This may seem like a silly question, but when we asked ourselves, we were strangely stumped trying to come up with an answer.
It turned out we – as most people would – instinctively know what a herb is, and know where to find them in the supermarket aisle, but defining what one actually is, is a little harder.
It’s a bit like what a famous English judge* supposedly said by way of explanation when asked to define ‘obscenity’ (and we paraphrase) “it’s hard to describe an elephant to someone who has never seen one before, but I know one when I see one”.
So, distressed at our lack of knowledge on the topic, we jumped straight on the interwebs to find the answer. And we sort of didn’t find a straight answer. This is what we found out:
- Herbs are not vegetables
- They are used for garnishing foods and providing flavour, but they’re generally not the main meal
- Botanically speaking, a herb (short for ‘herbaceous plant’) is ‘a small, seed-bearing plant without a woody stem which dies at the end of its growing season’, in contrast with shrubs and trees which do have woody stems and are therefore not herbs
- Generally speaking however a very wide range of plants can be classified as ‘herbs’ when considered in a culinary, therapeutic (ie herbal medicine) or cosmetic sense
- From a botanical perspective, sage, rosemary and lavender are not herbs (as they have woody stems), despite the fact that you’d still find them in the herb section in the supermarket
You’ll be pleased to know then that throughout history there has always been some doubt about which plants were herbs and which weren’t.
The ancient Greeks for example divided herbs into three types – ‘pot herbs’ (which included onions), ‘sweet herbs’ (for example thyme) and salad herbs (for example wild celery). This definition changed from the 1600s as selective breeding resulted in cultivated plants becoming very different in size and flavour to their wild ancestors, and so ‘pot herbs’ were reclassified simply as ‘vegetables’.
The oft-used phrase ‘you are what you eat’ may sound like a recent invention, but mankind has known for a very long time that particular plants – and especially herbs – are good for you and can be used as medications for a wide range of conditions.
Evidence of this goes back at least seven thousand years, with Sumerian cuneiform tablets referring to herbal medicine, and the ancient Greek/Roman physician/philosopher Galen (129AD-216AD) making up herbal remedies with up to a hundred ingredients to treat patients around two thousand years ago.
Fast forward to today and herbs still play a big role in almost every cuisine in the world, with some – such as coriander – being used as both a herb and a spice.
Should you tear or chop?
One enduring debate is whether you should tear herbs (for example basil leaves) or chop/slice them with a knife. You might think we’re biased here, but there are pros and cons to both approaches.
Pros of tearing
• Cell walls in leaves tend to remain intact when torn which means the leaves remain green, whereas they can go brown at the edges if sliced. This doesn’t look as good in your sandwiches, but doesn’t really affect the taste
• Tearing may release more oil from the leaf than cutting does ie creating more herb ‘taste’
Pros of cutting
• Generally cutting creates more pieces of the leaf so the taste is more evenly spread through the food
• It’s quicker
• You generally include more parts of the herb when cutting (eg the stems), which is good use of the herb!
You can of course just chuck sprigs of herbs into the pot, which seems to be the preference of some chefs, but this does have its disadvantages such as too strong a flavour or the possibility that a diner may bite into the whole sprig. If left too long in the pot a sprig can also sometimes make the meal taste a little bitter due to the tannin in the woody section.
One final piece of advice
A writer on the Epicurious** website suggests the best way to make sure your herbs stay in tip top condition (and not turn to mush) is to wash them first and then make sure they are thoroughly dried before chopping them. This involves a spin in a salad spinner and then allowing them to dry on a piece of kitchen towel (or similar) until they are completely dry. It’s a lot of work, but it is (apparently) worth it!
Feel free to let us know your thoughts on herbs, tearing/chopping or any other suggestions you might have! We’d be delighted to share them here or on our socials…
*Justice Potter Stewart for the legal eagles
**https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/how-to-chop-fresh-herbs-article
Main photo credit: Markus Spiske on Unsplash
