Culinary Herbs

Herbs to be used for cooking, such as thyme, parsley, mint, marjoram, sage and bay, should be gathered when at their most vigorous—just before they flower in most cases—on a warm, sunny day after any dew has evaporated. (Surplus moisture will cause mildew which would spoil the herbs and the result would be soft and flabby.) Tie the sprigs in small bunches and hang upside down, in a current of air and out of direct sunlight. Alter about 2–6 weeks the leaves will be quite dry and brittle. Thyme, marjoram and sage are known as ‘sweet herbs’, and can be stored mixed together by crushing the leaves finely with your fingers, mixing the resulting powders and putting into well-stoppered glass jars. Bay leaves are stripped from the stalk and used whole. In spite of the attractive appearance of rows of herbs on the kitchen shelf, it is better to keep these in your store cupboard as exposure to the light tends to spoil the colour.