herbs dictionary

an incredebly aromatic herb which smells and tastes somewhere between aniseed, cinnamon, lemon and pepper. It's used all over southern Europe and the Far East, where Thai basil is a key ingredient in many dishes. It's great in salads, wonderful with salmon, it's the basic of pesto, which we all know and love, but it's absolute best friends with tomatoes

a small tree with thick shiny green leaves. Bay leaves give a real meatiness and depth of flavour to stocks and stews and they're great in stuffings and threaded between pieces of meat on barbecue skewers

Also called laurel leaf or bay laurel, this aromatic herb comes from the evergreen bay laurel tree, native to the Mediterranean. Early Greeks and Romans attributed magical properties to the laurel leaf and it has long been a symbol of honor, celebration and triumph, as in "winning your laurels." The two main varieties of bay leaf are Turkish (which has 1− to 2−inch−long oval leaves) and Californian (with narrow, 2− to 3−inch−long leaves). The Turkish bay leaves have a more subtle flavor than do the California variety. Bay leaves are used to flavor soups, stews, vegetables and meats. They're generally removed before serving. Overuse of this herb can make a dish bitter. Fresh bay leaves are seldom available in markets. Dried bay leaves, which have a fraction of the flavor of fresh, can be found in supermarkets. Store dried bay leaves airtight in a cool, dark place for up to 6 months.