Bountiful benefits

Since the beginning of time, natural herbs have been the healthy garnishing of choice for many dishes including veggies and meats. But Sherry Campbell said, to her, there is more to herbs than just good health.

Campbell, director of the Shoals Culinary Center, said she will not dispute the health attributes of pure herbs.

But she said flavor is just as important as the health benefits. The top 10 herbs Campbell recommends as the best to cook with include basil, thyme, oregano, rosemary, sage, parsley, cilantro, lemon grass, mint and lavender.

Store-bought herbs, Campbell said, were so expensive that she decided growing her own was more cost-efficient, and, overall, the natural taste is incomparable.

"Fresh sage doesn't taste anything like dried sage," she said. "It's a whole different flavor.

Campbell said she uses orange mint to embellish the flavor when she makes teas.

"I just use these to flavor drinks," she said. "It just makes a really good soothing tea."

Her favorites to grow in her own home garden include tarragon, chives, mint, lavender and sage.

She said she most frequently cooks with rosemary and lemon thyme.

"I do a lot of fresh dishes with vegetables and meat," she said.

She uses these herbs when preparing zucchini, potatoes, tomatoes and eggplant by chopping them in fine pieces and making a bed of herbs that covers the dish. Campbell said she mainly loves the flavor and smell of the herbs. Because rosemary goes so well with meat, she said that may be the reason behind her love for meat. In addition, Campbell recommends using winter savory and thyme for dishes with peas and beans as well as stews.

Bobbi Elser took Campbell's sage class last fall and has since grown sage, parsley, basil, thyme and lavender in her own garden. She said in the late 1990s when she first started her garden, she did not have enough time to maintain it.

"I had one, but it fell by the wayside," she said.

But recently, she began to spend more time cultivating her garden.

Elser said, aside from flavor, there were other factors that encouraged her to grow her own herbs.

"There's a lot of health benefits from using especially the fresh herbs," Elser said.

She said next she wants to try rosemary tea because she heard the herb was good for memory.

According to allrecipes.com, there are three main steps to cleaning herbs:

1. Place the herbs into a deep bowl of cold water or in a clean, water-filled sink. Using a lot of water helps clear the herbs of dirt. Stir the herbs first then soak them.

2. Carefully blot the herbs with a towel, roll it around them, then let the bundle sit for a few minutes while the water is absorbed.

3. Pick the leaves off of the stems. Some herbs such as cilantro, however, have edible stems that do not need to be completely removed.

The site also includes recipes for Greek and Italian sage dishes and parsley recipes for turkey soup and dumplings.

Campbell said just 10 years ago her interest in herbs grew and she began to research the different types and their uses. Now she said she grows upwards of 20 herbs in her garden.

"I kept hearing people talking about them," she said.

Campbell recommends planting rosemary, oregano, basil, sage and lavender in the ground. But tarragon, chive and mint, she said, can be potted for more aesthetic qualities.

She said while store prices for herbs are on the rise, growing your own has bountiful benefits.

"It's much healthier to cook that way," Campbell said.

Shelbia Brown can be reached at 740-5733 or shelbia.brown@timesdaily.com.