Herbs and cooking

[L.C. DeMartin]

Herbs and cooking

Any good cook knows that you add your
herbs last. The logic behind this seeming
to be, to retain their bouquet and flavor.
At one time, it may have had more to do
with the desire to maintain their medicinal
properties.

Many herbs used in cooking are powerful
germicides and were included in ancient
times to help preserve the food longer.
Our ancestors might have died from food
poisoning had they not figured this out.
Somewhere along the line, we forgot.

Mustard oil, Cinnamon oil and of course
the popular tooth ache remedy Oil of
Cloves are strong antiseptics, all far more
agreeable than Garlic.
Cumin, Fennel seeds, Cinnamon, Nutmeg,
Cloves, Pepper and red Chilies will preserve
fats in food, preventing them from going
rancid. Fennel at one time was added to fish, in
France I believe. Again more to preserve it's
freshness rather than a preference for taste.

Flatulence, the age old bed warmer often
prevents people from eating certain very
nutritious foods. However said foods cooked
with a host of different herbs can remedy
that condition. Mint, Thyme, Sage, Marjoram
and Summer Savory have all been employed
toward this end.
Sweet Marjoram, Mint and Wild Ginger (American)
also go a long way to reduce the heaviness
of food. Inactivity after eating has long been
known to add inches to the waistline.
Putting up with some different flavors is not much
of a price to pay to feel energetic after a decent
meal.

Now we can't do much more than scratch the
surface of this subject here.
But it is enough that people start thinking more
about what is going into the stew pot and how
eating is one of the best delivery systems
for turning herbal remedies into herbal
preventatives.