In Europe people still use imported dried herbs and spices far more often than fresh herbs. This is perhaps due to the once prevalent convention that the extravagant use of pepper, saffron and other costly spices from the East is the mark of a lavish cuisine and a high-class upbringing. However, home-grown herbs can substitute some of those imported from the Orient. All you need is a small space in the garden about 2 m (6 ft) square, but even without a garden herbs can be grown in pots on the windowsill.
If you have an excessive secretion of gastric juices you should not use herbs that stimulate their flow. Similarly it is nolt advised to drink strong coffee or tea before going to bed for they stimulate the activity of the cerebral cortex, the heart, the vascular system and respiration. Wise and moderate use of herbs, however, acts, as a medicine rather than a poison. Why just take a look into the past: at one time no difference was made between culinary and medicinal herbs and predecessor of our present-day herb garden is the medieval chortus sanitatis', or garden of health.
The plants can be sown in trays in early spring, and kept in a frame or greenhouse to protect the tender seedlings from night frosts. These are then planted out in their permanent positions when all danger of frost is over. Such plants grow more rapidly and are ready for use at least a month earlier.
Biennial herbs grown for their foliage or roots should be cultivated the same as annuals, for otherwise they will produce flowers early the following spring and die down as soon as the seeds are ripe. Perennial herbs can likewise be grown from seed, but they may also be propagated by vegetative means - by the division of bulbs (garlic, saffron) or splitting-up and replanting clumps of older plants. Older plants should be divided in spring or early summer so they have time to root properly before winter sets in. This revitalizes old plants which will then have more vigorous and healthy growth again for several years.
Quite the opposite is true in the case of cooked foods. Here herbs are generally added shortly before the end of cooking (in the case of stewing, braising or roasting), particularly in the case of fatty foods, or just before the food is served.
The ideal soil is well drained but at the same time retains the necessary nutrients, well aerated and will neither pack down in wet weather nor form a crust when conditions are dry. The soil must also be deep enough to accommodate deep-rooting plants.
If you have an excessive secretion of gastric juices you should not use herbs that stimulate their flow. Similarly it is nolt advised to drink strong coffee or tea before going to bed for they stimulate the activity of the cerebral cortex, the heart, the vascular system and respiration. Wise and moderate use of herbs, however, acts, as a medicine rather than a poison. Why just take a look into the past: at one time no difference was made between culinary and medicinal herbs and predecessor of our present-day herb garden is the medieval chortus sanitatis', or garden of health.
The plants can be sown in trays in early spring, and kept in a frame or greenhouse to protect the tender seedlings from night frosts. These are then planted out in their permanent positions when all danger of frost is over. Such plants grow more rapidly and are ready for use at least a month earlier.
Biennial herbs grown for their foliage or roots should be cultivated the same as annuals, for otherwise they will produce flowers early the following spring and die down as soon as the seeds are ripe. Perennial herbs can likewise be grown from seed, but they may also be propagated by vegetative means - by the division of bulbs (garlic, saffron) or splitting-up and replanting clumps of older plants. Older plants should be divided in spring or early summer so they have time to root properly before winter sets in. This revitalizes old plants which will then have more vigorous and healthy growth again for several years.
Quite the opposite is true in the case of cooked foods. Here herbs are generally added shortly before the end of cooking (in the case of stewing, braising or roasting), particularly in the case of fatty foods, or just before the food is served.
The ideal soil is well drained but at the same time retains the necessary nutrients, well aerated and will neither pack down in wet weather nor form a crust when conditions are dry. The soil must also be deep enough to accommodate deep-rooting plants.
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