Herbs For Cooking

Arne Herbs is a supplier of herb plants and salads to restaurateurs and chefs who prefer to grow their own.

Our customers value the freshness and freedom from contaminants that the market place can not always provide. In addition, air miles and the fact that many herbs are grown in countries with undesirable political regimes, are matters of increasing importance to modern buyers. Past experience in the catering industry ensures that our herbs for cooking are carefully selected to give maximum flavour and visual appeal

Our top twenty herbs for you to cook with:

  • Basil
  • Bay
  • Chervil
  • Chives
  • Coriander
  • Dill
  • Fennel
  • Horseradish
  • Lemon balm
  • Lovage

These are just the basic categories. For instance we can provide you with thirty different kinds of mint so that you can be certain of getting the precise strength and flavour that you are looking for.

Cooking With Herbs

Cooking with herbs can be daunting the first time, but it is really very easy and the end-results will (hopefully) delight you, particularly if you are more used to those dried packets from the supermarket or even their industrially produced potted plants, - the herbal equivalent of battery chickens.

The basic cooking rule is "spices into the pot first, leafy herbs, last". This is because the oils in fresh herbs are far more volatile than those in spices and quickly "cook out". Most can be captured in butter and olive oil, a feature you will have noticed if you enjoy Italian and Spanish food. This also makes it easy to freeze herbs for use during the winter. Little jars of herb butters make excellent Christmas presents. Others release their flavour into alcohol which is why meat cooked in wine is so delicious. Some woody herbs such as Rosemary and Bay release their oils more slowly and are thus ideal for roasts and stews. Most leafy herbs like Chervil, Parsley and sweet marjoram are best thrown in at the last minute or even chopped on the serving dish raw.

Although some mixtures, Bouquet garni for instance are an essential part of classical cuisine, avoid mixing herbs until you are used to their individual flavours otherwise you will find they are inclined to cancel one another out. Enjoy experimenting, bung in plenty and see if you like the result, if not, use less or try a different herb. Best not to try this before an important dinner party. As for rubbing a clove of garlic around the bowl, this is real wimpish stuff., - did anyone actually do it or is at a legend seeping out of genteel suburbia? Anyway stamp on a few cloves with your heel (not if you are in high heels though) which makes the skin peel off easily, then chuck the lot in your pan. Worried about the smell? Use lots of parsley and red wine and it will dissipate like fog on a summer morning. Incidentally try using garlic cloves as a vegetable with your roast, they are delicious and lose their smell completely.

Aromatic herbs, your patio and your barbecue

You need scented plants around your "outdoor room" if only to disguise the smell of burnt sausages emanating from your barbecue. Better still, keep flavouring herbs close to the barbecue so that you can easily grab a handful without your attention being distracted.

As a bonus, almost all aromatic herbs have other uses. Here are some of our customers' favourites: