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Herbs and Herbal Remedies
Herbal
Books For a quick check list of
herbs & medicinal uses: herbal therapy
Turmeric
Here is a sample of herbs you might find useful for your herbal remedies.
more on
herbal therapy
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Caraway seeds are crescent-shaped and around 2 mm long, with five pale
ridges. The seed, usually used whole, has a pungent, anise-like flavor. The
aroma comes from essential oils, mostly carvone and limonene. Caraway seed oil
is also used as a fragrance component in soaps, lotions, and perfumes. The plant
looks similar to a carrot plant, with finely divided, feathery leaves with
thread-like divisions, growing on 20-30 cm stems. The main flower stem is 40-60
cm tall, with white or pink flowers in umbels. The roots may be cooked like
parsnips or carrots. It prefers sun and well-drained soil.
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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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Marjoram (Origanum majorana, Lamiaceae) is a cold-sensitive
perennial herb or undershrub with sweet pine and citrus flavors. It is also
called Sweet Marjoram or Knotted Marjoram and Majorana hortensis. The name
marjoram (Old French majorane, Medieval Latin majorana) is not connected with
the word major. Marjoram is cultivated for its aromatic leaves, either green or
dry, for culinary purposes; the tops are cut as the plants begin to flower and
are dried slowly in the shade. It is often used in herb combinations such as
Herbes de Provence and Za'atar.
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Cardamom pods are aromatic with a citrus perfumed flavoured
flavour. The pods should be crushed lightly, or discard from the pot after
cooking Either crush the pod lightly and discard after cooking, or open and
remove the seeds which can then be used whole or ground. The outer green pod is
not eaten. Cardamom complements - fish, meat, curries, rice, fruit, pastries,
meringue, cream, yoghurt, pickles.
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The nutmegs Myristica are a genus of evergreen trees
indigenous to tropical southeast Asia and Australasia. They are important for
two spices derived from the fruit, nutmeg and mace. Nutmeg is the actual seed of
the tree, roughly egg-shaped and about 20-30 mm long and 15-18 mm wide, while
mace is the dried "lacy" reddish covering of the seed. Several other commercial
products are also produced from the trees, including essential oils, extracted
oleoresins, and nutmeg butter (see below).
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Herbal Remedies
Herbal
Books
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