Culinary herbs and spices

Herbs are fragrant plants of which the leaves, stems, flowers, seeds and roots are used for flavouring dishes. Some flavouring herbs can be found wild and can be used fresh, dried or processed. Many of them can be used throughout the year if dried and stored. 

Spices are seasoning agents and are the dried parts of aromatic plants, usually barks, berries, roots, leaves, flowers, flower buds and seeds. They are processed and used for preserving food and helping digestion. Herbs are used for milder flavouring, while spices are stronger. 

It is apparent that both total consumption and per capita consumption of culinary herbs have increased in recent years. The demand for herbs has been growing by about 10% per year moreover, there is also a revival of herbs for medicinal purposes and as beverages (Greenhalgh, 1982). There is also the demand from other sectors such as the food industry, which uses herbs in the preparation of processed and convenience foods, especially meats, sauces and soups the institutional or food service sector (restaurants, canteens, schools, etc.) and the retail or household sectors. 

Major herbs used at present include basil, bay, celery seed, chervil, dill herb, dill seed, marjoram, mint, oregano, rosemary, sage, savoury, tarragon and thyme however, the following are some culinary herbs and 

Aframomum melegueta (family Zingiberaceae) Distributed in the tropics. It is cultivated in West Africa and Surinam. The seeds are known as Grains of Paradise and are used as a condiment. 

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Hinneburg, I., Dorman, H.J.D. and Hiltunen, R. (2006) Antioxidant activities of extracts from selected culinary herbs and spices. Food Chemistry 97, 122-129. 

Atlas of Microscopy of Medicinal Plants, Culinary Herbs and Spices. Snowdon... 

Also known as aromatic aldehydes, these are derived from phenyl-propanoids and lack the terpene structure. They have characteristically sweet, pleasant odours and are found in some of our most well known culinary herbs and spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg. 

Jungbauer A, Medjakovic S (2012) Anti-inflammatory properties of culinary herbs and spices that ameliorate the effects of metabolic syndrome. Maturitas 71 227-239. doi 10.1016/j. maturitas.2011.12.009... 

Vallverdu-Queralt, A., J. Regueiro, M. Martmez-Huelamo, J. F. Rinaldi Alvarenga, L. Neto Leal, and R. M. Lamuela-Raventos. 2014. A comprehensive study on the phenolic profile of widely used culinary herbs and spices Rosemary, thyme, oregano, cinnamon, cumin and bay. Food Chem. 154(l) 299-307. 

This section gives information about some of the more commonly known herbs that have been used in drinks. This list generally excludes herbs and spices that are associated primarily with culinary or flavour use, although many of these will also have some health benefits. Some of the herbs listed below are of European or American origin and are listed in the Blue Book . The names of listed herbs are followed by their category. Several herbs that have been used in the past, such as St John s Wori, Ma huang (Ephedra) and Kava-kava, have been omitted as they are currently withdrawn from the European market due to health concerns by the regulators. 

Base notes contribute to the intrinsic taste of culinary products. This can be achieved by using basic savoury ingredients such as meat extract, bone-stock, yeast extract, fermented soy sauce, wheat gluten sauce, vegetable powders, herbs and spices. They provide a complex mixture of taste-active and taste-modifying compounds, some of them still unknown, in a typical and balanced composition. The basic taste can be... 

Mueller M, Jungbauer A (2009) Culinary plants, herbs and spices—a rich source of PPARy ligands. Food Chem 117 660-667. doi 10.1016/j.foodchem.2009.04.063... 

Monoterpenic ketones are frequently very important aromatic substances of many food raw materials, spices and medicinal herbs. Monocyclic ketone (-F)-carvone (8-50) is a key component of caraway and diU oils, where it is accompanied by (-F)-( )-dihydrocarvone, that is (lS,4S)-dihydrocarvone (8-50) that also possesses caraway odour. (-)-Carvone (8-50) is a typical component of spearmint essential oil, where it is accompanied by (-)-( )-dihydrocarvone, (lE,4E)-dihydrocarvone, which has the same odour (see Table 8.32). Isomeric ( )-menthone (8-50) and its precursor (-F)-pulegone (8-50) occur in the essential oils of the European pennyroyal Menthaptdegium, Lamiaceae), a traditional culinary herb and folk remedy, and other Mentha species (such as M. longifolia), as well as in marjoram essential oil. In the essential oil of mint, (-)-menthone is accompanied by (-F)-isomenthone (8-50) and other terpenoids. 

Tucker, A. O. 1986. Botanical Nomenclature of Culinary Herbs and Potherbs. In L. E. Craker and J. E. Simon (eds.). Herbs, Spices, and Medicinal Plants Recent Advances in Botany, Horticulture, and Pharmacology, Vol. 1. Oryx Press, Phoenix, AZ, pp. 33-80. 

Anise or aniseed (Pimpinella anisum L.) is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native to the eastern Mediterranean region and South-west Asia. It is widely cultivated in southern and central Europe, the former USSR, North Africa and, to a lesser extent, Mexico and South America (Ross, 2001). In India, it is grown to a small extent as a culinary herb or as a garden plant. The spice aniseed is the fruit of P. anisum. 

Plants and plant extracts have been used as medicine, culinary spice, dye and general cosmetic since ancient times. Plant extracts are seen as a way of meeting the demanding requirements of the modem industry. In the past two decades, much attention has been directed to the use of near critical and supercritical carbon dioxide solvent, particularly in the food pharmaceutical and perfume industries. CO2 is an ideal solvent because it is non-toxic, non-explosive, readily available and easily removed from the extracted products. At present the major industrial-scale applications of supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) are hop extraction, decaffeination of coffee and tea, and isolation of flavours, fragrances and other components from spices, herbs and medicinal plants [1-4]. 

Teuscher, E., U. Bauermann, and M. Werner. 2006. Medicinal spices A handbook cf culinary herbs, spices, spice mixtures and their essen tial oils. Translated by Brinckmann, J., and M.P. Lindenmaier. Stuttgart Medpharm Scientific Publishers. 

Spices—dried roots, bark, buds fraits, seeds, or berries—are plant products used to enhance flavor, color, and palatability of foods and beverages. In contrast, herbs are mainly the fresh or dried leaves of aromatic plants. Since ancient times, spices have been an important part of our lives as exotic and aromatic enhancement to food and as folk medicine. Today, spice use is ubiquitous, although the frequency of use of individual spices varies widely from country to country. In addition to their culinary value, spices... 

It is important to keep spices and herbs relatively fresh. If spices have been used only a few times each year, chances are they have become stale. Some of the spices deteriorate with age, with heat, and with exposure to the air. So get rid of the old and stock up on the new. The results of your culinary prowess will be more dramatic with fresh spices. 

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