|
No one would dare to
suggest to a sophisticated audience what to do with herbs.
Being neither, and having considerable awe of kitchen
mysteries, the author has not rehashed a lot of recipes for this
book, and a good many recipes appear to be just this; a rehash
of something done before.
There are notable exceptions, and to give the visitor adequate
browsing in this esoteric field, the following books are recommended-not arranged in the order of their importance,
although Mrs. Fox's book is highly recommended. Only those
herb books that contain recipes are included.
*Gardening with Herbs for Flavor and Fragrance"
Helen Morgenthau
Fox.
"A Garden of Herbs"
Eleanour Sinclair Rohd.
"Herbs: How to Grow Them and How to Use Them"
Helen Noyes
Webster.
"*Herbs for the Kitchen. Irma Goodrich Mazza"
Herb-lore for Herb Lovers"
C. Romanne.
*Herbs, Their Culture and Uses"
Rosetta E. Clarkson.
*The Art of Cooking with Herbs and Spices"
Milo Miloradovich.
Herbs, as far as their use in cookery is concerned are classified
into fine and robust herbs, depending on their chief uses. The
term fine herbs, usually and by the cognoscenti always Gallicized as fines herbs, does not in the least mean that the herbs
comprising it are any finer than the others. It is simply a con-
vention by which the term has come to mean a blend of certain
herbs used in combination instead of singly.
The most ordinary
combinations of fine herbs include:
Chervil, Chives, and Parsley
Chives, Parsley, and Basil
Basil, Chervil, and Thyme
Rosemary, Tarragon, and Parsley
When used in the restricted sense often applied to fine herbs,
these or other combinations that the herb gardeners will invent
for themselves are mixed together, chopped very fine, and
added to whatever dish they are to flavor at the last moment.
Some will omit rosemary, and many ban tarragon altogether.
Both must be used with caution in fine herb combinations.
Fine herbs go chiefly into salads, sauces, herb butters, omelettes,
cheeses, and soups; much more rarely into meat and fish dishes.
If fresh herbs can be had, so much the better, but you may
often have to use some of your stored supply to make the desired combination.
* Especially recommended for recipes.
|
