SPECIAL NOTES IN A COOKING SYMPHONY: CULINARY HERBS

What's apple sauce without cinnamon? What are pickles without dill? What's Clooney without Rosemary? The fact is, most of what makes your favorite dishes your favorite dishes has to do with the culinary herbs used in their making. Culinary herbs serve a range of uses: they add complimentary flavor; they counterpoint other spices and herbs; they serve as a connecting element between ingredients. Culinary herbs are the little notes that lift a symphony from a mass of common noise into a special event.





Parsley and Cilantro
Taken together, the cousins parsley and cilantro are the widest used culinary herbs in the world. In cuisine from Mexico to China, parsley adds a breath-freshening mild flavor while cilantro provides a cooling counterpoint to the hottest spices. Most soups and stews require a few parsley leaves, and some British recipes require the parsley root, which can grow as large as a carrot (to which it is closely related).

Sage
Sage is a great accompaniment to potatoes and most meats. It is also one of the culinary herbs of the bouquet garni, the little bundle of sprigs and leaves that must go in any hearty soup.

Oregano
Oregano is indispensable to Italian cooking. When making a marinara, many chefs put in the tiny leaves of oregano last of all. As soon as they are warm, they release their flavor and scent and the pot of tomatoes on the stove suddenly smells unmistakably Italian.





Basil
Basil is another of the culinary herbs necessary to Italian cooking and especially well-paired with tomatoes and Mediterranean recipes. Basil is best enjoyed fresh; it does not need to be cooked, or even chopped much. A margharita pizza uses just a crust, some tomatoes, good cheese and whole basil leaves placed on top. Another favorite is a simple slice of French bread, a slice of tomato and a leaf of basil drizzled with a little olive oil.

Rosemary
Rosemary is another of the savory culinary herbs, good on meats and heavy, rich foods. However, it grows easily in hot, dry climates and is a part of much Mediterranean food. A plain couscous becomes gourmet with the addition of a little rosemary vinaigrette.

Cultivation
It makes sense that many of the culinary herbs used in classic American and European cooking should be easy to grow in our climates. And indeed they are.

Oregano, sage and rosemary can take heat and dry conditions. They go well in a rock garden, or along a wall that will radiate heat from the sun in both summer and winter.

Basil needs some water and is not frost-tolerant. Therefore, in the garden that freezes in winter, basil has to be replanted every spring.

Parsley can survive almost any weather, but its lifecycle always ends after two growing seasons. The second season, gather the seeds and plant the next generation.