Herbs Ways: vinegar

Showing posts with label vinegar. Show all posts

Tuesday, 23 June 2009

Mayonnaise With A Fresh Herb Touch

A grandmother in Germany I knew many years ago gave this herb mayonnaise recipe to me. She just happened to have the ingredients at hand at the time and she never forgot it, hence the rough guide in quantities given. She had medium sized hands!

The use of mint, parsley and coriander make an excellent combination for added to a mayonnaise mix. It can make a refreshing change to ordinary mayonnaise and can be used in the same way, i.e. in sandwiches, salads, egg, pototoes (as pictured) and with many types of meat. It also makes mayonnaise feel a bit healthier although it doesn’t ‘t make that much difference to the main oil content in mayonnaise.

Ingredients:

· 1 handful fresh mint leaves
· 1 handful fresh coriander
· 1 handful fresh parsley leaves
· A Pinch of chilli pepper
· 1 medium onion chopped finely
· 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
· 3 tablespoons mayonnaise

Method:

Mix all the ingredients expect the vinegar and mayonnaise in a food processor Process until minced. Then add the vinegar and mayonnaise and mix by hand until mixed in thoroughly. Serve straight away.

It will keep if refrigerated for up to 5 days if in an airtight container.

Image via Wikipedia

Monday, 26 January 2009

Salad Burnet - Wild, Free and Cucumber Taste

Coming from western, central and southern Europe, northwest Africa and southwest Asia. Salad burnet is a common herb that not many people are aware of even though it grows under their noses in many instances. It is great for salads as it's name suggest and can be made into either a useful vinegar or a lovely alcoholic cocktail with a unique taste.

It is a perennial herbaceous plant growing to nearly 1 metre high and can be found mainly in dry grassy meadows with limestone based soil. It is very resistant to drought grows throughout all seasons.

It is used not just in salads, but can be used as an ingredient to dressings. The flavour is essentially of a cucumber. The salad burnet is an excellent substitution for mint leaves in many dishes. If you use the fresh young leaves these will give the best results otherwise you may get a bitter edge to older tougher parts of the herb.

It also has been marked in history for being Francis Bacon's favourite herb and was introduced to the New World from the first English colonists. Salad burnet also has medicinal qualities in fact the same benefits as the medicinal burnet.

The salad burnet or sometime know as the great burnet it distinctive in looks has erect stems with globular red flower heads. These have purplish quality with feather like stigmas and sepals; it has no petals. The leaves are rounded with toothed characteristic mini-leaves.

If the leaves are crushed it will give the smell reminiscent of cucumbers. The herb forms in large colonies and attracts all types of insects. It will seed freely and cover big areas. It is a good plant for a short meadow type land as it can withstand mowing. Because it can tolerate drought it is good resource to have with global warming here and worsening.

Seeds are cheap and freely available in many online gardening sites. It is well worth having a few clumps of salad burnet you can pick all year round once established just before you mow the land.

I have given a recipe that I had made in the UK a few times. It was a great favourite of my grandmother who used to make it and gave me the recipe. She said, "It make hairs grow on your chest," but this is not to be taken seriously of course.

Grandma Charlotte's Burnet Liquor Cocktail

Ingredients:

Salad Burnet, around 5-6 plants crushed or liquidised
700cl white wine medium to sweet
500ml sherry
1/2 lime or 1 lemon thinly sliced
1 litre soda water

Method:
Simply mix all the ingredients except the soda water together really well and leave in the fridge for a few hours or preferably overnight. Just before serving add the soda water and add sugar to add more sweetness if required.

Wednesday, 3 September 2008

Tarragon - The French Love It

A popular and versatile herb, tarragon has a strong distinctive flavour, which can be described as a mix of aniseed and vanilla. The leaves are formed as slightly floppy, narrow and tapered growing from its long, thin stem. The French love tarragon and their cuisine uses it extensively, and example is the sauce Béarnaise where tarragon is the most essential ingredient. The tarragon herb goes very well with eggs, cheese and many poultry dishes.

When choosing tarragon look for fresh looking leaves that a have a vibrant colour and no wilting. Most chefs agree that the French tarragon is best. The flavour is subtler compared to the coarser Russian tarragon.

Going back in time the ancient Greeks use tarragon to treat toothache by chewing the leaves. It has properties that are able to numb the mouth. It also has the facility to help prevent heart disease. It was also know to be used during the Middle Ages as an antidote for poisonous snakebites.

Tarragon is used primarily in cooking nowadays, but still has medicinal benefits when added to foods. It is not just the ancient Greeks who knew it is great for the digestive system as well as relieving stomach cramps and promoting appetites.

It is also in many folk remedies for toothaches. It can be used to promote menstruation and fights fatigue as well as an aid to calming nerves. Interestingly enough tarragon can also be substituted for salt, this is perfect for people with high blood pressure and those who wish to reduce their salt intake.

The herb can easily be grown at home in containers for up two or three years with no special care. They can be taken indoors in the winter if you have a sunny windowsill. One plant should be more than enough for an average sized family's requirements.

Tarragon vinegar can be bought but at a price and is never as good as the homemade type, so the recipe is given here for your benefit. It can be used in conjunction with many other recipes but mainly with salads, which turn them into something special.

Tarragon Vinegar Recipe