Volume 19 Article 3 Number 2 The Iowa Homemaker vol.19, no.2

1939 Herbs- The ecrS et of Foreign Cuisine Jane Stallings Iowa State College

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Recommended Citation Stallings, Jane (1939) "Herbs- The eS cret of Foreign Cuisine," The Iowa Homemaker: Vol. 19 : No. 2 , Article 3. Available at: http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/homemaker/vol19/iss2/3

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Publications at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in The oI wa Homemaker by an authorized editor of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Secret of Foreign Cuisine American cooks lack the ingredients) not the knack) declares fane Stallings ULINARY herbs, with a history behind them as potatoes to give them an unusual C romantic as the names thyme, chives, sage, laurel flavor and in beverages to add a and rosemary, are truly ancient. Most of them origi­ characteristic pungent odor. The nated around the Mediterranean region, hence fresh Europeans, besides using it in herbs are used almost exclusively in Europe today. stews and pea soups, have an un­ "In France cooking with herbs is taken for granted," usual employment for mint-as a Clarita de Forceville states. "The French cook would sauce for meats of questionable no more think of omitting the 'bouqet garni' than the identity. In Germany, cruets of salt." A classic of French cookery, the "bouqet garni" pulverized mint are set on the is included in most of the country's recipes. It consists table to be dusted upon gravies of two or three laurel leaves, two thyme leaves and one and soups. of parsley. An integral constituent of "boeuf a la Lemon-flavored thyme, another mode" and "ragout de mouton", two famous French ingredient of "bouquet garni", is meat dishes, it seasons French soups, meats en casserole infused with the pickle in which Spaniards preserve and stews. According to famous French chefs, herbs their olives. A peculiar marbled appearance and aro­ should blend with whatever they supplement and not matic flavor characterize a cheese containing thyme­ be discernible, individually, tb the taste. Schabzieger-prepared by Swiss mountaineers. America has only a limited amount of fresh herbs on Who can mention dill without bringing to mind big, the market, which is sufficient since we do not have a juicy pickles "a nickel apiece or three for a dime!"? taste for them. Dried herbs, which the American The seeds of dill are used mostly for dill vinegar, in homemaker uses chiefly, are satisfactory to those of French preserves, cakes, pastries and sauces, with us who have uneducated palates. Scandinavians' fish and in American soups, sauces and Parsley, the commonest herb in use, is employed in green salads. America chiefly as a garnish. However, there are many Basil is known as the "herbe royale" in France and other ways to serve this lowly plant that may grow wild gives her turtle soup its peculiar clove-like taste. Al­ and unperturbed in your back yard. The ancient though used little in England now, in olden days basil Greeks relished it in soups and salads, the British use was a favorite pot herb and was employed for giving the leaves for seasoning fricassees and dressings for the distinctive flavor to the cockneys' famous Fetter chicken and veal, while the economical Germans-true Lane sausages. Italians use it, too, in bean soup, in to their standards-use both roots and tops for cooking. tomato dishes, in cheeses and in fruit drinks. According to them, the roots make an excellent boiled Most important to the German palate is caraway, vegetable, and the tops may be minced and mixed with which originated as the ancient Arabian "karawaya." vegetables just before serving, or they may be fried The aristocrat of culinary herbs, it is relished by peas­ crisp and used as a garnish. ants and royalty alike. German peasants flavor their Chives, cultivated in Scottish gardens and found cheese, cabbage soup, household breads, sauerkraut, wild in northern and western England and Wales, biscuits and cake with caraway; the Dutch put it in though really not an herb, are usually classed as one. their famous cheeses; in Norwegian and Swedish A great improvement to green salads and sliced cucum­ country districts black caraway bread is eaten with bers and tomatoes, it is excellent also when boiled with gusto by both natives and visitors. Trinity College, potatoes to be mashed, in savory omelettes, in soups, Cambridge, retains the charming custom of serving sausages, beefsteak pies, cottage cheese and puddings. roast apples with a little saucerful of caraway, as do Chives are really versatile plants. the partakers of the Shakespearean-like London Livery Sage, so deep in our memory as the "makin's" of Other herbs employed in Europe but practically that Christmas turkey dressing, is used as much in unheard of in America are savory, known as the America as any other herb, usually in a dry, powdered "pepper herb", marjoram, the German sausage herb, form. Disillusioning though it may seem, sage is used tarragon, used mainly to flavor vinegar, English rose­ mainly to disguise the too potent aromas of strong mary, a pleasant addition to summer cups, and cherirl, meats, such as goose, pork, duck and veal. the chief ingredient in the seasoning used for the Laurel, alias bay leaf, is in reality not an herb, but a famous French "omelette aux fines herbes". tree which sometimes grows 40 feet high. Indispen­ The fact that dieters are instructed not to eat highly­ sable in the popular "bouquet garni", it is also ex­ seasoned foods well illustrates the important place cellent for flavoring soups, sauces, pickled beef, game, herbs hold in making ordinary foods really delicious. custards and milk puddings. It is important to add just the correct amount of the All roads lead to Rome, and mint found its way to right flavoring, and only good cooks and gourmets that metropolis, too. Introduced into Britain by those have the knack, it seems. Most experts agree the trial­ rugged warriors, it is now used almost universally as and-error system is the best way to develop "just the an inseparable companion to roast spring lamb. Sprigs right flavor." \Ve all have an equal chance to discover of fresh mint may be boiled with green peas and new epicurean tastes and dishes.

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