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Pot-Herbs

One is inclined to infer from the name pot-herbs that they play an important part in cookery, and occupy the place of leading articles of diet. It is not so, however; pot-herbs are rather those which are of secondary importance, and of value chiefly for flavouring, as parsley, horse-radish, Indian cress, etc. Borage.--A native of or naturalised in some parts of this country. Its young leaves and tender tops afford a boiled dish in summer and autumn; they are also sometimes used as salads.

Chervil.--An annual plant, a native of various Continental regions, and sometimes met with naturalised in English gardens. A variety of chervil cultivated in Paris has beautiful frizzed leaves. The tender leaves are made use of in salads and soups; those of the curled variety are also used in garnishing.

Dill.--A hardy biennial plant, possessing powerful aromatic properties. By means of its leaves one may heighten the relish of some vegetable pickles, particularly cucumbers. The leaves are also employed in salads and soups. Fennel.--A perennial plant, naturalised in this country, and long an inmate of our gardens. Its tender stalks are used in salads; the leaves boiled form an ingredient in fish sauces; they are used raw to garnish several dishes. There is a variety of fennel called finochio, the blanched stalks of which are eaten with oil, vinegar, and pepper, as a cold salad; sometimes they are put into soup.

Horse-radish.--A perennial plant found by the side of ditches, and in marshy places in some parts of England. Its cultivation in gardens has long been attended to. The root of the horse-radish, when scraped into threads, is a popular accompaniment to roast beef. It is also employed in sauces, and in winter salads.

Indian Cress.--The Indian cress or nasturtium is a native of Peru, and a hardy annual. In its native clime it stands several seasons, but with us--our winter being too severe--it has to be treated as an annual plant, and be sown every year. Its flowers and young leaves are often eaten in salads; they have a warm taste like the common cress. The flowers are also used as a garnishing for dishes. The berries, when gathered green and pickled, form an excellent substitute for capers.

Marigold.--The marigold, or pot marigold, has been known in this country since 1573. It is a native of France and Spain, and an annual plant. In some districts of England the flowers are employed in broths and soups. Parsley.--A hardy biennial introduced into this country in 1548. It is a native of Sardinia. It is now so common with us as to be naturalised in several districts both in England and Scotland. "It may be right to notice," says Neill, "that the poisonous plant called fool's parsley (AEthusa Cynapium), a common weed in rich garden soils, has been sometimes mistaken for common parsley. They are easily distinguished: the leaves of fool's parsley are of a darker green, of a different shape, and, instead of the peculiar parsley smell, have when bruised, a disagreeable odour. When the flower-stem of the fool's parsley appears, the plant is at once distinguished by what is vulgarly called its beard--three long pendant leaflets of the involucrum. The timid may shun all risk of mistake by cultivating only the curled variety. This last, it may be remarked, makes the prettiest garnish." The leaves of the common plain-leaved parsley and the curled-leaved are used as pot-herbs all the year round; they are also used for garnishing. The broad-leaved sort has a large white carrot-shaped root, which is drawn in autumn and winter, like parsnips, for the table.

Purslane.--An annual plant, a native of America. It was introduced into England in 1652. The young shoots and succulent leaves of the purslane are considered cooling, and are used in spring and summer in salads, and also as pot-herbs and pickles. Purslane is not so much in demand now as it used to be. Tarragon.--A perennial plant, a native of Siberia, cultivated in England since the middle of the sixteenth century. The smell of tarragon is fragrant, and it has an aromatic taste. The leaves and tender tips form an ingredient in pickles. A pleasant fish sauce is made by simply infusing the plant in vinegar. In France it is employed on account of its agreeable pungency, to correct the coldness of salad herbs; it is also put in soups and other compositions.

The following directions for drying and preserving pot-herbs are from the pen of a celebrated herbalist. "It is very important to those who are not in the constant habit of attending the markets to know when the various seasons commence for purchasing sweet herbs. All vegetables are in the highest state of perfection, and fullest of juice and flavour, just before they begin to flower; the first and last crop have neither the fine flavour nor the perfume of those which are gathered in the height of the season; that is, when the greater part of the crop of each species is ripe. Take care that they are gathered on a dry day, by which means they will have a better colour when dried. Cleanse your herbs well from dirt and dust, cut off the roots; separate the bunches into smaller ones, and dry them by the heat of a stove, or in a Dutch oven before a common fire, in such quantities at a time that the process may be speedily finished, i.e. 'kill'em quick,' says a great botanist; by this means their flavour will be best preserved. There can be no doubt of the propriety of drying herbs, etc., hastily by the aid of artificial heat, rather than by the heat of the sun. The only caution requisite is to avoid burning, and of this a sufficient test is afforded by the preservation of the colour." The common custom is, when they are perfectly dried, to put them into bags, and hang them up to the roof of a kitchen, or lay them in a dry place; but a better method is to pick off the leaves from the stalks, to rub them over a hair sieve so as to extract the dust which generally adheres to them, particularly those which are purchased with the roots on, and to put them in wide-mouthed bottles (taking care that they are quite dry), and if well stopped the aroma of the herb will be preserved. Another plan is to infuse the herbs in as much spirit, vinegar, or wine, as will cover them, and after ten or twelve days to strain off, repeating it with the strained liquor over fresh herbs if it is wished to have the essence very strong. This impregnates soups or sauces with the flavour without any appearance of the herb, and it will keep good for years, whilst a very small quantity suffices. The proper season for gathering the following herbs to be preserved in either mode or in both, is as follows. Basil, from the middle of August to middle of September; knotted marjoram, from beginning of July to end of August; savory, the same; thyme, throughout June and July; mint, July; sage, August and September; tarragon and burnet, from July to August; chervil, parsley, and fennel, May, June, and July.