Italian Herb Garden – Growing Herbs for Delicious Cooking
Posted: Wednesday, November 18, 2009
by Lisa Summerfield
http://herbgardensolutions.com
Linguine, pesto, lasagna - your mouth is watering, right? Italian food is one of the favorite cuisines. From the humble pizza to Tuscan feasts, Italian food is the perfect choice for any meal or occasion. To make the best Italian food, you need the best Italian ingredients which means durum wheat pasta, gnocchi, fresh tomatoes, a variety of hard and soft cheeses, and aromatic Italian herbs. While the other ingredients are the base, it is the right blend of Italian herbs that makes your meal memorable, but these herbs can be expensive and hard to find fresh in the winter months. So how about growing your own Italian herb garden to get fresh herbs?
One of the most convenient places to establish your Italian herb garden is in your kitchen. This keeps all your plants close at hand for plucking the bit you need for each evening meal and harvesting your herbs could not be easier - simply take a pair of kitchen scissors and snip off the parts that you want to use. The leaves of most herbs can be plucked fully off, whereas shoots can be cut back about 4 to 6 inches at a time. Harvesting also promotes new growth and keeps your Italian herb garden looking abundant and healthy. As you snip off most herbs, they release a pungent scent that will fill your kitchen with the smells of delicious Italian cooking. Chives are especially fragrant immediately after harvesting, as are garlic and basil. In fact, the smell of garlic and basil not only tickles your taste buds, but it also has the added bonus of repelling flies and other kitchen pests.
Another great thing about growing an Italian herb garden is that you can use your herbs both for cooking and for decoration. If you grow your herbs outdoors, you will need to harvest and dry them for use in the winter. Frankly, some recipes work better with dried herbs. When this is the case, you can gather large bunches of herbs and hang them upside down from your ceiling, walls, or doorways. Add some flare to the kitchen by tying up the bundles from your Italian herb garden with a strip of red and white checked cloth, just like what you would find on the table at an Italian restaurant. If your ceiling is not conducive to hanging herbs, a great idea for decorating with drying herbs is to mount an old rake to your kitchen wall and hang the herbs off the tines. Done right, you can transform your kitchen into a little piece of rural Italy. It might even make your food taste better!
When you begin to use Italian herbs in your cooking, you can either go by the amounts recommended in the recipe book or you can let your nose be your guide. There are a few simple guidelines for consistently finding the best combination of Italian herbs.
Garlic should always be used. "It is not Italian without garlic". Sage is a very strong herb and can overpower other flavors. Use sage early in the cooking process to mellow its taste. Basil and rosemary have lighter, crisper flavors. Basil is also the key ingredient in good pesto genovese'. Parsley and fennel can be used as an after dinner digestive aid. Fennel should also be liberally sprinkled throughout Italian sausages.
As you begin growing an Italian herb garden you will find your favorite flavor combination for each dish, but rest assured they will all be delicious!
Lisa Summerfield is the author of "Secrets To A Successful Home Herb Garden" - compulsory reading for anyone considering to grow a thriving herb garden. Her website contains valuable information on how to easily grow your own delicious herbs... Even if you have never grown a garden before!
For a FREE 10 part mini-course on "The Secrets To Growing Delicious Herbs at Home!" go to http://herbgardensolutions.com
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More commentsThis is awesome advice, everything sounds so healthy.Hi Patrick, glad you liked it. Thanks for taking the time to make a comment.
Hi Lisa, welcome to searchwarp! thanks for these great tips, very informative and helpful. Blessings to you! TeresaHi Teresa, it's great to get a welcome and encouragement and am glad you enjoyed the article. cheers and happiness!
Wow! I never considered growing a herb garden but this article makes me want to. I love the ideas. This is the kind of stuff I love to read. Keep up the good work.ThanksIyabo.Hi Iyabo, it's great that you're getting inspired bu herbs! Once you start using them, you never go without! Thank you for your comment
Welcome to Searchwarp and total congrats on having THREE of the top ten reader's choice right at this given minute! Any hints for a high altitude garden we live at 8600 feet?MarijoHello Marjo, the best thing to do in a cold climate is to cleate a 'mini-climate'. Surround your garden with plants that handle the cold and they'll protect your vegies and herbs. All the best!
A wonderful article Lisa with some interesting tips which I will tell my wife.Also, welcome to Searchwarp!thanks joel, I love my herbs and I appreciate your welcoming!
Hi Lisa. Your article is one of the suggested reading for the Reader's Club so here I am repeating what I said previously...great idea, great article. ~Nenita~Thanks Nenita, I appreciate your comments and love Searchwarp!
Lisa, I too Love Italian cuisine! Pizza is still my favorite comfort food. After reading your article, I am seriously considering a kitchen herb garden. Thank you!Hi Glen, you'll get lots of satisfaction by taking care of your herbs and seeing them grow. Give it a go! By the way...Thank you for your comment
I love this article because I love cooking but honestly, I don't know how. Share more of your articles about cooking. =)
Thanks for the information. I love Italtian cooking, and learned how to do it from an Italian chef in Tallahassee, FL...thanks for spreading the word!
never though of have a herb garden in the kitchen. Great idea.
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