Herbs Category

This has a lemony flavor, and small, pointed, fuzzy leaves. Thai cooks toss it into soups, salads, and noodle dishes.

This variety of thyme has a lemony flavor.

This has a strong lemon flavor that works especially well in teas and vegetable dishes. If you can't find it in the spice section, cut open lemon verbena teabags.

Thai cooks use these grayish green stalks to impart a lemony flavor to their dishes. Remove the outer leaves, then use about six inches of the base, discarding the top and the very bottom. It's best to cut lemongrass into large pieces that can be easily removed after the dish is cooked. Frozen lemongrass is a good substitute for fresh, but dried lemongrass (soaked in hot water) is only a fair substitute. Use powdered version (called sereh powder) only in a pinch.

Lovage tastes like celery, but it's even more pungent and flavorful. The only drawback but it can't withstand long cooking like celery can. Use it in any recipe that calls for celery, but use less and add it to cooked dishes at the last minute.

Marjoram is sweeter and milder than its close relative, oregano. It's often used to season meats and fish, and works best when its added near the end of the cooking period. Fresh is best, but frozen or dried marjoram are acceptable substitutes. Don't confuse this with wild marjoram, which is better known as oregano.

Middle Eastern cooks use this as an herb in their soups. In other regions, fresh meloukhia is used as a cooking green, much like spinach.

Mint is used throughout the world to flavor everything from lamb to candy. It's also a great garnish and breath freshener. Spearmint is the variety you're most likely to encounter in markets, and it's the best choice for savory dishes. Peppermint = brandy mint has a stronger flavor and is best suited to dessert recipes. Used dried mint only in a pinch--it's not nearly as flavorful as fresh.

The Japanese use this to flavor soups and salads.

Opal basil has purple leaves and a longer shelf life than sweet basil, but the two can be used interchangeably in most recipes.

Oregano is a popular herb in Mediterranean countries, where it's often used to season tomato sauces, meat dishes, and pizzas. Mexican oregano has a mintier taste than ordinary oregano. If you can't find it fresh, dried oregano is a good substitute.

These hard to find and expensive leaves taste a little like oysters. Oyster plants are low growing perennial herb in the borage family.

This Mexican herb is similar to cilantro. It's often added raw to tacos, sandwiches, salads, and guacamole. It doesn't handle heat well, so add it to cooked dishes at the last minute.

Parsley is prized both for its looks and for its fresh, grassy flavor. There are two common varieties: the mild curly parsley and the more flavorful Italian parsley. Use curly parsley if you want looks and Italian parsley if you want flavor. Parsley doesn't hold up well to cooking, so add it to cooked dishes at the very last minute. Frozen parsley is a good substitute for fresh, but dried parsley adds only color.

This Mexican herb tastes a bit like cilantro and mint.

Vietnamese and Thai cooks use this herb in soups and curry dishes.

This Mexican herb has succulent leaves and is used as a seasoning or cooking green, especially during Lent.

The Italians are particularly fond of this pungent herb with its needle-like leaves. They often use it to flavor meats and tomato sauces. Rosemary stems, stripped of their leaves, can also be used as skewers for kabobs. Dried rosemary is an excellent substitute for fresh.

Marketers often call safflower "saffron," but it bears little resemblance to the real thing, except that it imparts a weak, saffron-like color to food. It has very little flavor.

Sage is often combined with other strong herbs to flavor meat dishes and poultry stuffings. Use it sparingly; a little goes a long way. Dried sage is an excellent substitute for fresh.

This herb has a strong, peppery flavor, and it's often used in Mediterranean countries to flavor beans, mushrooms, vegetables, and meats. There are two varieties: winter savory and the milder summer savory. Winter savory is best suited to slowly cooked dishes like stews.

These sword-shaped leaves are about two feet long. Look for plastic bags of folded leaves among the frozen foods in Asian markets.

This comes from the same plant that gives us sesame seeds. Koreans use them to wrap packets of meat or as a fresh herb.

The Japanese mostly use this pungent herb to flavor pickled plums. It comes in two colors: red and green.

Summer savory is milder than winter savory.

This has a pleasant anise flavor, and is the most commonly used basil in Thailand.

This is widely used throughout the Mediterranean region to make tomato sauces, pesto, and other dishes.

The French are especially fond of this aromatic, anise-like herb. They often use it to flavor delicately flavored foods like eggs, fish, cheese, and chicken, and it's an indispensable ingredient in sauce béarnaise and in the herb mixture the French call fines herbes. Use it sparingly--a little goes a long way. Frozen tarragon is an excellent substitute for fresh, but use the dried version only in a pinch.

Thai basil has purple stems and flowers. It has a milder flavor than holy basil.

This herb is widely used in Mediterranean countries to flavor stews and meat sauces. It's often used in combination with other herbs, like rosemary, parsley, and oregano. Use dried thyme only in a pinch--fresh thyme is far more flavorful.

These leaves are purple on one side and green on the other. They have a pleasant, peppery flavor that tastes a bit like cinnamon. Vietnamese cooks often add them to soups at the last minute.

These are used in Indian and Southeast Asian dishes. There are no acceptable substitutes, just omit this from the recipe

This perennial herb has a stronger flavor than its annual relative, summer savory.

These are Chinese chives that have been shielded from the sun in order to stifle the production of chlorophyll. Use them just like ordinary Chinese chives.

The Spanish name "yerba buena" ("good herb") is used to describe several varieties of mint, including Satureja douglasii, Satureja chamissonis, and Mentha spicata (spearmint).