seeds), stems, and roots of the plant are also used. Cilantro doesn't cook very well, so always add it to hot dishes at the last minute. Don't confuse cilantro with Italian parsley, which looks just like it but isn't nearly as fragrant

This herb is popular throughout the Caribbean. It's similar to cilantro, but more bitter.

This has less flavor than Italian parsley, but it makes a terrific garnish. Don't bother buying dried parsley--it has very little flavor.

These look like small bay leaves and smell like limes. Dried leaves are easier to find than fresh, but they aren't very good.

You can find soft, feathery sprigs of dill leaves in markets throughout the year. Chopped dill is often paired with fish, cucumbers, potatoes, or it's added to dips, salad dressings, or cream sauces. Dill loses flavor when it's heated, so always add it to cooked dishes at the last minute. Avoid dried dill; it has very little flavor. And don't confuse dill leaves with dill seeds--though they come from the same plant, they're not good substitutes for one another.

This strongly-flavored herb is commonly used in Mexican bean dishes, partly because it's supposed to reduce flatulence. Fresh epazote has dark green leaves with serrated edges. If you can't find it, the dried version is an acceptable substitute.

This mildly bitter herb is believed to have medicinal properties. Dried leaves, either whole or ground, are called kasuri methi, and they're a good substitute for fresh. Look for fresh or dried leaves in Indian markets.

This powder is made from the same sassfras tree leaves that used to give root beer its distinctive flavor, back in the days before artificial flavorings. Southerners add filé to their gumbos to thicken and flavor them. The powder gets stringy when it's heated, so add it only after you've removed the gumbo from the heat source. Filé also doesn't reheat well, so add it only to the gumbo that you're planning to eat right away.

These come from the same plant as Chinese chives. They're usually marketed and cooked before the buds open.

These green or purple flat pods contain seeds that impart an unusual, garlicky flavor to Mexican dishes. The seeds are terrific with scrambled eggs or beans, but they have a reputation for causing flatulence.

These heart-shaped leaves impart a root beer flavor to dishes, and they're great for wrapping tamales and other foods. They're hard to find; your best bet is a Hispanic market.

This has jagged leaves. It's fairly pungent, so it's rarely eaten raw.

This Mexican vegetable looks like a long, skinny broccoli stick. Mexican cooks dip them in batter and deep-fat fry them.

The leaves and small blue flowers of this plant are used as a garnish or to impart a mild, slightly bitter flavor to salads, soups, and liqueurs. Don't waste your time drying the leaves--they'll lose almost all of their flavor.

Dried leaves are very good substitutes for fresh. Don't confuse these with Indonesian bay leaves.

This is the best parsley to use for cooking--it has more flavor than the more common curly parsley. Avoid dried parsley; it has very little flavor.

A kaffir lime leaf look as if two glossy, dark green leaves were joined together end to end, forming a figure-eight pattern. Most Thai recipes count each double leaf as two separate leaves. Frozen kaffir lime leaves are a good substitute for fresh. Dried leaves are much less flavorful, so use twice as many as the recipe calls for if you're substituting them for fresh leaves.

This African herb is a powder made from the leaves of a baobab trees.

These are used as meat wrappers in Vietnam.

Vietnamese sprinkle this herb on their laksa soups. It has a strong, minty, peppery flavor. It's sold in bunches with lots of pointy leaves on each stem.