It is Farmer’s Market time in sunny California, and as I loaded up on my fresh herbs on Friday, a lady standing next to me asked what I was going to do with my herbs. Someone overheard my herbalicious conversation then he asked how I store my herbs. Then came more questions from curious onlookers; freezing versus dried, cooking tips and more. I found myself answering a lot of questions to a group of people I had never met and had no idea I’m a chef. As I gathered the rest of my groceries I realized that the inquisitive group at the farmers market had some valid questions. Here’s some of the questions and answers from my shopping excursion turned learning pow wow session.

Factoids
- Fresh herbs are what changes basic foods into favored dishes.
- They are the secondary seasonings that develop and extend the natural flavors of our raw materials.
·- Fresh herbs compliment and enrich taste without adding any calories or fat.
- Cooking with herbs has taken on new importance with our awareness of reducing salt and fat in the diet. Herbs can add interesting flavors to foods when salt and fat are reduced in a recipe. Because herbs are so popular, they are being sold fresh at the roadside market and grocery store and are often grown as part of a kitchen garden by the homeowner.

Selecting
Herbs are best harvested in the morning, after the dew has evaporated, but before the sun has warmed them. The oils that give herbs their aromas and flavors are volatile (readily escapes from the leaves, seeds and stems if injured.) Therefore, herbs need to be handled very gently, and should never be “stacked” or handled in such a way that they may be bruised. Select just enough herbs to be used, dried or frozen, the same day. Herbs should look fresh and clean, be free of disease, not discolored or damaged.

Fresh Herbs
Cooking:
-·Fresh herbs have subtle and delicate flavors.
- Prolonged cooking causes them to lose their fragrance and their flavor.
· Add the fresh herbs near the end of the cooking time. The flavors develop very quickly.
- Herbs shouldn’t cook in liquids for more than about an hour, generally, to get the most from them.
- Roasts should be rubbed with herbs before cooking. One restaurant technique is to chop the fresh herbs you want to use with a bit of salt and pepper. They each flavor the other. Then, rub the seasonings on the roast and finish as usual. This approach can be used for poultry and seafood as well.
- For ground meats, finely mince the fresh herbs and mix into the meat before cooking. Add whatever other additions you like – eggs, crumbs, prepared sauces, salt, pepper, etc. – and shape them as appropriate for the dish.
- Fresh herbs may be added to both batters and crumb mixtures used for fried foods. Chop finely and add as desired.
- Fresh herbs enhance cooking waters for vegetables. Either chop and drop them into the water so they’ll be part of the finished dish or tie them in a little cheesecloth bag and remove them before serving.
- Fresh herbs can add wonderful character and pleasantly surprising complexity to breads. A general rule of thumb is to add somewhere between 1 to 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh herbs per one-pound loaf. Herbal cornbread is wonderful. Likewise biscuits, dumplings, savory pancakes and waffles – add up to a tablespoon to 2 cups of flour.

Serving
Soaking and eating fresh herbs is an experience. Their special flavor and aroma contributes greatly to the enjoyment of food. There really are no rules when cooking with herbs. Start to experiment using small amounts of herbs and see what you like. The following ideas may help you get started:
- A good general rule of thumb is not to mix two very strong herbs together, but rather one strong and one or more milder flavors to complement both the stronger herb and the food.
- In general, the weaker the flavor of the main staple item, the lower the level of added seasoning required to achieve a satisfactory balance of flavor in the end product.
- Leaves should be chopped very fine because the more cut surface exposed the more flavor will be released.
- Be conservative in the amount of an herb used until you’re familiar with its strength. The aromatic oils can be strong and objectionable if too much is used.
- The flavoring of herbs is lost by extended cooking. Add herbs to soups or stews about 45 minutes before completing the cooking. But for cold foods such as dips, cheese, vegetables and dressings, herbs should be added several hours or overnight before using.
· For casseroles and hot sauces, add finely chopped fresh or dried herbs directly to the mixture.
- Try herbs as a flavoring in vinegars or “butters.” Use one cup of “bruised” leaves for every 2 cups of white wine vinegar. Allow to steep two weeks. Use 1 tablespoon of finely chopped fresh herbs to 1/2 cup margarine, butter, cottage cheese, low fat yogurt or cream cheese.

Storing
Fresh herbs are perishable and proper storage can prolong their lives rather nicely. If just harvested, most herbs should remain in good shape for well over a week, although their intensity of flavor diminishes as time goes on. Herbs with tough leaves like rosemary, thyme, sage, and bay will keep for two weeks or longer, but herbs with delicate leaves, like chervil or lemon verbena, will last only a few days.

- The conventional wisdom that advises storing cut herbs as if they were cut flowers, standing up in a glass or pitcher of water either on the counter on in the refrigerator, this makes sense if you are keeping herbs a day or two, but like cut flowers, their stems soon begin to rot and the water becomes rank. Even if you change the water, I find the herbs suffer. And if the glass is placed in the refrigerator, it inevitably gets knocked over, spilling the water onto everything below. The only time I stand herb sprigs in water is when I want to hold them at room temperature for more than an hour. Basil, cilantro, and parsley are three that keep particularly well for a few days with their stems in water on a cool kitchen counter.
- The best way to store fresh herbs is to put them into a resealable plastic freezer bag, and keep it at 40 to 45 degrees F, the temperature in a refrigerator’s crisper. Avoid cold spots like the rear of the lower shelf. Some tender-leafed herbs, most notably basil and lemon verbena, will turn black at temperatures below 40 degrees F. Some cooks like to wrap the herbs in damp paper towels and then put them in plastic bags, but the extra moisture only invites decay. It’s a good idea to crumple a paper towel and put it into the bag under the herbs. The resealable produce bags that have tiny holes for air circulation are effective if the leaves are wet and moisture needs to escape, but herbs with dry leaves will last much longer if sealed airtight.
- Loose leaves are best kept in the coldest part of a refrigerator in perforated bags. I try to keep the container loosely packed so the herbs don’t crush.
- Some moisture is good for fresh herbs. Too much moisture promotes decay. Shake them as dry as possible before storing. Leaves of fresh herbs are much easier to handle and chop when they are completely dry.
- Don’t wash them before you store them-the drier the leaves are the longer and fresher they will keep.

Washing
If you buy herbs from a supermarket or you can see or feel dirt on the herbs from your own garden (especially if they were harvested close to the ground), you’ll have to wash them. When you only have a few sprigs to wash, hold them under the tap for a rinse, then shake them off and pat them dry between paper towels. With larger bunches of herbs it’s more effective to submerge them in water the way you would wash salad greens. Fill the bucket of a salad spinner or a large bowl with cold water. Drop in the herbs and swish them around so that the dirt releases and can sink. to the bottom. Then lift them out of the water and dry them either in the salad spinner or by patting them dry between paper towels or in a clean dishtowel. If you have a large bunch of herbs with all the stems at the bottom, the way parsley and cilantro are usually sold, the process is even easier. Hold the herb bunch by the stems and plunge it up and down in the water. Still holding it by the stems, remove it from the water and shake it over the sink or out the backdoor, snapping your wrist as if you were shaking down a thermometer. If they’re still not dry, spin them or pat dry with paper towels.

Dried Herbs
Fresh herbs have both more and less flavor than dried ones. Dried herbs have had some of their flavor elements concentrated and so they can seem stronger. But drying them causes some other tastes to be lost and so the flavors are diminished. The general ratio to substitute fresh herbs for dried is 3 to 1. That is, use 3 times as much fresh herbs as dried herbs that recipes might call for.

Freezing
To preserve herbs with a high water content, like basil, chives lemon balm, mint and tarragon, fresh freezing is a better option. The herbs will become limp in the process, but their flavor will be intact. Frozen herbs will keep their flavor for several months. Unlike dried herbs, where the flavor gets more concentrated when drying, frozen herbs can be used in the same proportion as fresh herbs. Harvest the freshest, heathiest leaves.
·Wash and pat dry with paper towels.
- Spread the individual leaves on a small tray or cookie sheet.
- Freezing the leaves flat and individually will prevent them from freezing together into a brick.
- Cover and place the tray of leaves into the freezer.
- When frozen solid, place in airtight containers and return to the freezer. Once frozen individually, the leaves will not meld together.

Visit www.cheflala.com for more herbal cooking tips.

Chef LaLa
Contributing Editor, Comida News