Culinary Herbs
In the flavoring of prepared dishes we Americans - people, as the French say, "of one sauce" - might well learn a lesson from the example of the English matron who usually considers her kitchen incomplete without a dozen or more sweet herbs, either powdered, or in decoction, or preserved in both ways.
A glance into a French or a German culinary department would probably show more than a score; but a careful search in an American kitchen would rarely reveal as many as half a dozen, and in the great majority probably only parsley and sage would be brought to light. Yet these humble plants possess the power of rendering even unpalatable and insipid dishes piquant and appetizing, and this, too, at a surprisingly low cost. Indeed, most of them may be grown in an out-of-the-way corner of the garden, or if no garden be available, in a box of soil upon a sunny windowsill - a method adopted by many foreigners living in tenement houses in New York and Jersey City.
Certainly they may be made to add to the pleasure of living and, as Solomon declares, "better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox with contention."
...before or just after a shower. The alternate plants may be removed in late August or early September, the
alternate rows about three weeks later and the final crop in October.
Thyme will winter well. In home garden practice it may be treated like sage. In the coldest climates it may
be mulched with leaves or litter to prevent undue thawing and freezing and consequent heaving of the soil. In
the spring the plants should be dug, divided and reset in a new situation.
When seed is desired, the ripening tops must be cut frequently, because the plants mature very unevenly.
But this method is often more wasteful than spreading cloths or sheets of paper beneath the plants and
allowing the seed to drop in them as it ripens. Twice a day, preferably about noon, and in the late afternoon
the plants should be gently jarred to make the ripe seeds fall into the sheets. What falls should then be
collected and spread in a warm, airy room to dry thoroughly. When this method is practiced the stems are cut
finally; that is, when the bulk of the seed has been gathered. They are dried, threshed or rubbed and the trash
removed, by sifting. During damp weather the seed will not separate readily from the plants.
Of the common thyme there are two varieties: narrow−leaved and broad−leaved. The former, which has
small grayish−green leaves, is more aromatic and pleasing than the latter, which, however, is much more
popular, mainly because of its size, and not because of its superiority to the narrow−leaved kind. It is also
known as winter or German thyme. The plant is taller and larger and has bigger leaves, flowers and seeds than
the narrow−leaved variety and is decidedly more bitter.
Uses.—The green parts, either fresh, dried or in decoction, are used very extensively for flavoring soups,
gravies, stews, sauces, forcemeats, sausages, dressings, etc. For drying, the tender stems are gathered after the
dew is off and exposed to warm air in the shade. When crisp they are rubbed, the trash removed and the
powder placed in stoppered bottles or tins. All parts of the plant are fragrant because of the volatile oil, which
is commercially distilled mainly in France. About one per cent of the green parts is oil, which after distillation
is at first a reddish−brown fluid. It loses its color on redistillation and becomes slightly less fragrant. Both
grades of oil are used commercially in perfumery. In the oil are also crystals (thymol), which resemble
camphor and because of their pleasant odor are used as a disinfectant where the strong−smelling carbolic acid
would be objectionable.
Besides common thyme two other related species are cultivated to some extent for culinary purposes.
Lemon thyme (T. citriodorus, Pers.), like its common relative, is a little undershrub, with procumbent stems
and with a particularly pleasing fragrance. Wild thyme, or mother−of−thyme (T. serpyllum, Linn.), is a less
grown perennial, with violet or pink flowers. It is occasionally seen in country home gardens, and is also used
somewhat for seasoning.
1115475602
A glance into a French or a German culinary department would probably show more than a score; but a careful search in an American kitchen would rarely reveal as many as half a dozen, and in the great majority probably only parsley and sage would be brought to light. Yet these humble plants possess the power of rendering even unpalatable and insipid dishes piquant and appetizing, and this, too, at a surprisingly low cost. Indeed, most of them may be grown in an out-of-the-way corner of the garden, or if no garden be available, in a box of soil upon a sunny windowsill - a method adopted by many foreigners living in tenement houses in New York and Jersey City.
Certainly they may be made to add to the pleasure of living and, as Solomon declares, "better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox with contention."
...before or just after a shower. The alternate plants may be removed in late August or early September, the
alternate rows about three weeks later and the final crop in October.
Thyme will winter well. In home garden practice it may be treated like sage. In the coldest climates it may
be mulched with leaves or litter to prevent undue thawing and freezing and consequent heaving of the soil. In
the spring the plants should be dug, divided and reset in a new situation.
When seed is desired, the ripening tops must be cut frequently, because the plants mature very unevenly.
But this method is often more wasteful than spreading cloths or sheets of paper beneath the plants and
allowing the seed to drop in them as it ripens. Twice a day, preferably about noon, and in the late afternoon
the plants should be gently jarred to make the ripe seeds fall into the sheets. What falls should then be
collected and spread in a warm, airy room to dry thoroughly. When this method is practiced the stems are cut
finally; that is, when the bulk of the seed has been gathered. They are dried, threshed or rubbed and the trash
removed, by sifting. During damp weather the seed will not separate readily from the plants.
Of the common thyme there are two varieties: narrow−leaved and broad−leaved. The former, which has
small grayish−green leaves, is more aromatic and pleasing than the latter, which, however, is much more
popular, mainly because of its size, and not because of its superiority to the narrow−leaved kind. It is also
known as winter or German thyme. The plant is taller and larger and has bigger leaves, flowers and seeds than
the narrow−leaved variety and is decidedly more bitter.
Uses.—The green parts, either fresh, dried or in decoction, are used very extensively for flavoring soups,
gravies, stews, sauces, forcemeats, sausages, dressings, etc. For drying, the tender stems are gathered after the
dew is off and exposed to warm air in the shade. When crisp they are rubbed, the trash removed and the
powder placed in stoppered bottles or tins. All parts of the plant are fragrant because of the volatile oil, which
is commercially distilled mainly in France. About one per cent of the green parts is oil, which after distillation
is at first a reddish−brown fluid. It loses its color on redistillation and becomes slightly less fragrant. Both
grades of oil are used commercially in perfumery. In the oil are also crystals (thymol), which resemble
camphor and because of their pleasant odor are used as a disinfectant where the strong−smelling carbolic acid
would be objectionable.
Besides common thyme two other related species are cultivated to some extent for culinary purposes.
Lemon thyme (T. citriodorus, Pers.), like its common relative, is a little undershrub, with procumbent stems
and with a particularly pleasing fragrance. Wild thyme, or mother−of−thyme (T. serpyllum, Linn.), is a less
grown perennial, with violet or pink flowers. It is occasionally seen in country home gardens, and is also used
somewhat for seasoning.
Culinary Herbs
In the flavoring of prepared dishes we Americans - people, as the French say, "of one sauce" - might well learn a lesson from the example of the English matron who usually considers her kitchen incomplete without a dozen or more sweet herbs, either powdered, or in decoction, or preserved in both ways.
A glance into a French or a German culinary department would probably show more than a score; but a careful search in an American kitchen would rarely reveal as many as half a dozen, and in the great majority probably only parsley and sage would be brought to light. Yet these humble plants possess the power of rendering even unpalatable and insipid dishes piquant and appetizing, and this, too, at a surprisingly low cost. Indeed, most of them may be grown in an out-of-the-way corner of the garden, or if no garden be available, in a box of soil upon a sunny windowsill - a method adopted by many foreigners living in tenement houses in New York and Jersey City.
Certainly they may be made to add to the pleasure of living and, as Solomon declares, "better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox with contention."
...before or just after a shower. The alternate plants may be removed in late August or early September, the
alternate rows about three weeks later and the final crop in October.
Thyme will winter well. In home garden practice it may be treated like sage. In the coldest climates it may
be mulched with leaves or litter to prevent undue thawing and freezing and consequent heaving of the soil. In
the spring the plants should be dug, divided and reset in a new situation.
When seed is desired, the ripening tops must be cut frequently, because the plants mature very unevenly.
But this method is often more wasteful than spreading cloths or sheets of paper beneath the plants and
allowing the seed to drop in them as it ripens. Twice a day, preferably about noon, and in the late afternoon
the plants should be gently jarred to make the ripe seeds fall into the sheets. What falls should then be
collected and spread in a warm, airy room to dry thoroughly. When this method is practiced the stems are cut
finally; that is, when the bulk of the seed has been gathered. They are dried, threshed or rubbed and the trash
removed, by sifting. During damp weather the seed will not separate readily from the plants.
Of the common thyme there are two varieties: narrow−leaved and broad−leaved. The former, which has
small grayish−green leaves, is more aromatic and pleasing than the latter, which, however, is much more
popular, mainly because of its size, and not because of its superiority to the narrow−leaved kind. It is also
known as winter or German thyme. The plant is taller and larger and has bigger leaves, flowers and seeds than
the narrow−leaved variety and is decidedly more bitter.
Uses.—The green parts, either fresh, dried or in decoction, are used very extensively for flavoring soups,
gravies, stews, sauces, forcemeats, sausages, dressings, etc. For drying, the tender stems are gathered after the
dew is off and exposed to warm air in the shade. When crisp they are rubbed, the trash removed and the
powder placed in stoppered bottles or tins. All parts of the plant are fragrant because of the volatile oil, which
is commercially distilled mainly in France. About one per cent of the green parts is oil, which after distillation
is at first a reddish−brown fluid. It loses its color on redistillation and becomes slightly less fragrant. Both
grades of oil are used commercially in perfumery. In the oil are also crystals (thymol), which resemble
camphor and because of their pleasant odor are used as a disinfectant where the strong−smelling carbolic acid
would be objectionable.
Besides common thyme two other related species are cultivated to some extent for culinary purposes.
Lemon thyme (T. citriodorus, Pers.), like its common relative, is a little undershrub, with procumbent stems
and with a particularly pleasing fragrance. Wild thyme, or mother−of−thyme (T. serpyllum, Linn.), is a less
grown perennial, with violet or pink flowers. It is occasionally seen in country home gardens, and is also used
somewhat for seasoning.
A glance into a French or a German culinary department would probably show more than a score; but a careful search in an American kitchen would rarely reveal as many as half a dozen, and in the great majority probably only parsley and sage would be brought to light. Yet these humble plants possess the power of rendering even unpalatable and insipid dishes piquant and appetizing, and this, too, at a surprisingly low cost. Indeed, most of them may be grown in an out-of-the-way corner of the garden, or if no garden be available, in a box of soil upon a sunny windowsill - a method adopted by many foreigners living in tenement houses in New York and Jersey City.
Certainly they may be made to add to the pleasure of living and, as Solomon declares, "better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox with contention."
...before or just after a shower. The alternate plants may be removed in late August or early September, the
alternate rows about three weeks later and the final crop in October.
Thyme will winter well. In home garden practice it may be treated like sage. In the coldest climates it may
be mulched with leaves or litter to prevent undue thawing and freezing and consequent heaving of the soil. In
the spring the plants should be dug, divided and reset in a new situation.
When seed is desired, the ripening tops must be cut frequently, because the plants mature very unevenly.
But this method is often more wasteful than spreading cloths or sheets of paper beneath the plants and
allowing the seed to drop in them as it ripens. Twice a day, preferably about noon, and in the late afternoon
the plants should be gently jarred to make the ripe seeds fall into the sheets. What falls should then be
collected and spread in a warm, airy room to dry thoroughly. When this method is practiced the stems are cut
finally; that is, when the bulk of the seed has been gathered. They are dried, threshed or rubbed and the trash
removed, by sifting. During damp weather the seed will not separate readily from the plants.
Of the common thyme there are two varieties: narrow−leaved and broad−leaved. The former, which has
small grayish−green leaves, is more aromatic and pleasing than the latter, which, however, is much more
popular, mainly because of its size, and not because of its superiority to the narrow−leaved kind. It is also
known as winter or German thyme. The plant is taller and larger and has bigger leaves, flowers and seeds than
the narrow−leaved variety and is decidedly more bitter.
Uses.—The green parts, either fresh, dried or in decoction, are used very extensively for flavoring soups,
gravies, stews, sauces, forcemeats, sausages, dressings, etc. For drying, the tender stems are gathered after the
dew is off and exposed to warm air in the shade. When crisp they are rubbed, the trash removed and the
powder placed in stoppered bottles or tins. All parts of the plant are fragrant because of the volatile oil, which
is commercially distilled mainly in France. About one per cent of the green parts is oil, which after distillation
is at first a reddish−brown fluid. It loses its color on redistillation and becomes slightly less fragrant. Both
grades of oil are used commercially in perfumery. In the oil are also crystals (thymol), which resemble
camphor and because of their pleasant odor are used as a disinfectant where the strong−smelling carbolic acid
would be objectionable.
Besides common thyme two other related species are cultivated to some extent for culinary purposes.
Lemon thyme (T. citriodorus, Pers.), like its common relative, is a little undershrub, with procumbent stems
and with a particularly pleasing fragrance. Wild thyme, or mother−of−thyme (T. serpyllum, Linn.), is a less
grown perennial, with violet or pink flowers. It is occasionally seen in country home gardens, and is also used
somewhat for seasoning.
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Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940014087025 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Tea Time eBooks |
| Publication date: | 06/03/2013 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 49 |
| File size: | 246 KB |
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