Herbs

The “spice” shelves in American kitchens include most, or all, of the traditional herbs found in European kitchens: basil, bay leaves, chives, dill, fennel, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, savory, tarragon, and thyme. Depending on the cooks’ ethnic backgrounds or degree of sophistication, their shelves may hold dozens of herbs from other parts of the world as well.

The words “herb” and “spice” mean different things to different people. “Spice” has no botanical meaning, but when botanists think of “herbs,” they mean nonwoody vascular plants that die, or waste away, after flowering. That definition is meaningless to most cooks and gardeners. For one thing, they have noticed that some “herbs” can become woody and tough enough to survive frost without melting away as annuals do. They are more like the twigs of a tree (rosemary, sage, and thyme are typical examples).