Traditional Culinary Herbal Blends - 100 grams

ENGLISH MIXED HERBS

English Mixed Herbs is a well balanced, typically English blend of dried Herbs used more than anything else in hearty stews and casseroles.

The habit of mixing or blending herbs and spices for added flavour in cookery is an ancient one with every culture having its own variants typical of its cuisine and then, within each culture, various recipes abound.

They can range from the French Herbes Fines to the more rustic Italian mixed herbs typical of peasant dishes from Calabria say, to the more exotic Far Eastern blends like Thai mixed herbs or the hot South American blends like Chimichurri. Middle Eastern blends tend to be more spice orientated than herb but once again they abound with both variety and variant recipes, some containing tens of ingredients and some rather simple.

English Mixed Herbs Ingredients:-

Marjoram
Basil
Mint
Thyme
Sage
Savory

BOUQUET GARNI

Fresh Bouquet Garni (French for “garnished bouquet”) is a bundle of herbs usually tied together with string and mainly used to prepare soup, stock, and various stews. The bouquet is boiled with the other ingredients, but is removed prior to consumption.

Dried loose Bouquet Garni may be added to the other ingredients whilst cooking and, is of course, left in the dish.

There is no generic recipe for the blend, but most recipes include parsley, thyme and bay leaves and sometimes peppercorns. Depending on the recipe, fresh bouquet garni may include basil, burnet, celery leaves, chervil, rosemary, savory and tarragon. Sometimes, vegetables such as carrot, celery, celery root, leek, onion and parsley root, are also included in the bouquet.

Sometimes, the fresh bouquet is not bound with string, and its ingredients are filled into a small sachet, a net, or even a tea strainer instead.

Traditionally, the aromatics are bound within leek leaves, though a coffee filter or butcher twine can be used instead of leek leaves.

This Bouquet Garni blend includes the following traditional ingredients:-

Thyme
Parsley
Marjoram
Bay Leaves
History of Bouquet Garni:-

The first recorded first reference to small bundles of herbs being used and called Bouquet Garni was in 1656, when the French chef Pierre de Lune author of Le nouveau cuisinier referred the term to describe a selection of fragrant herbs including chives, thyme, cloves, chervil and parsley which he wrapped in a slice of bacon.

ITALIAN MIXED HERBS

Italian Mixed Herbs or Italian Seasoning as it is sometimes referred to, despite its allusions, is quite unknown in Italy itself and cannot be found in any market, except for foreign cuisine. A similar version of it can be found in Bologna by the name of Salamoia bolognese but that is made of: Sea salt, rosemary, sage, garlic and black pepper.

Italian Mixed Herbs is a Seasoning which is used outside Italy employing more oregano and basil than one would find in an English Herbal mix to flavour Italian style dishes like pizza and pasta creations.

Italian Mixed Herbs is a unique and balanced blend of the following dried herbs:-

Oregano
Thyme
Savory
Marjoram
Rosemary
Sage
Basil

It is perfect for any Italian dish including meats, pasta, tomato sauce, salads, even casseroles.

HERBES DE PROVENCE

Herbes de Provence sometimes and perhaps better refered to as Provençal herbs is a mix of aromatic plants, typically, but not always, dried.

These herbs are native to and have their origins in the Provence region of southern France. The blend is often sold locally in considerably larger bags, of two or three litres size, than the typical herb sale of a 100 grams here because the mix is used all the time by locals. The price in Provence is also considerably lower than for typical herb sales in the rest of the Western world.

The mixture traditionally contains rosemary, marjoram, basil, savory, bay leaf and thyme. Sometimes, and with great effect, lavender flowers are included in the mix. The proportion of each herb varies depending on the manufacturer or the local herbalist, and additional aromatic plants are occasionally added. Typically thyme dominates the taste produced by the herb mixture.

Herbes de Provence has the following dried ingredients:-

Rosemary
Oregano
Marjoram
Savory
Thyme

Herbes de Provence is mostly used to flavour grilled foods such as fish and meat, as well as add flavour to vegetable stews. The mixture can be added to foods before or during cooking or mixed with cooking oil prior to cooking so as to infuse the flavour into the cooked food. It is rarely added after cooking is complete.

PIZZA HERBS

All pizza, of any description or topping, should be well dressed with green Pizza Herbs. This blend is a basic, traditional Italian condiment to which other items may be added if required. Try adding some chilli flakes for heat or maybe a touch, just a touch of rosemary. Mint doesn't work well at all in the mix but rough crushed red pepper or sichuan pepper certainly enlivens the mix. Garlic powder works well too:-

Pizza Herbs contains the following ingredients:-

Thyme
Parsley
Oregano
Marjoram
Basil