Herb Overload
What's your favorite and least favorite herb?
My fav is Garlic..can you have too much? Least fav is basil...it seems to overpower whatever it's in.
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
15 Comments:
is garlic an herb?? never considered it as an herb...
I do indeed use garlic for almost everything I cook... So I guess that would be my favorite one. But I also use fresh basil, parsley and bay leaves a lot. I buy garlic and herbs mixes, paprika (pimenton) and Italian Seasonings dried to complement the fresh.
MadelynRodriguez at 10:39PM on 09/03/09
Least favorite herb EVER: mint.
If Garlic was an herb, it'd be my favorite- I don't know if it is, though. I have many herbs I love, like thyme, chives, rosemary, but I think my favorite is Italian flat leaf parsley. I think it's really underrated and I add it to everything. It has the amazing ability to make anything- from stew to salad-seem unbelievably fresh.
PumpkinBear at 10:46PM on 09/03/09
I have feeling a post on people's favorite "herb" is going to devolve very quickly...
btchyfoody at 10:54PM on 09/03/09
Can't stand parsley, so I never use it. But I tasted some home-grown recently, so that may change. I'm a recent convert to cilantro. To me it still smells like soap, but no longer tastes like it, so I cheerfully make my own salsa now.
Old favorites, which I still love: basil, garlic, thyme, sage.
gentlyferal at 12:33AM on 09/04/09
Garlic = Not an herb.
Basil is the very essence of Italian cooking and it totally rules.
I abhor mint. I can't even get it to go all the way down my throat. It's not supposed to - it's like swallowing Scope mouthwash or Eclipse gum.
Rosemary is my favorite "winter" herb. I associate it with roasting poultry and long simmered lamb.
Tarragon gets a bad rap because (much like nutmeg) it can easily take over a dish making it cloyingly sweet. Use sparingly - you can always add but you can't take it out.
Thyme is what I use when I want something to have a definite "French" flavor.
Flat leaf Italian parsley gets a bad rap because it's usually relegated to lame plate garnishment. The truth is, it elevates flavor by adding a "fresh" component. Never, ever, ever curly parsley. It has no flavor and is like eating barbed wire.
therealchiffonade at 5:33AM on 09/04/09
garlic not an herb. Favorite herb depends very much on what I'm making. Very fond of curly parsley, mint (love tabbouleh), dill, rosemary, basil, thyme, tarragon, oregano. Grow all of those so I have have fresh in summer. Fresh herbs really make so many foods more satisfying.
Cannot abide cilantro, especially the smell. It self seeds in my community garden, and if I get it on my hands weeding I spend the rest of the day like lady macbeth. I've heard that loving or hating cilantro is a genetic thing.
lemonfair at 6:56AM on 09/04/09
@chiff: I am going to totally agree with each of your contentions on the indivdual herb. EXCEPT i love mint. I'm surprised a couple of you hate it so much... It must be employed in the right way!
Also I love tarragon--same for this one. I think it's lovely, though.
I love flat leaf parsley, as well; it has finished off many of my dishes with its nicely verdant, earthy presence.
Herbs are just amazing things, aren't they?
emilytaylor at 7:25AM on 09/04/09
I really dislike tarragon and find that it's very often over used.
Love basil, rosemary, thyme, sage and well, all other herbs, I guess.
I grow most of my herbs (including mint) and use them a lot, in cooking and flower arrangements.
You do have to be careful to not use too much of anything in a dish. I once ruined a French style potato salad by adding way too much fresh sage.
duncan1205 at 8:44AM on 09/04/09
I love different varieties of basil. Basil says summer to me. That said, I love thyme in the fall and winter. My 11 year old has a thing for chives. He won't eat eggs without them. I like the brightness they bring to eggs, potatoes, garlic bread and salads. And there are just so many more that I like...I agree with emilytaylor~"Herbs are just amazing things, aren't they?"
dhorst at 8:51AM on 09/04/09
Parsely is my god.
I've been overexposed to rosemary: my father cooked too much wild game growing up and I just got sick of it.
hungrychristel at 9:34AM on 09/04/09
Parsley fiends make tabbouleh. It's really a parsley salad with grain, not a grain salad with parsley - and definitely use Italian Flat Leaf parsley if you want it to have any flavor at all.
Recently, BF went to a Greek restaurant and texted me, "What is tabbouleh and would I like a tabbouleh gyro?" The restaurant was doing a gyro with the lamb mixture - and crowning it with a perfectly made tabbouleh. I said, "Yes, you'll like it." He loved it.
therealchiffonade at 9:42AM on 09/04/09
I'm definitely not a fan of tarragon. However, I could roll around in thyme and rosemary.
avaryne at 11:16AM on 09/04/09
I don't think there's an herb I DON'T like.
joyyy at 11:40AM on 09/04/09
I like all herbs period. But I have had dishes so good otherwise ruined because certain herbs were added, but that it is not the herbs fault it was the person who made it.
pjracz10 at 5:08PM on 09/04/09
I cannot choose. I love them all.
Pot Herb Go-to's-- chives, parsley, basil, cilantro, thyme, rosemary, Greek oregano, sage, mint, dill, savory
After that- tarragon, lemon thyme, pineapple sage, lovage, lemon balm,
CJ McD at 7:35PM on 09/04/09