{"product_id":"2940014087025","title":"Culinary Herbs","description":"In the flavoring of prepared dishes we Americans - people, as the French say, \"of one sauce\" - might well learn a lesson from the example of the English matron who usually considers her kitchen incomplete without a dozen or more sweet herbs, either powdered, or in decoction, or preserved in both ways.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA glance into a French or a German culinary department would probably show more than a score; but a careful search in an American kitchen would rarely reveal as many as half a dozen, and in the great majority probably only parsley and sage would be brought to light. Yet these humble plants possess the power of rendering even unpalatable and insipid dishes piquant and appetizing, and this, too, at a surprisingly low cost. Indeed, most of them may be grown in an out-of-the-way corner of the garden, or if no garden be available, in a box of soil upon a sunny windowsill - a method adopted by many foreigners living in tenement houses in New York and Jersey City.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCertainly they may be made to add to the pleasure of living and, as Solomon declares, \"better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox with contention.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e...before or just after a shower. The alternate plants may be removed in late August or early September, the\u003cbr\u003ealternate rows about three weeks later and the final crop in October.\u003cbr\u003eThyme will winter well. In home garden practice it may be treated like sage. In the coldest climates it may\u003cbr\u003ebe mulched with leaves or litter to prevent undue thawing and freezing and consequent heaving of the soil. In\u003cbr\u003ethe spring the plants should be dug, divided and reset in a new situation.\u003cbr\u003eWhen seed is desired, the ripening tops must be cut frequently, because the plants mature very unevenly.\u003cbr\u003eBut this method is often more wasteful than spreading cloths or sheets of paper beneath the plants and\u003cbr\u003eallowing the seed to drop in them as it ripens. Twice a day, preferably about noon, and in the late afternoon\u003cbr\u003ethe plants should be gently jarred to make the ripe seeds fall into the sheets. What falls should then be\u003cbr\u003ecollected and spread in a warm, airy room to dry thoroughly. When this method is practiced the stems are cut\u003cbr\u003efinally; that is, when the bulk of the seed has been gathered. They are dried, threshed or rubbed and the trash\u003cbr\u003eremoved, by sifting. During damp weather the seed will not separate readily from the plants.\u003cbr\u003eOf the common thyme there are two varieties: narrow−leaved and broad−leaved. The former, which has\u003cbr\u003esmall grayish−green leaves, is more aromatic and pleasing than the latter, which, however, is much more\u003cbr\u003epopular, mainly because of its size, and not because of its superiority to the narrow−leaved kind. It is also\u003cbr\u003eknown as winter or German thyme. The plant is taller and larger and has bigger leaves, flowers and seeds than\u003cbr\u003ethe narrow−leaved variety and is decidedly more bitter.\u003cbr\u003eUses.—The green parts, either fresh, dried or in decoction, are used very extensively for flavoring soups,\u003cbr\u003egravies, stews, sauces, forcemeats, sausages, dressings, etc. For drying, the tender stems are gathered after the\u003cbr\u003edew is off and exposed to warm air in the shade. When crisp they are rubbed, the trash removed and the\u003cbr\u003epowder placed in stoppered bottles or tins. All parts of the plant are fragrant because of the volatile oil, which\u003cbr\u003eis commercially distilled mainly in France. About one per cent of the green parts is oil, which after distillation\u003cbr\u003eis at first a reddish−brown fluid. It loses its color on redistillation and becomes slightly less fragrant. Both\u003cbr\u003egrades of oil are used commercially in perfumery. In the oil are also crystals (thymol), which resemble\u003cbr\u003ecamphor and because of their pleasant odor are used as a disinfectant where the strong−smelling carbolic acid\u003cbr\u003ewould be objectionable.\u003cbr\u003eBesides common thyme two other related species are cultivated to some extent for culinary purposes.\u003cbr\u003eLemon thyme (T. citriodorus, Pers.), like its common relative, is a little undershrub, with procumbent stems\u003cbr\u003eand with a particularly pleasing fragrance. Wild thyme, or mother−of−thyme (T. serpyllum, Linn.), is a less\u003cbr\u003egrown perennial, with violet or pink flowers. It is occasionally seen in country home gardens, and is also used\u003cbr\u003esomewhat for seasoning.","brand":"Tea Time eBooks","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47079942357232,"sku":"2940014087025","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940014087025_p0.jpg?v=1763600364","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940014087025","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}