2. Thyme history
• Ancient Egyptians used thyme for embalming. The ancient Greeks used it in their baths and
burnt it as incense in their temples, believing it was a source of courage. The spread of
thyme throughout Europe was thought to be due to the Romans, as they used it to purify
their rooms and to "give an aromatic flavour to cheese and liqueurs". In the
European Middle Ages, the herb was placed beneath pillows to aid sleep and ward off
nightmares. In this period, women also often gave knights and warriors gifts that included
thyme leaves, as it was believed to bring courage to the bearer. Thyme was also used as
incense and placed on coffins during funerals, as it was supposed to assure passage into
the next life.
• The name of the genus of fish Thymallus, first given to the grayling originates from the faint
smell of the herb thyme, which emanates from the flesh.
4. Culinary use
• In some Levantine countries, and Assyria, the condiment za'atar contains thyme as a vital ingredient. It
is a common component of the bouquet garni, and of herbes de Provence.
• Thyme is sold both fresh and dried. While summer-seasonal, fresh greenhouse thyme is often
available year round. The fresh form is more flavourful, but also less convenient; storage life is rarely
more than a week. Although the fresh form only lasts a week or two under refrigeration, it can last
many months if carefully frozen.
• Fresh thyme is commonly sold in bunches of sprigs. A sprig is a single stem snipped from the plant. It
is composed of a woody stem with paired leaf or flower clusters spaced 1⁄2 to 1 inch apart. A recipe
may measure thyme by the bunch , or by the sprig, or by the tablespoon or teaspoon. Dried thyme is
widely used in Armenia in tisanes.
• Depending on how it is used in a dish, the whole sprig may be used, or the leaves removed and the
stems discarded. Usually, when a recipe specifies "bunch" or "sprig", it means the whole form; when it
specifies spoons, it means the leaves. It is perfectly acceptable to substitute dried for whole thyme.
• Leaves may be removed from stems either by scraping with the back of a knife, or by pulling through
the fingers or tines of a fork.
• Thyme retains its flavour on drying better than many other herbs.
6. Medicinal use
• Oil of thyme, the essential oil of common thyme, contains 20–54% thymol. Thyme
essential oil also contains a range of additional compounds, such as p-
cymene, myrcene, borneol, and linalool. Thymol, an antiseptic, is an active ingredient
in various commercially produced mouthwashes such as Listerine. Before the advent
of modern antibiotics, oil of thyme was used to medicate bandages. It has also been
shown to be effective against various fungi that commonly infect toenails. Thymol can
also be found as the active ingredient in some all-natural, alcohol-free hand sanitizers.
• A tisane made by infusing the herb in water can be used for coughs and bronchitis.
8. Important species and cultivars
• Thymus citriodorus – various lemon thymes, orange thymes, lime thyme
• Thymus herba-barona is used both as a culinary herb and a ground cover, and has a very
strong caraway scent due to the chemical carvone.
• Thymus praecox, is cultivated as an ornamental.
• Thymus pseudolanuginosus is not a culinary herb, but is grown as a ground cover.
• Thymus serpyllum is an important nectar source plant for honeybees. All thyme species are
nectar sources, but wild thyme covers large areas of droughty, rocky soils in southern Europe
and North Africa, as well as in similar landscapes in the Berkshire and Catskill Mountains of the
northeastern US. The lowest growing of the widely used thyme is good for walkways.It is also an
important caterpillar food plant for large and common blue butterflies.
• Thymus vulgaris is a commonly used culinary herb. It also has medicinal uses. Common thyme is
a Mediterranean perennial which is best suited to well-drained soils and full sun.
10. Mint (Mentha)
• Mentha is a genus of plants in the family Lamiaceae. It is estimated that 13 to 18 species exist, and the exact
distinction between species is still unclear. Hybridization between some of the species occurs naturally. Many
other hybrids, as well as numerous cultivars, are known.
• The genus has a subcosmopolitan distribution across Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and North America.
• Mints are aromatic, almost exclusively perennial, rarely annual herbs. They have wide-spreading
underground and overground stolons and erect, square, branched stems. The leaves are arranged
in opposite pairs, from oblong to lanceolate, often downy, and with a serrated margin. Leaf colors range
from dark green and gray-green to purple, blue, and sometimes pale yellow. The flowers are white to purple
and produced in false whorls called verticillasters. The corolla is two-lipped with four subequal lobes, the
upper lobe usually the largest. The fruit is a nutlet, containing one to four seeds.
• While the species that make up the Mentha genus are widely distributed and can be found in many
environments, most grow best in wet environments and moist soils. Mints will grow 10–120 cm tall and can
spread over an indeterminate area. Due to their tendency to spread unchecked, some mints are
considered invasive.
•
12. Cultivation
• All mints thrive near pools of water, lakes, rivers, and cool moist spots in partial shade. In general, mints
tolerate a wide range of conditions, and can also be grown in full sun. Mint grows all year round.
• They are fast-growing, extending their reach along surfaces through a network of runners. Due to their
speedy growth, one plant of each desired mint, along with a little care, will provide more than enough mint
for home use. Some mint species are more invasive than others. Even with the less invasive mints, care should
be taken when mixing any mint with any other plants, lest the mint take over. To control mints in an open
environment, they should be planted in deep, bottomless containers sunk in the ground, or planted above
ground in tubs and barrels.
• Some mints can be propagated by seed, but growth from seed can be an unreliable method for raising mint
for two reasons: mint seeds are highly variable — one might not end up with what one supposed was
planted— and some mint varieties are sterile. It is more effective to take and plant cuttings from the runners
of healthy mints.
• The most common and popular mints for commercial cultivation are peppermint, native spearmint, Scotch
spearmint, and cornmint; also apple mint.
• Mints are supposed to make good companion plants, repelling pesty insects and attracting beneficial ones.
They are susceptible to whitefly and aphids.
14. Culinary
• The leaf, fresh or dried, is the culinary source of mint. Fresh mint is usually preferred over dried mint
when storage of the mint is not a problem. The leaves have a warm, fresh, aromatic, sweet flavor with
a cool aftertaste, and are used in teas, beverages, jellies, syrups, candies, and ice creams. In Middle
Eastern cuisine, mint is used on lamb dishes, while in British cuisine and American cuisine, mint
sauce and mint jelly are used, respectively.
• Mint is a necessary ingredient in Touareg tea, a popular tea in northern African and Arab countries.
Alcoholic drinks sometimes feature mint for flavor or garnish, such as the mint julep and
the mojito. Crème de menthe is a mint-flavored liqueur used in drinks such as the grasshopper.
• Mint essential oil and menthol are extensively used as flavorings in breath fresheners,
drinks, antiseptic mouth rinses, toothpaste, chewing gum, desserts, and candies, such
as mint and mint chocolate. The substances that give the mints their characteristic aromas and
flavors are menthol and pulegone. The compound primarily responsible for the aroma and flavor of
spearmint is L-carvone.
• Mints are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including buff
ermine moths.
16. Traditional medicine and cosmetics,
Allergic reaction, Insecticides
• Traditional medicine and cosmetics
• Mint was originally used as a medicinal herb to treat stomach ache and chest pains.There are several
uses in traditional medicine and preliminary research for possible use in treating irritable bowel
syndrome.
• Menthol from mint essential oil is an ingredient of many cosmetics and some perfumes. Menthol and
mint essential oil are also used in aromatherapy which may have clinical use to alleviate post-
surgery nausea.
• Allergic reaction
• Although it is used in many consumer products, mint may cause allergic reactions in some people,
inducing symptoms such as abdominal cramps, diarrhea, headaches, heartburn, tingling or numbing
around the mouth, anaphylaxis or contact dermatitis.
• Insecticides
• Mint oil is also used as an environmentally friendly insecticide for its ability to kill some common pests
such as wasps, hornets, ants, and cockroaches.
18. Basil
• Basil, also called great basil or Saint-Joseph's-wort, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae. It is also
called the "king of herbs" and the "royal herb". The name "basil" comes from Greek βασιλικόν φυτόν ,
"royal/kingly plant".
• Basil is possibly native to India, and has been cultivated there for more than 5,000 years. It was
thoroughly familiar to the Greek authors Theophrastus and Dioscorides. It is a tender plant, best
known as a culinary herb prominently featured in Italian cuisine, and also plays a major role in
Southeast Asian cuisines of Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Taiwan.
Depending on the species and cultivar, the leaves may taste somewhat like anise, with a strong,
pungent, often sweet smell.
• There are many varieties of Ocimum basilicum, as well as several related species or species hybrids
also called basil. The type used in Italian food is typically called sweet basil, as opposed to Thai basil,
lemon basil, and holy basil, which are used in Asia. While most common varieties of basil are treated
as annuals, some are perennial in warm, tropical climates, including holy basil and a cultivar known as
"African blue basil".
20. Culinary use
• Basil is most commonly used fresh in cooked recipes. In general, it is added at the last moment, as
cooking quickly destroys the flavor. The fresh herb can be kept for a short time in plastic bags in the
refrigerator, or for a longer period in the freezer, after being blanched quickly in boiling water. The
dried herb also loses most of its flavor, and what little flavor remains tastes very different, with a
weak coumarin flavor, like hay.
• Basil is one of the main ingredients in pesto—a green Italian oil-and-herb sauce.
• The most commonly used Mediterranean basil cultivars are "Genovese", "Purple Ruffles", "Mammoth",
"Cinnamon", "Lemon", "Globe", and "African Blue". The Chinese also use fresh or dried basils in soups
and other foods. In Taiwan, people add fresh basil leaves to thick soups . They also eat fried
chicken with deep-fried basil leaves. Basil is commonly steeped in cream or milk to create an
interesting flavor in ice cream or chocolates. The leaves are not the only part of basil used in culinary
applications, the flower buds have a more subtle flavor and they are edible.
• Thai basil is also a condiment in the Vietnamese noodle soup, phở.
22. Chives
• Chives is the common name of Allium schoenoprasum, an edible species of the Allium genus. Its
close relatives include the garlic, shallot, leek, scallion, and Chinese onion.
• A perennial plant, it is widespread in nature across much of Europe, Asia, and North America.
• A. schoenoprasum is the only species of Allium native to both the New and the Old Worlds.
• The name of the species derives from the Greek σχοίνος, skhoínos and
πράσον, práson. Its English name, chives, derives from the French word cive, from cepa, the Latin word
for onion.
• Chives are a commonly used herb and can be found in grocery stores or grown in home gardens. In
culinary use, the scapes and the unopened, immature flower buds are diced and used as an
ingredient for fish, potatoes, soups, and other dishes. Chives have insect-repelling properties that can
be used in gardens to control pests.
24. Medicine
• The medicinal properties of chives are similar to those of garlic, but weaker; the faint effects in
comparison with garlic are probably the main reason for their limited use as a medicinal herb.
They also have mild stimulant, diuretic, and antiseptic properties. As chives are usually served
in small amounts and never as the main dish, negative effects are rarely encountered,
although digestive problems may occur following overconsumption.
• Chives are also rich in vitamins A and C, contain trace amounts of sulfur, and are rich
in calcium and iron.
26. History and cultural importance
• Chives have been cultivated in Europe since the Middle Ages, although
their usage dates back 5000 years. They were sometimes referred to as
"rush leeks“.
• The Romans believed chives could relieve the pain from sunburn or a
sore throat. They believed eating chives could increase blood
pressure and act as a diuretic.
• Romani have used chives in fortune telling. Bunches of dried chives
hung around a house were believed to ward off disease and evil.
29. History
• Coriander grows wild over a wide area of Western Asia and southern Europe, prompting the
comment, "It is hard to define exactly where this plant is wild and where it only recently
established itself." Fifteen desiccated mericarps were found in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B level
of the Nahal Hemar Cave in Israel, which may be the oldest archaeological find of coriander.
About half a litre of coriander mericarps was recovered from the tomb of Tutankhamen, and
because this plant does not grow wild in Egypt, Zohary and Hopf interpret this find as proof that
coriander was cultivated by the ancient Egyptians.
• Coriander seems to have been cultivated in Greece since at least the second millennium BC. One
of the Linear B tablets recovered from Pylos refers to the species as being cultivated for the
manufacture of perfumes, it apparently was used in two forms: as a spice for its seeds and as a
herb for the flavour of its leaves. This appears to be confirmed by archaeological evidence from
the same period; the large quantities of the species retrieved from an Early Bronze Age layer
at Sitagroi in Macedonia could point to cultivation of the species at that time.
31. Leaves
• The leaves are variously referred to as coriander leaves, fresh coriander, dhania, Chinese parsley, or
cilantro.
• Coriander potentially may be confused with culantro, an Apiaceae like coriander, but from a different
genus. Culantro has a distinctly different spiny appearance, a more potent volatile leaf oil and a
stronger aroma.
• The leaves have a different taste from the seeds, with citrus overtones. Some people may be
genetically predisposed to find the leaves to have unpleasant soapy taste or a rank smell.
• The fresh leaves are an ingredient in many South Asian foods; in Chinese and Thai dishes; in Mexican
cooking, particularly in salsa and guacamole and as a garnish; and in salads in Russia and other CIS
countries. In Portugal, chopped coriander is used in the bread soup Açorda, and in India, chopped
coriander is a garnish on Indian dishes such as dal. As heat diminishes their flavour, coriander leaves
are often used raw or added to the dish immediately before serving. In Indian and Central Asian
recipes, coriander leaves are used in large amounts and cooked until the flavour diminishes. The
leaves spoil quickly when removed from the plant, and lose their aroma when dried or frozen.
32. Fruits
• Dried coriander fruits, often called "coriander seeds" when used as a spice
• Coriander roots
• The dry fruits are known as coriander seeds. The word "coriander" in food preparation may refer
solely to these seeds, rather than to the plant. The seeds have a lemony citrus flavour when crushed,
due to the terpenes, linalool, pinene, and limonene, among others. It is described as warm, nutty,
spicy, and orange-flavoured.
• The variety C. s. vulgare has a fruit diameter of 3–5 mm, while var. C. s. microcarpum fruits have a
diameter of 1.5–3 mm. Large-fruited types are grown mainly by tropical and subtropical countries, e.g.
Morocco, India, and Australia, and contain a low volatile oil content. They are used extensively for
grinding and blending purposes in the spice trade. Types with smaller fruit are produced in temperate
regions and usually have a volatile oil content around 0.4-1.8%, so are highly valued as a raw material
for the preparation of essential oil.
35. Culinary
• Oregano is an important culinary herb, used for the flavour of its leaves, which can be more
flavourful when dried than fresh. It has an aromatic, warm, and slightly bitter taste, which can
vary in intensity. Good-quality oregano may be strong enough almost to numb the tongue, but
cultivars adapted to colder climates often have a lesser flavor. Factors such as climate, season,
and soil composition may affect the aromatic oils present, and this effect may be greater than
the differences between the various species of plants. Among the chemical compounds
contributing to the flavour are carvacrol, thymol, limonene, pinene, ocimene, and caryophyllene.
• Oregano's most prominent modern use is as the staple herb of Italian-American cuisine. Its
popularity in the U.S. began when soldiers returning from World War II brought back with them
a taste for the "pizza herb", which had probably been eaten in southern Italy for centuries. There,
it is most frequently used with roasted, fried, or grilled vegetables, meat, and fish. Oregano
combines well with spicy foods popular in southern Italy. It is less commonly used in the north
of the country, as marjoram generally is preferred.
37. Oregano oil
• Oregano oil and oregano have been used in folk medicine since ancient times, including
by Hippocrates. Oregano essential oil is extracted from the leaves of the oregano plant.
Although oregano or its oil may be used as a dietary supplement, there is no clinical evidence
to indicate that either has any effect on human health.
• In 2005, the US Federal Trade Commission brought legal action against a firm that had
claimed oregano oil treated colds and flu or relieved bacterial and viral infections. In 2014, the
US Food and Drug Administration warned a Utah company, Young Living, that its herbal
products, including oregano essential oil, were being promoted to have numerous anti-
disease effects and so were being sold as unauthorized misbranded drugs subject to seizure
and federal penalties.
40. Culinary use
• Parsley is widely used in Middle Eastern, European, Brazilian and American cooking.
Curly leaf parsley is used often as a garnish. Green parsley is used frequently as a
garnish on potato dishes, on rice dishes, on fish, fried chicken, lamb, goose, and
steaks, as well in meat or vegetable stews.
• In central Europe, eastern Europe and southern Europe, as well as in western Asia,
many dishes are served with fresh green, chopped parsley sprinkled on top. In
southern and central Europe, parsley is part of bouquet garni, a bundle of fresh
herbs used as an ingredient in stocks, soups, and sauces. Freshly chopped green
parsley is used as a topping for soups such as chicken soup, green salads, or salads
such as salade Olivier, and on open sandwiches with cold cuts or pâtés.
43. Culinary use
• The leaves are used as a flavoring in foods such as stuffings and roast lamb, pork,
chicken and turkey. Fresh or dried leaves are used in traditional Mediterranean
cuisine. They have a bitter, astringent taste and a characteristic aroma which
complements many cooked foods. Herbal tea can be made from the leaves. When
roasted with meats or vegetables, the leaves impart a mustard-like aroma with an
additional fragrance of charred wood compatible with barbecued foods.
• In amounts typically used to flavor foods, such as one teaspoon, rosemary provides
no nutritional value. Rosemary extract has been shown to improve the shelf life and
heat stability of omega 3-rich oils which are prone to rancidity.
45. Folklore and customs
• In the Middle Ages, rosemary was associated with wedding ceremonies. The bride would wear a
rosemary headpiece and the groom and wedding guests would all wear a sprig of rosemary.
From this association with weddings, rosemary was thought to be a love charm.
• In myths, rosemary has a reputation for improving memory and has been used as a symbol for
remembrance during war commemorations and funerals in Europe and Australia. Mourners
would throw it into graves as a symbol of remembrance for the dead.
In Shakespeare's Hamlet, Ophelia says, "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance." In Australia,
sprigs of rosemary are worn on ANZAC Day and sometimes Remembrance Day to signify
remembrance; the herb grows wild on the Gallipoli Peninsula.
• Hungary water was first prepared for the Queen of Hungary Elisabeth of Poland to " ... renovate
vitality of paralyzed limbs ... " and to treat gout. It was used externally and prepared by mixing
fresh rosemary tops into spirits of wine. Don Quixote mixes it in his recipe of the miraculous balm
of Fierabras.
47. Culinary use
• Tarragon is one of the four fines herbes of French cooking, and is particularly suitable for chicken, fish and
egg dishes. Tarragon is the main flavoring component of Béarnaise sauce. Fresh, lightly bruised sprigs of
tarragon are steeped in vinegar to produce tarragon vinegar.
• Tarragon is used to flavor a popular carbonated soft drink in the countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia
and, by extension, Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. The drink, named Tarhun, is made out of sugary
tarragon concentrate and colored bright green.
• In Iran, tarragon is used as a side dish in sabzi khordan, or in stews and in Persian style pickles, particularly
khiar shoor.
• In Slovenia, tarragon is used in a variation of the traditional nut roll sweet cake, called potica. In Hungary a
popular kind of chicken soup is flavored with tarragon.
• cis-Pellitorin, an isobutyramide eliciting a pungent taste, has been isolated from the tarragon plant.
