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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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Saffron is the name given to the dried stigmata and part of
the style of the saffron crocus, traditionally called Crocus sativus, which are
harvested, dried, and used for cooking. Saffron has a pleasant spicy smell, and
it contains a dye that colors food a distinctive deep golden colour. Safflower,
Carthamus tinctorius, is often used as a less expensive substitute for saffron,
as is turmeric, Curcuma longa, which mimics saffron's color well but has a very
different flavour. In European cuisine, saffron is, for example, used in many
Spanish recipes, including paella and Fabada Asturiana, and in the most famous
saffron-based Italian dish, the risotto alla milanese. Outside Europe, it is a
vital ingredient of many Indian, Arabian and Central Asian dishes. In herbal
medicine, saffron is used for its eupeptic, carminative, and emmenagogic
properties.
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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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Indian Muntock White Peppercorns are actually the insides of
shelled black peppercorns. They have a lighter flavour, less spicy and warm than
the black, with a characteristic aroma. Indian Muntock are allowed to ripen for
longer on the vine, then soaked in water. When the black shell is removed it
leaves a pepper with a lightly fermented flavour, and mild smooth taste.
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Herbal Remedies
Herbal
Books
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