CULINARY HERBS VHT242

Distance Education Course

Learn to grow and cook with herbs

Herbs are essentially plants which are grown because of the beneficial characteristics of the oils or other chemical components to be found in their tissues. Culinary herbs are edible, and used in food preparation to add to or enhance the flavour of food. When used fresh, straight from the garden, culinary herbs have a special quality that cannot be replicated in dried or day old herbs purchased in a shop. This is why many people choose to grow their culinary herbs where they can be picked and used immediately.

COURSE STRUCTURE

There are eight lessons including a special project in this course, each requiring about 10 or more hours work by the student.

1. Introduction
   • Scope and Nature of Culinary Herbs
   • Herbs and Horticulture
   • Accurately Identifying Herbs
   • Plant Classification, binomial system
   • Finding the group a herb fits into -Monocotyledons and Dicotyledons, Plant Families
   • Pronouncing Plant Name
   • Resources - information contacts (ie. nurseries, seed, clubs etc.
2. Culture
   • Overview
   • Soils
   • pH Requirements
   • Improving soild
   • Potting mixes
   • Plant Nutrition and Fertilizers
   • Water Management for Herbs
   • Diagnosing Plant Health Problems
   • Pests, Disease and Environmental Problems
   • Planting, staking, and establishing herb plants, etc.
3. Growing Herbs
   • Propagation of herbs
   • Seed Propagation
   • Cutting Propagation
   • Potting Media
   • Division, Separation, Layering
   • Rejuvenation of Perennials
   • Designing a Culinary Herb Garden
   • Creating a Kitchen Garden
   • Planning a Fragrant Herb Garden
   • Companion Planting in Your Design
4. Cooking With Herbs
   • General Guidelines for Using Herbs in Cooking
   • Harvesting Herbs; roots, leaves, seed, fruits
   • Handling after Harvest
   • Drying Herbs
   • Hints for Using a Range of Selected Herbs in Cooking
   • Herbs For Garnish
   • Herbal Teas: What & how to use different herbs
   • Herb Vinegars, oils, butters, cheeses, salts, sugars, honey,, etc
   • Herb Confectionary, Cakes, etc.
   • Selected Herb Recipes
   • Using Herbs with Fruit
5. Most Commonly Grown Varieties.
   • Review of many Common Culinary herbs, including their culture and culinary use
   • Over 20 herbs reviewed in detail, incl. Alliums
   • Many additional herbs summarized
6. Other Important Groups.
   • Lamiaceae (mint family) herbs
   • Lemon Scented Herbs and their uses
   • Hyssop
   • Mints
   • Bergamot
   • The Basils
   • Origanum species
   • Rosemary
   • Salvias
   • Thymes
   • Lavenders
7. The Lesser Grown Varieties
   • Agastache
   • Agrimony
   • Visnaga
   • Apium
   • Arctium lappa
   • Bundium
   • Capparis; and many more
   • Using Australian Native Plants as Flavourings
8. Special Assignment
   • A PBL Project on a selected genus of culinary herbs

AIMS

• Describe the plant naming system, the major family groups that herbs fall into and the resources available to the culinary herb grower.
• Describe how to manage the cultural requirements of culinary herbs.
• Describe the various methods of propagation, both sexual and asexual, the treatments generally used for seed storage and the handling of cutting material
• Select equipment and materials required for propagation.
• Explain the way in which herbs are used in cooking and which herbs best suit various dishes.
• Discuss the most common herb varieties used in cooking
• Compare a range of culinary herbs in a single plant family
• Discuss a range of lesser grown culinary herb varieties
• Explain the uses of a range of culinary herbs within a specific group of herb plants.

EXAMPLES OF WHAT YOU MAY DO IN THIS COURSE

• Obtain soil from two different areas (two different types of soils). Using the tests in the accompanying notes....
  • name each of these soils.
  • test the drainage of each soil....take notes).
• Obtain (or make up) a potting mix which you consider appropriate for growing culinary herbs in.
• Obtain one or two pots and plant a small herb garden for growing indoors. You may use more than one type of herb per pot if you wish.
• Place the plant(s) inside & grow them there for a month or two, taking notice of how they perform. (Place a small sample of your potting mix in a plastic bag, to refer to in future if need be).

Tips for Growing Your Culinary Herbs

Herbs are very versatile plants and can be grown almost anywhere. A separate herb garden is not necessary, as herbs can be grown in such places as amongst other plants, as a border around a garden bed, in pots or tubs, in hanging baskets, indoors as pot plants, and even in hydroponics.

Herbs can be grown readily either from seeds or cuttings, or else purchased in pots. They can be readily purchased in 10 centimetre or larger pots, however most herbs grow so fast that tube stock is generally the most economical means of buying them. Larger pots are usually better for the slower-growing woody herbs such as rosemary, lavender, and bay trees.

Most herbs are rapid growers and as such need very fertile conditions if they are to perform at their best. They will respond very well to regular feeding during the growing season, though fertilisers will be wasted if applied when they are dormant. The addition of organic matter in the form of compost and mulch, before and after planting will prove very beneficial. Water is also of great importance to herbs, especially to those grown in pots. In hot weather the soil needs to be kept moist, but not wet. At the height of the growing season, herbs may require watering every day. In general most herbs are relatively pest and disease free, although some plants are prone to specific pests or diseases.

CHOOSING AND USING HERBS

Choosing Herbs
Aside from adding additional roughage to the diet, herbs are primarily used for their essential oils. These give herbs their pungent aroma, characteristic taste and medicinal qualities. Therefore the best herbs to choose are those that are most fragrant when crushed or rubbed, and at the peak of health. Leaves should not be dried out, even though you may intend to dry them later. The stems should also look healthy, without any sign of wilt, discolouration or rot, since these can be signs that the herbs are not fresh or healthy.

Chopping Herbs
Slice with a razor-sharp knife to avoid bruising the leaves. A blunt knife will bruise the herb, leading to faster discolouration.

Culinary Uses of Herbs
Culinary herbs make two important contributions to food preparation:

1. They replace salt and sugar as food flavourings. Salt and sugar are widely known to be consumed by most people in quantities which are detrimental to health, so any move to replace them with an increased use of herbs is a positively healthy move.

2. Herbs greatly expand the variety of tastes which can be experienced. They have been used since man’s earliest times to add to the flavour of food. With the tremendous variety of herbs now readily available, today’s cook can use them to provide interest in the form of colour and texture as well as flavour.

In cooking, herbs can be used freshly picked, dried or frozen. The treatment of herbs before cooking can, however, influence their flavour and appearance:
• Fresh herbs have a stronger flavour, and this use is generally preferred.
• Dried herbs are widely use in cooking. Many herbs retain flavour well on drying, but others to not. Also, the flavour will diminish with improper storage and time, so do not use very old dried herbs.
• Herbal infusions in vinegar or oil are often used for flavouring sauces, salads, etc. The flavour in herbs soaked in vinegar or oil transfers to the liquid, which can then be used when preparing food to add the herb flavour. The flavour will be less pronounced than the flavour of fresh herbs, which can be desirable. Herbs stored in vinegar or oil might need to be removed as they become old, but the infused flavour should remain for quite a while if the products are stored out of the light and in cool temperatures. Many medicinal uses of herbs require the production of herbal infusions.
• Herbal infusions in hot water are used to produce teas and tisanes.

Some Hints on Cooking with Herbs
Grind dried herbs to get the best flavour. This may be done using a mortar and pestle, or simply the back of a spoon.
Never cook fresh chervil as heat destroys the flavour. Add just before serving. (Chives are similar.)
Do not shake leaves from a storage container into cooking food as vapour from the cooking can get into the container and cause the dried herbs to spoil.
Do not store herbs next to the stove or in sunlight, as heat can reduce their flavour.
To keep fresh herbs longer, stand with stems in a container of water, keeping the leaves dry, in a refrigerator.
If you do need to wash herbs, make sure that the leaves are fully dried, spread them out on a wire rack in a single layer and allow water to evaporate before tying in bundles or freezing.

REASONS TO STUDY WITH ACS DISTANCE EDUCATION

• Reputation:
    -teaching Horticulture since 1979
    -exceptional faculty staff (see below)
• Hands on: develop practical as well as theoretical skills
• Uniqueness:
    -successful people are always those who can offer a skill or service that others can't
    -this course is different; our graduates have different skills to set them apart.
• Relevance -curriculum developed in response to industry needs
• Lots of help: personal, prompt attention from tutors
• Holistic Courses: We teach more than just "facts"
    -success is only 20% about intelligence (and what you know)
    -you also need to build networking, problem solving & communication skills, and more!
    -this course helps you develop all of these things and more
• Value: courses compare very favorably on a cost per study hour basis
• Up to date: courses under constant review
• Student amenities: This school is backed by over one of the most unique and comprehensive private collections of intellectual property in the horticultural industry. The principal and staff have written and published over 50 books and 150 gardening magazines, as well as 20,000 hours horticultural study programs. A team of 5 horticultural writers continue to develop and update new material continually. These resources together with web sites, an online student room, social media etc. provide a unique and comprehensive facility to support students studying with the school.

Marie Beerman  B.Sc., M.Hort.