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Herbs and Herbal Remedies
Herbal
Books For a quick check list of
herbs & medicinal uses: herbal therapy
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Here is a sample of herbs you might find useful for your herbal remedies.
more on
herbal therapy
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Basil is most commonly used fresh, and in cooked recipes, is generally added
at the last moment, as cooking destroys the flavour quickly. The fresh herb can
be kept for a short time in plastic bags in the refrigerator, or for a longer
period in the freezer, after being blanched quickly in boiling water. Place
fresh leaves in a dry jar with a pinch of salt, and cover with olive oil. The
dried herb also loses most of its flavour, and what little flavour remains
tastes very different, with a weak coumarin flavour, like hay.
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Fenugreek is used both as a herb (the leaves) and a spice
(the seed). The yellow, rhombic fenugreek seed is frequently used in the
preparation of pickles, curry powders and pastes, and is often encountered in
the cuisine of the Indian subcontinent and Thailand. The young leaves and
sprouts of fenugreek are eaten as greens and the fresh or dried leaves are used
to flavor other dishes. Fenugreek is also one of four herbs used for the Iranian
recipe Ghormeh Sabzi. A side effect of consuming even small amounts of fenugreek
is a maple syrup or curry smell in the eater's sweat and urine which is caused
by the potent aroma compound sotolone. Fenugreek is frequently used in the
production of flavoring for artificial syrups. The taste of toasted fenugreek is
additionally based on substituted pyrazines, as is cumin. By itself, it has a
somewhat bitter taste. Fenugreek seed is widely used as a galactagogue (milk
producing agent) by nursing mothers to increase inadequate breast milk supply.
It can be found in capsule form in many health food stores.
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Young ginger roots are juicy and fleshy with a very mild
taste. They are often pickled in vinegar or sherry as a snack or just cooked as
an ingredient in many dishes. Mature ginger roots are fibrous and dry, and this
is what ours are. Powdered dry ginger or ground ginger is used to add spiciness to gingerbread
and other recipes. It tastes quite different from fresh ginger, and neither can
be substituted for the other. Ginger has a sialagogue action, stimulating the
production of saliva.
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Spearmint (Mentha spicata, syn M. viridis), the mint variety
most commonly used in cooking, yields an aromatic and carminative oil, referred
to as "oil of spearmint". Many people use the name "scotch spearmint" for
gingermint (Mentha x gracilis, syn M. cardiaca), a hybrid of spearmint and wild
mint (Mentha arvensis). Spearmint takes its name from its crinkled leaves, which
resemble the shape of the blade of a spear. It has oblong, lanceolate,
sub-acute, serrate leaves, and slender spikes of flowers. It grows in watery
places. In herbalism, spearmint is steeped as tea for treatment of stomach ache.
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Poppy Seeds are used to flavor breads, cakes, rolls, and
cookies in European and Middle Eastern cooking. In Turkey, they are often ground
and used in desserts. In India, the seeds are ground and used to thicken sauces.
The seeds are also used in noodle, fish, and vegetable dishes in Jewish, German,
and Slavic cooking.
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Herbal Remedies
Herbal
Books
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