Fresh herbs, use and storage

Endless discussions can be conducted just about the definition of the word herb. Depending on whether you ask a botanist or a scientist, the answer will vary from ‘small plant with succulent, non-woody stem’ to ‘plants with a medicinal effect’.

 

Fortunately a cook has only one approach: the culinary approach. Herbs are plants which provide aroma and flavour to food. Who can contradict that?

 

There are hard and soft herbs. 

 

 

A hard herb has a slightly harder, woodier stem, lends their aroma to dishes, which is mainly released by heating in a dish, but is less pleasant to eat raw on the plate. Herbs like rosemary, thyme, oregano, bay leaves and sage are all hard herbs and ideal for simmering, braising and cooking in sauces and soups. Make a bouquet of herbs, bind it together with some kitchen string and put it in the cooking liquid with the string outside the pan so that it is easy to remove after cooking.

 

 

Chives, basil, parsley, dill, leaf celery, chervil and coriander are soft, delicate herbs which are therefore used slightly differently. 

If you add them during cooking, their aroma disappears much faster. And that’s a shame! Soft herbs should preferably be chopped and added to the dish or used as a garnish at the last moment. 

Fresh coriander is therefore ideal for adding to a stir-fry at the end of cooking, chopped chives are lovely over a fresh salad and basil leaves are best as a garnish for a hot pasta dish.

 

Both hard and soft herbs can be vacuum packed with a little olive oil, with fish, chicken or meat. This allows the strong aroma to be absorbed and the product gets a specific herbal fragrance and flavour, without the meat juices leaking away. 

 

By preparing sous-vide in a steam oven, the herb will have every opportunity to give meat, fish or chicken an even more intense flavour. 

 

Many hard herbs can be kept outside the fridge. With their stems in a glass with a little water, hard herbs can look very decorative as a herb bouquet on the windowsill. 

 

Hard herbs can also be kept in the fridge but soft herbs must be kept in the fridge. Wrap soft herbs in damp kitchen paper and place them in the fridge, preferably in a fridge with Durafresh refrigeration system in the bottom Climate fresh box.  

   

The advantage of this drawer is that the humidity is adjustable, allowing fruit and vegetables as well as fresh herbs to stay fresh for longer.