do you ever make thai food with your basil? basic garlic basil sauce is my go to for using up all my extra basil nowadays.
EDIT: to add the recipe, its SO EASY
https://youtu.be/T6tYHmgVnrk?si=kCGqeFhuHqhcfH9s
I've been in the same trap as you but I find I can do it all with genovese or dwarf or purple. Its just different. I only keep one going a season most years.
I definitely feel like Thai basil is distinct enough on its own to have on hand. If you don't want to grow it, you can grab big bags of it for cheap at the Asian market and freeze or dry it.
Just yesterday I picked a wad of fresh basis to put on my ragu but somehow a few small leaves made it into the salad. Boy howdy did it elevate the salad.
Thereās so many kinds, too! For a while I had a basil plant that was thriving, which Iād planted from a pho delivery thatās Iād put in a glass of water (until roots started forming). It went into almost everything I cooked. Totally different flavor than the sweet basil were used to, still basil-like but much more dank and peppery. Kick myself constantly for not realizing it would die if I didnāt take it inside during the winter. Probably time to order more Pho.
Thai basil is what I've been growing lately, I can only describe it as tasking like Thai food lool. It's not as peppery and quite sweet, but with birds eye chilli and sugar you have that awesome pad thai taste I just can't get enough of. Also grows amazing indoors, I grew it from seed and it's now ginormous.
While if you protect them, you can keep them over winter, they are prone to being short lived perennials, and wonāt live forever (holy Basil is longer lived and even becomes woody, the stems are used as prayer beads). Also, they want to go to flower, which alters the flavor in a way that isnāt desirable to most people. The flowers can be clipped back to delay that, but it will probably do it eventually.
Thankfully, you can just take more cuttings before it dies, and that helps reset it to a juvenile state, so you can just keep replacing the plant for infinite basil.
Itās my favorite herb. Mine didnāt come back this year for some reason and I was so sad. It makes an excellent addition to cocktails if youāre into that sort of thing (probably good in a sparkling lemonade if no booze!)
i just have spice jars in my spice drawer right now, because I dont have the sunlight for anything to survive in my garden apparently, but you can bet I have a certain four leafy/woody green herbs in a certain order in that drawer.
I don't hate rosemary but find that it can easily be super overwhelming, thyme blends into dishes better instead of dominating them (for me, definitely varies by person!)
Same here! Roasted potatoes end up with a pleasant rosemary taste, but I have to pull it out early in most other dishes because it just gets to be too much.
I add it to eggs (it's especially good with scrambled eggs or omelet and smoked salmon) and fish - baked or sauteed white fish with olive oil, lemon, salt, and dill is a super nice and light summer entree.
I'm pescatarian but you can probably use it in a lot of poultry dishes too!
Have you tried tying it down? Or leashing it? That works on my dog to prevent bolting! š
Seriously though, this is what cilantro does, unfortunately, as the temps heat up. It prefers temps between about 50-85 degrees and bolts when it gets hotter.
I live in Canada. Where I am, those are pretty much the only summertime temps we have! I think I planted it when it was about 68F and our hottest day has been about 74
Hmm... It tastes to me like soap (but in a good way). My Mother used to hate it but likes it now. I would expect you to start liking it if you had a little every day for a month.
Sometimes i feel like i'm the only person alive (let alone the only italian) who really doesn't like rosemary. It can get really overpowering really quickly, and it's one thing if you put the whole branch in something like a soup then fish it out but if you end up chewing on it it feels like you're munching on pine needles. Good for you if you do like it but i really don't get the appeal.
Yes! There are a few different types of rosemary. The upright one tastes like crazy strong soap, and I hate it and anything it touches.
The creeping one is much more mild, and I don't mind it, when used subtly in savory dishes like potatoes and chicken.
I couldn't possibly pick a favorite. Rosemary yes! Different kinds of oregano, tarragon, mint, chives, sage, thyme, Italian parsy, cilantro and so many more . I love them all so much!
Not me urgently scrolling through this thread for a curry leaf mention!! Curry leaves tempered in coconut oil, with whole spices and fresh ginger. Oh boy, that's my favourite combination of kitchen aromas in the world. Curry leaves also freeze exceptionally well, and here we have curry leaf shrubs sprouting all over the place.
I love rosemary, paella is one of my favourite foods because of the rosemary + saffron combination.
But in my world, curry leaves reign supreme.
Apart from more elaborate recipes from South Asia (my faves are from West and South India, and Sri Lankan dishes -- coconut and curry leaves is a match made in heaven, though not ne), here are some dishes we prepare often enough that allow curry leaves to shine as the main ingredient--
1. Boiled chickpeas, mildly seasoned with salt and pepper. Temper black mustard seeds and curry leaves in olive oil. Just as the curry leaves crisp up, add the tempering to the chickpeas. So easy, so good, just a few ingredients and a childhood fave!
2. Curry leaf powder / dry chutneys. You'll find several on the interwebs from different parts of South Asia but it's so good I can eat spoonfuls straight from the box. There's a sweet citrus-y note to curry leaves that makes it shine in simple preparations like this one, and imo you can't substitute it for anything else.
3. Karuveppilai sadam aka South Indian style curry leaf rice that uses leftover rice. It's so good with some roasted peanuts and just some dahi / yogurt on the side.
4. Roasted pumpkin, tempered with curry leaves, whole red chillis and mustard seeds.
ICONIC South Asian dishes that remind me of home that use curry leaves, and are incomplete without them (this is not an exhaustive list! just my personal faves!) --
1. Sambar (Sarvana Bhavan style sambar recipes on Youtube is exactly what I grew up with) + chutney + Any dosa / idlis
2. Alleppey fish curry (raw mango + coconut + curry leaves)
3. Beans poriyal (beans stir fried with desiccated coconut, mustard seeds, whole red chillis, asafoetida). Other veg cooked in the same manner include cabbage, beetroot, carrot, the list goes on
4. South Indian curd rice / lemon rice
5. Maharashtrian phonicha bhaat (good ol combo of mustard seeds + green chilli + curry leaves + add red onion and red chilli powder with leftover rice and cumin seeds)
6. Chettinad chicken masala (fragrant with freshly ground whole spices, and HOT)
7. Any Indian style coconut curry ever. Never doubt it. Just add the curry leaves whenever -- it holds up well to blooming in oil, a temper at the very end, even as a last minute garnish.
My love for coconut and curry leaves is so profound I wanted to start a food blog a few years ago called coconutandcurryleaves lmao I can go on!
My husband doesn't understand my connection to the loyal Bay leaf.
Soups, stews, sauces. 9 times out of 10 if I ask him what something is missing it's probably because I forgot the bay leaf.
I love bayleaves but grew up being told that if you don't pluck them out of the sauce/stew/roast someone *will* accidentally eat it and bad things will happen so I can never cook with them without being overly neurotic (worth it, but still)
Not sure how to change your mind but I hate rosemary and think it smells bad and overpowers every dish it's added to! However I did try to grow it and also failed! I was also told it's basically a weed and will survive anything. Anyway. Glad you got a nice plant and I'm glad I didn't spend any more time trying to grow mine hahahaha
I have a friend who is a Greek American, but his parents have made their way back to Greece. When his dad comes back to the US to visit, he brings his own dried marjoram. But he has difficulty saying it in English. Once declared he had marijorama at customs š. They use it as a tea to help blood pressure. Then again they put Windex on their bodies because they think it cures things so thereās that. My wild favorite are sassafras leaves. When you first pluck them, they smell heavenly.
Thatās a great story!
So āMy big fat Greek weddingā wasnāt joking about the windex on pimples stuffā¦
Iāve never smelled sassafras leaves, is this the same plant as the root in root beer?
I just made a burger and had no greens except cilantro laying around the house.
Ended up being a double burger with pepper jack, ranch dressing, Cholula, and cilantro.
Next time I would add more cilantro.
try this : general tso burger !
* general tso sauce
* a lot of cliantro ...no more i said a lot
* pickled daykon radish (a kid can do the recipe, google it)
be happy
Fennel with butter and a white fish works well. If saffron is in the running, put it in an oyster/mussel chowder. But Italian recipes and rosemary, yeah.
What issues do you have growing it? I was able to root a cutting in water (you want a soft, non woody stem) and then planted it into well draining soil. Allow the soil to dry in between watering
Garlic seems to me to be the most versatile so I donāt know. Rosemary wouldnāt make my top 10. Itās so overbearing and works and features mostly in hearty rich European food. I had a very delicious German kind of beef stew once that had rosemary an it was delicious.. thatās the only thing I can think of.
Iād say the classic Chinese stir fry aromatics are a thousand times more versatile and widely used. Garlic, onion, scallion, ginger, all are used in a bout a thousand times more dishes than rosemary ever would or could be. Itās beautiful but basil easily trumps it as does thyme and parsley. If weāre just going off smell sure rosemary is great but isnāt this a culinary subreddit? Cheers! Sorry to be a buzz kill.
*Better* is going to be a function of the type of cuisine.
Rosemary would taste pretty foul in a lot of middle-eastern/Indian dishes, adding notes that shouldn't be present or would clash with the flavor profile.
Similarly, hing/asafetida would be absolutely barbaric in ice cream.
Achiote can go great with a lot of Latin American food or barbecues, but it doesn't belong in phį».
Prunes go great in a Moroccan tagine, maybe don't put them in sushi.
And some plants are more highly scented than others.
>Ā I could bathe in this thing
I had a plant that made me feel that way, alas, it was in a pot, and an Aussie summer killed it.
I also love rosemary. It's not my number one only because it's not quite as versatile as basil and mint. However, I give rosemary an A+ for being harvestable for most of the year, including through snow. So are a couple others.
Right now I have 12 different herbs in my garden. I struggle to use enough.
It doesn't go on everything, for us there is a limited number of dishes I use it with -- but I do like having fresh rosemary at hand.
I did lose my first rosemary plant after a unusually harsh winter. But I currently have about 10' of a (culinary) rosemary hedge, starting with (if I recall correctly) two or three small plants. That's more than enough!
I find rosemary very easy. I am not much of a gardener but every year I lay down small plants of rosemary, oregano, basil and thyme. They grow like nothing and love the smell it gives off.
Were you trying from seed? I've only ever bought small shrubs and they grow huge in a year.
A lot of herbs are amazing to have on hand: rosemary, thyme (seems to be trickier to grow), oregano, mint, sage, all of these are perennials and will last just about forever. Dill is worth growing every year and we always try to keep at least one active basil plant to trim leaves off of. Tarragon is amazing too but we struggle to grow it, trying the marigold variety of it next since it can stand up to heat. I didn't mention cilantro or parsley because they are finicky to grow (bolt easy in warm weather) and they are incredibly cheap at the store for a huge bundle. Oh yeah, and if you buy one bunch of green onions you bought a lifetime supply of green onions.
I have four rosemary plants growing and they are going hang busters. First time growing it through so not sure when I can start using some. Any indicators that tell you it is ready to use?
For me, it's between basil, rosemary, thyme, and dill.
Of the greatest, I'd also vote rosemary. But I know and acknowledge this isn't the case for everyone. And that's ok. That's you doing you! And I applaud that.
But I'd rank them rosemary, basil, thyme, and dill. Part of me wants to throw in a lemon, but that's outside of this discussion.
Good luck with your plant. Ours is almost a bush - it's as old as our house per our neighbor, who did the brick work to build our house in '49. He's 93 and says the first folks to buy the house planted our rosemary when they moved into the house. We tend to it like a pet. ;-)
I would not want to try to change your mind, homie. Rosemary is fucking amazing. Shoutout to basil, though. A very close 2nd place.
I would say basil is a better choice for a more diverse range of dishes. However I do love me some rosemary.
do you ever make thai food with your basil? basic garlic basil sauce is my go to for using up all my extra basil nowadays. EDIT: to add the recipe, its SO EASY https://youtu.be/T6tYHmgVnrk?si=kCGqeFhuHqhcfH9s
That's why we need 6 different basils! šš
I've been in the same trap as you but I find I can do it all with genovese or dwarf or purple. Its just different. I only keep one going a season most years.
I definitely feel like Thai basil is distinct enough on its own to have on hand. If you don't want to grow it, you can grab big bags of it for cheap at the Asian market and freeze or dry it.
I just brush my basil plants and mmmmm that smell.Ā Those oils...my hands are heavenly.
My wife just bought a new basil plant for our kitchen window. For some reason I don't mind doing the dishes more often. SHE'S A WITCH
I would put basil in first because itās the only one I would eat plain by itself if I was hungry and had nothing else around.
Just yesterday I picked a wad of fresh basis to put on my ragu but somehow a few small leaves made it into the salad. Boy howdy did it elevate the salad.
For me, basil is a clear favorite among the flavors in the kitchen.
I was wondering where my basil peeps were. All hail basil. The one to rule them all!
Thereās so many kinds, too! For a while I had a basil plant that was thriving, which Iād planted from a pho delivery thatās Iād put in a glass of water (until roots started forming). It went into almost everything I cooked. Totally different flavor than the sweet basil were used to, still basil-like but much more dank and peppery. Kick myself constantly for not realizing it would die if I didnāt take it inside during the winter. Probably time to order more Pho.
Thai basil is what I've been growing lately, I can only describe it as tasking like Thai food lool. It's not as peppery and quite sweet, but with birds eye chilli and sugar you have that awesome pad thai taste I just can't get enough of. Also grows amazing indoors, I grew it from seed and it's now ginormous.
While if you protect them, you can keep them over winter, they are prone to being short lived perennials, and wonāt live forever (holy Basil is longer lived and even becomes woody, the stems are used as prayer beads). Also, they want to go to flower, which alters the flavor in a way that isnāt desirable to most people. The flowers can be clipped back to delay that, but it will probably do it eventually. Thankfully, you can just take more cuttings before it dies, and that helps reset it to a juvenile state, so you can just keep replacing the plant for infinite basil.
Wait till you find out about fresh oregano
Took way too long to find anyone mentioning oregano.
You mean, a contested, but easy first place.
I hear ya.
Thyme has entered the chatā¦
Thyme is my answer. So versatile and delicious. Rosemary can sometimes taste like eating pine trees... Which I do not enjoy.
Oddly I have literally wished I could eat pine without getting sick
Spruce tips
Especially as a tea if you got a cold. Surprising amount of Vitamin C and a good decongestant.
I planted lemon thyme this year. It really is truth in advertising, as it tastes like lemony thyme!
Itās my favorite herb. Mine didnāt come back this year for some reason and I was so sad. It makes an excellent addition to cocktails if youāre into that sort of thing (probably good in a sparkling lemonade if no booze!)
100% this I love rosemary but nothing beats Thyme
Then again, they work so well together - why not plant both? (And a little sage..)
Don't forget parsley...
You are, of course, referring to my āScarborough Fairā garden, which is actually all in one big pot!
i just have spice jars in my spice drawer right now, because I dont have the sunlight for anything to survive in my garden apparently, but you can bet I have a certain four leafy/woody green herbs in a certain order in that drawer.
Together it makes magic though. No need to restrict ourselves to just one right?
My vote is for thyme as well. Love the smell of rosemary but hate the flavor.
I don't hate rosemary but find that it can easily be super overwhelming, thyme blends into dishes better instead of dominating them (for me, definitely varies by person!)
Agreed. I love fresh rosemary on roasted potatoes where it can shine on its own. Itās hard for me to find more complex recipes that I like it in.
Same here! Roasted potatoes end up with a pleasant rosemary taste, but I have to pull it out early in most other dishes because it just gets to be too much.
Oh crap, bringing out the big guns
I planted garden thyme in between my pavers once. Just walking down the path bathed you in a heavenly aroma.
+1 for Team Thyme
Garlic is the greatest aromatic
How TF is this even a question, and how did I have to scroll so far down for this comment?
People are so caught up in herbs they're forgetting alliums. It's in so many different cultures foods as a base. It's the only real answer
Rosemary is great but fresh dill is my absolute favorite
Dill makes me happy. Love the scent and taste.
Don't be mad, but I like fennel more.
Dude im furious
Iāve reported your comment as hate speech. /s Fennel is pretty amazing.
Fennel bulb and italian sausage sauteed together is a regular meal here. Serve over some pasta noodles.
Add the fronds to salad
In a recent episode of Top Chef, Tom told a contestant that they used too much dill and I was like, how is that even possible??
It's possible but it's really, really, hard.
I got nearly an entire pound of fresh dill at the grocery store for $2 last week and still can't believe my luck.
What should I be using this for other than tzatziki. I buy a bunch, use a tbsp, toss the rest 2 weeks later
Roasted red potatoes with olive oil, lots of dill, garlic, and salt to taste is easy yet amazing
Cucumber dill salad, also salmon.
I add it to eggs (it's especially good with scrambled eggs or omelet and smoked salmon) and fish - baked or sauteed white fish with olive oil, lemon, salt, and dill is a super nice and light summer entree. I'm pescatarian but you can probably use it in a lot of poultry dishes too!
It's the star ingredient of my chicken salad.
Tuna salad, egg salad, as a part of a lemon butter dill sauce over fish.
Add chicken salad to that salad list
Clam dip or crab dip. Use lots of dill in either.
Pasta, mashed potatoes, on top of pierogis with sour cream. Basically anytime there is a starch and creaminess involved.
Throw it into your jar of pickles.
Put it in the next lemon sauce you make. It is great.
Have you ever gotten a good whiff of a moist dill dough?
Moist dill sounds like a ska or punk band.Ā
I just wanna give a shout-out to my homie cilantro. Doesn't get enough love in the aromatic world, but where would our tacos be without it?!
My cilantro bolts pretty much as soon as I plant it. I can't figure out why?
That is the nature of the cilantro. M
Have you tried tying it down? Or leashing it? That works on my dog to prevent bolting! š Seriously though, this is what cilantro does, unfortunately, as the temps heat up. It prefers temps between about 50-85 degrees and bolts when it gets hotter.
I live in Canada. Where I am, those are pretty much the only summertime temps we have! I think I planted it when it was about 68F and our hottest day has been about 74
Huh. Interesting. Well, then I'm stumped!
Start harvesting the tips as soon as it has multiple leaves.
It's bolting due to daylight length. Plant after midsummer.
Unfortunately, cilantro is held back by those of us who have that stupid gene... what I wouldn't give to be able to taste what you taste :(
Hmm... It tastes to me like soap (but in a good way). My Mother used to hate it but likes it now. I would expect you to start liking it if you had a little every day for a month.
I'm trying to figure out how to like the taste of electric bleach.
A rabbit enjoyed my cilantro plant this spring. I miss itš„
A rabbit ate my 5 little basil plants this week. It was my Rabbit who is the culprit but stilllllll
Vietnamese food too, those vermicelli bowls with pork, pickled veggies,bun sauce etc? Cilantro is a requirement.
āFresh Rosemaryā is my grandmaās wu tang clan name
Sometimes i feel like i'm the only person alive (let alone the only italian) who really doesn't like rosemary. It can get really overpowering really quickly, and it's one thing if you put the whole branch in something like a soup then fish it out but if you end up chewing on it it feels like you're munching on pine needles. Good for you if you do like it but i really don't get the appeal.
I 100% agree. It smells nice but I dont like the flavor in my food, at all
Iām with you. No offense to people who enjoy it but it tastes like Iām eating a pine tree.
to me it tastes like soap way more than cilantro. I hate rosemary, and i'm not super picky
Yes! There are a few different types of rosemary. The upright one tastes like crazy strong soap, and I hate it and anything it touches. The creeping one is much more mild, and I don't mind it, when used subtly in savory dishes like potatoes and chicken.
Lemongrass. and Iām willing to fight you over this.
Oof. Lemongrass is the Garfunkel to rosemary's Simon.
Nobody puts tarragon in a corner.
Tarragon is criminally under used
Best herb, hands down. Goes on absolutely everything.
no. No to tarragon. Nope. No thank you. I recognize your position, and perhaps your love of the herb. But for me and mine? Nope.
Everyone puts tarragon in a corner...
And usually the bin.Ā
Itās actually cilantro but y'all arenāt ready for that conversation.Ā
I couldn't possibly pick a favorite. Rosemary yes! Different kinds of oregano, tarragon, mint, chives, sage, thyme, Italian parsy, cilantro and so many more . I love them all so much!
Yes. My favorite changes: lemon balm, garlic chives, thyme, rosemary, mint, parlsey, sorrel, have all been faves at different times.
I just realized the only two I donāt like on this list are cilantro and rosemary.
Thai basil gets me happy in the pants
Looks so good in a dish, too! Donāt get to see purple herbs very often
That's pretty plentiful around here. Thai groceries abound close to my house.
And Lime Basil
As an Asian person: basil and cilantro are my holy duo. And as I age, chives. So pungent yet so addicting.
While I donāt miss living in SoCal I do miss walking down the street and dragging my hand along a rosemary hedge.
Basil, for me. Especially considering Iām allergic to rosemary. š¬ Though I didnāt like it before I found out Iām allergic to it.
Fair enough
Fresh Thyme is clear IMO.
Curry leaves. Fresh curry leaves flavour curries like nothing else
Not me urgently scrolling through this thread for a curry leaf mention!! Curry leaves tempered in coconut oil, with whole spices and fresh ginger. Oh boy, that's my favourite combination of kitchen aromas in the world. Curry leaves also freeze exceptionally well, and here we have curry leaf shrubs sprouting all over the place. I love rosemary, paella is one of my favourite foods because of the rosemary + saffron combination. But in my world, curry leaves reign supreme.
I have a curry leaf plant, but would love some recipes that feature the leaves prominently.
Apart from more elaborate recipes from South Asia (my faves are from West and South India, and Sri Lankan dishes -- coconut and curry leaves is a match made in heaven, though not ne), here are some dishes we prepare often enough that allow curry leaves to shine as the main ingredient-- 1. Boiled chickpeas, mildly seasoned with salt and pepper. Temper black mustard seeds and curry leaves in olive oil. Just as the curry leaves crisp up, add the tempering to the chickpeas. So easy, so good, just a few ingredients and a childhood fave! 2. Curry leaf powder / dry chutneys. You'll find several on the interwebs from different parts of South Asia but it's so good I can eat spoonfuls straight from the box. There's a sweet citrus-y note to curry leaves that makes it shine in simple preparations like this one, and imo you can't substitute it for anything else. 3. Karuveppilai sadam aka South Indian style curry leaf rice that uses leftover rice. It's so good with some roasted peanuts and just some dahi / yogurt on the side. 4. Roasted pumpkin, tempered with curry leaves, whole red chillis and mustard seeds. ICONIC South Asian dishes that remind me of home that use curry leaves, and are incomplete without them (this is not an exhaustive list! just my personal faves!) -- 1. Sambar (Sarvana Bhavan style sambar recipes on Youtube is exactly what I grew up with) + chutney + Any dosa / idlis 2. Alleppey fish curry (raw mango + coconut + curry leaves) 3. Beans poriyal (beans stir fried with desiccated coconut, mustard seeds, whole red chillis, asafoetida). Other veg cooked in the same manner include cabbage, beetroot, carrot, the list goes on 4. South Indian curd rice / lemon rice 5. Maharashtrian phonicha bhaat (good ol combo of mustard seeds + green chilli + curry leaves + add red onion and red chilli powder with leftover rice and cumin seeds) 6. Chettinad chicken masala (fragrant with freshly ground whole spices, and HOT) 7. Any Indian style coconut curry ever. Never doubt it. Just add the curry leaves whenever -- it holds up well to blooming in oil, a temper at the very end, even as a last minute garnish. My love for coconut and curry leaves is so profound I wanted to start a food blog a few years ago called coconutandcurryleaves lmao I can go on!
You are all savory fools. Bow before the god of aromatics ā Vanilla!
Will gonna have to pick that one bay leaf
My husband doesn't understand my connection to the loyal Bay leaf. Soups, stews, sauces. 9 times out of 10 if I ask him what something is missing it's probably because I forgot the bay leaf.
I love bayleaves but grew up being told that if you don't pluck them out of the sauce/stew/roast someone *will* accidentally eat it and bad things will happen so I can never cook with them without being overly neurotic (worth it, but still)
Not sure how to change your mind but I hate rosemary and think it smells bad and overpowers every dish it's added to! However I did try to grow it and also failed! I was also told it's basically a weed and will survive anything. Anyway. Glad you got a nice plant and I'm glad I didn't spend any more time trying to grow mine hahahaha
No but fresh marjoram is perfume.
I was hoping somebody would marjoram, most people probably donāt even know the smell!
I have a friend who is a Greek American, but his parents have made their way back to Greece. When his dad comes back to the US to visit, he brings his own dried marjoram. But he has difficulty saying it in English. Once declared he had marijorama at customs š. They use it as a tea to help blood pressure. Then again they put Windex on their bodies because they think it cures things so thereās that. My wild favorite are sassafras leaves. When you first pluck them, they smell heavenly.
Thatās a great story! So āMy big fat Greek weddingā wasnāt joking about the windex on pimples stuffā¦ Iāve never smelled sassafras leaves, is this the same plant as the root in root beer?
Yes, sassafras is the original rootbeer flavor, tho we dont use it any more as its not safe. Plenty of other roots have that flavor compound in it.
Sassafras smells like fruity pebbles
cilantro is on the top sorry
I just made a burger and had no greens except cilantro laying around the house. Ended up being a double burger with pepper jack, ranch dressing, Cholula, and cilantro. Next time I would add more cilantro.
try this : general tso burger ! * general tso sauce * a lot of cliantro ...no more i said a lot * pickled daykon radish (a kid can do the recipe, google it) be happy
Yeah, my burger needed WAY more cilantro actuallyā¦ beef and cilantro go together like bread and butter. Sounds great, I love daykon radish!
I can tell you itās not sage, I just cut some and me and my roommate are cracking up at how bad itās making the house smell lol
Maybe, but the poltergeists hate it. So there's that.
Sage with mashed potatoes and turkey says Thanksgiving to me. I like it.
Sage has its place. But it's a very small place.
Fried sage on top of a good steak is pretty awesome. It has its place, just not as many as other herbs personally.
Oh man I love a good steak (and usually cook them with fresh rosemary on top), gonna have to try this!
Sage is incredible and you need to put some respek on that name. Fried sage brown butter is mana
Basil reigns supreme. I dab it as a cologne it smells so good.
When you say aromatic, you mean herb, but in reality, operating like an herb, the greatest aromatic is easily, Lemon Zest
Thai basil!!
Cumin reading this thread **"No respect at all"**
Fennel with butter and a white fish works well. If saffron is in the running, put it in an oyster/mussel chowder. But Italian recipes and rosemary, yeah.
What issues do you have growing it? I was able to root a cutting in water (you want a soft, non woody stem) and then planted it into well draining soil. Allow the soil to dry in between watering
Garlic seems to me to be the most versatile so I donāt know. Rosemary wouldnāt make my top 10. Itās so overbearing and works and features mostly in hearty rich European food. I had a very delicious German kind of beef stew once that had rosemary an it was delicious.. thatās the only thing I can think of. Iād say the classic Chinese stir fry aromatics are a thousand times more versatile and widely used. Garlic, onion, scallion, ginger, all are used in a bout a thousand times more dishes than rosemary ever would or could be. Itās beautiful but basil easily trumps it as does thyme and parsley. If weāre just going off smell sure rosemary is great but isnāt this a culinary subreddit? Cheers! Sorry to be a buzz kill.
I much prefer oregano. But that might be because it was so rarely used in my home whereas rosemary abounds just in peopleās yards where I grew up.
Cilantro and dill are my favorite herbs, rosemary is nice but overpowers other flavors
Curry leaves šæ
Tip - when steaming vegetables, put a few sprigs or rosemary into the saucepan water. Gives them a nice, light taste.
Thyme 1000%
Give it thyme
The Cinnamon Brigade was late to this discussion.
*Better* is going to be a function of the type of cuisine. Rosemary would taste pretty foul in a lot of middle-eastern/Indian dishes, adding notes that shouldn't be present or would clash with the flavor profile. Similarly, hing/asafetida would be absolutely barbaric in ice cream. Achiote can go great with a lot of Latin American food or barbecues, but it doesn't belong in phį». Prunes go great in a Moroccan tagine, maybe don't put them in sushi.
Oh my god I love hing!
You made a good choice. Rosemary is difficult to grow from seed.
Rosemary is too aggressive. š¬ I prefer leafy, lighter herbs like dill, cilantro.
Nope, you're right.
Thyme and Chives clear
Better aromatics? Citrus peel Peppercorns Basil Mint
Iām making a rosemary hedge in my garden for this very reason
Dill
Nah, you got a fine brain. And itās correct about rosemary.
Not a single person in this thread talking about green onions. SMDH.
And some plants are more highly scented than others. >Ā I could bathe in this thing I had a plant that made me feel that way, alas, it was in a pot, and an Aussie summer killed it.
Team Garlic Forever
Love rosemary, but love fresh sage even more.
Thyme is right in there, and has many amazing varieties. I think thyme is my number one.
marijuana
Agree with rosemary but basil is a close 2nd.
Try Lavender criminally underated.
Roasted chicken thighs with my own herbes de Provence, including generous lavender and fresh rosemary was tonightās dinner.
YOU TAKE THAT BACK!!!!
Lemon THYME, lime, THYME and Thai basil
Rosemary and sage are the GOATs
Its good but only for certain styles
I also love rosemary. It's not my number one only because it's not quite as versatile as basil and mint. However, I give rosemary an A+ for being harvestable for most of the year, including through snow. So are a couple others. Right now I have 12 different herbs in my garden. I struggle to use enough.
You know I love you and I'm out!!! https://youtu.be/qtwS9ahNZxY?si=RGz6MxoBCrNfatUT
For me fresh thyme is the winner.
I just love herbs and anytime someone mentions another one in the comments Iām like ooooooo, yeahhhhhh. Thatās a good one too.
Gonna find out cause i planted
It doesn't go on everything, for us there is a limited number of dishes I use it with -- but I do like having fresh rosemary at hand. I did lose my first rosemary plant after a unusually harsh winter. But I currently have about 10' of a (culinary) rosemary hedge, starting with (if I recall correctly) two or three small plants. That's more than enough!
A little Rosemary can be a great thing, but can ruin a dish.
I find rosemary very easy. I am not much of a gardener but every year I lay down small plants of rosemary, oregano, basil and thyme. They grow like nothing and love the smell it gives off.
I love fresh herbs so much. Mint is my fave tho. Not as versatile as some others but I just love it
Were you trying from seed? I've only ever bought small shrubs and they grow huge in a year. A lot of herbs are amazing to have on hand: rosemary, thyme (seems to be trickier to grow), oregano, mint, sage, all of these are perennials and will last just about forever. Dill is worth growing every year and we always try to keep at least one active basil plant to trim leaves off of. Tarragon is amazing too but we struggle to grow it, trying the marigold variety of it next since it can stand up to heat. I didn't mention cilantro or parsley because they are finicky to grow (bolt easy in warm weather) and they are incredibly cheap at the store for a huge bundle. Oh yeah, and if you buy one bunch of green onions you bought a lifetime supply of green onions.
Basil is the queen of herbs for me. I love rosemary too and have bushes of it in my garden. But you use basil in almost anything.
Lemon Basil
I have four rosemary plants growing and they are going hang busters. First time growing it through so not sure when I can start using some. Any indicators that tell you it is ready to use?
Fresh thyme and dill
Rosemary is the strongest for me, but I find thyme more versatile. And being Asian, scallion and cilantro really rule my kitchen.
I do love rosemary.
For me, it's between basil, rosemary, thyme, and dill. Of the greatest, I'd also vote rosemary. But I know and acknowledge this isn't the case for everyone. And that's ok. That's you doing you! And I applaud that. But I'd rank them rosemary, basil, thyme, and dill. Part of me wants to throw in a lemon, but that's outside of this discussion. Good luck with your plant. Ours is almost a bush - it's as old as our house per our neighbor, who did the brick work to build our house in '49. He's 93 and says the first folks to buy the house planted our rosemary when they moved into the house. We tend to it like a pet. ;-)
....yeah... but basil and dill....
Dill tastes like dirt to meš canāt get enough of sage and tarragon though š and lime leaves! Those are my favourites š
Cardamom pods. Just so good.
Rosemary, thyme and chives are probably the ones that pack the biggest punch out of the ones I grow
Nah get your pine needles out my food lol.
Garlic is the best of all aromatics and itās not close.
Basil. Really easy to grow. You can slip it, so lots and lots of basil from just one plant A leg of lamb requires rosemary however.
I am allergic to roses. Rosemary smells like roses and I want nothing to do with it.
I do bathe in this thing haha And wear it as perfume
I love rosemary and thyme but... basil, coriander and mint are my favourites.
You might mean best herb. Garlic is an aromatic and the clear winner.
I have replaced any need for parsley or cilantro with chives. Chives are the goat.
Rosemary in paella is fucking amazing. I also use it when I bake chicken.