Herbes de Provence

In yonder years, the grandmothers took to the hills in the Provence region of South Eastern France to collect wild herbs to enhance their cooking. Their taste buds and experimentation led to a combination of robust herbal flavours and created herbes de Provence.

These herbs are typically used with grilled food and stews. They became well-known dried herb mixes in the culinary world. Herbes de Provence include basil, tarragon, sage, marjoram, oregano and bay leaves, with thyme, rosemary and summer savoury being the three dominant flavours.

All of them are easy to grow in pots or in the herb garden and will give you hearty growth to use freshly picked throughout summer, plus enough to harvest for drying. Dried herbs can retain their strong flavour for six months to a year if stored in airtight glass jars.

Thyme Thoughts

It is said that thyme was spread by the Romans throughout Europe. The genus Thymus is part of the mint family Lamiaceae and is a close relative of the oregano genus. Both are regarded as indigenous to the Mediterranean region.

Thyme is a perennial, evergreen herb for hot, sunny spots. The leaves are perfect for drying. Retaining its flavour better than most other herbs, thyme adds an earthy, minty, slightly lemony flavour.

READ MORE: Traditional South African herbs for the festive season

Rosemary For Remembrance

A tea made of rosemary leaves will apparently enhance your memory. This can help to remind you that the erstwhile botanical name, Rosmarinus officinalis has now changed to Salvia rosmarinus.

Rosemary is tough and drought-hardy evergreen shrub with aromatic needle-like leaves. It is very suitable for hot spots. Fresh sprigs are often used, b the leaves dry well keeping their astringent, peppery and woodsy flavour.

Spellbound By Savory

Summer savory (Satureja hortensis) is an annual in the Lamiaceae family. It’s native to the sunny slopes of the Mediterranean. It is often dried for winter use. Savory was regarded as a natural aphrodisiac and used to make love potions. European monasteries forbade the growth of savory. They feared that the monks would fall under its spell!

Sow the savory seed in pots or buy young plants from the garden centre and grow them in a sunny spot, watering regularly. It has a robust and peppery taste with notes of marjoram, thyme and mint.

How to dry your herbs

Please wash your harvested herbs properly and pat them dry. There are four ways to dry the herbs you wish to use in a herbes de Provence mixture:

• Tie the stems in bunches with rubber bands and hang them upside down in a shaded, dry place. It will take a few weeks to dry.
• Remove the leaves from the stems and spread them out on fine mesh with a clean tray beneath, or on clean cheesecloth spread over a wooden frame.
• Microwave drying: spread the leaves between two paper towels and microwave for a minute on high. 
• Oven drying: Set the oven on a low setting and place the leaves on baking trays lined with baking paper or place them on a silicone mat. ‘Bake’ for about 30 minutes leaving the oven door slightly open for moisture to evaporate.

Basic dried herb mix: Add together equals parts of dried thyme, rosemary and savory. To this you can add marjoram, basil (or parsley), tarragon, sage and bay leaves. You can also add dried culinary lavender leaves and flowers. However these have a very distinctive, over-powering flavour. Uses:

• Marinade for chicken.
• Added with olive oil and salt to use as a dip.
• Rubbed on fish like salmon.
• Sprinkled over vegetables to be roasted.
• Added to soups and stews.

READ MORE: Take a look at these herbs to grow