Herbs
Vegetables
Fruits
Rosemary
Rosemary is a woody, perennial herb with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers, native to the Mediterranean region. Use rosemary sparingly as an accent to food as the flavor can be somewhat pungent and resinous. Use with fish, pork, lamb, poultry and game.
Varieties: Creeping, Upright
Sage
Sage is also one of the few herbs that, even as its leaves grow larger, the flavor intensifies. Unlike many herbs, sage leaves are still delicious after the plant flowers. Leaves are used in fish, pork, and poultry dishes. Also with vegetables and in sausages.
Varieties: Bergarrten, Bergarrten Variegated Leaf, Garden, Golden Edge, Maxima, Pineapple, Pineapple Golden Delicious, Purple, Tricolor
Savory
Savory is an aromatic herb available in both annual and perennial forms, known for its peppery, slightly pungent flavor that blends hints of thyme and mint. It has slender, dark green leaves and produces clusters of small white to pale pink flowers in mid to late summer. Summer Savory is more delicate and mild, while Winter Savory has a stronger, sharper taste and woody stems. Savory is a traditional seasoning for beans, lentils, sausages, poultry, and stuffing, and is often used in herb blends like Herbes de Provence.
Varieties: Summer Savory (Satureja hortensis) and Winter Savory (Satureja montana).
Sorrel
Sorrel is a hardy perennial herb with bright green, arrow-shaped leaves and a sharp, tangy flavor similar to lemon or sour apple. It forms a clumping growth habit and produces tall stalks topped with small, reddish-green flowers in late spring to early summer. The leaves are rich in vitamin C and are best harvested young for their tender texture and mild acidity. Sorrel is commonly used in soups, sauces, salads, omelets, and as a flavorful green in fish or poultry dishes.
Varieties: Garden Sorrel (Rumex acetosa), French Sorrel (Rumex scutatus), and Red-Veined Sorrel (Rumex sanguineus).
Thai Basil
Thai Basil is a fragrant, heat-loving perennial herb (grown as an annual in cooler regions) with narrow, pointed green leaves, purple stems, and mauve flower spikes. It has a distinctive sweet, spicy aroma with strong notes of anise and licorice, and its leaves are sturdier and more flavorful than common sweet basil. Thai basil retains its flavor well when cooked, making it ideal for stir-fries, curries, soups, and noodle dishes in Southeast Asian cuisine.
Varieties: Queen of Siam, Siam Queen, and Horapha (common Thai variety).
Thyme
Thyme is highly aromatic with a hint of clove and mint fragrance. Thyme can be used either fresh or dry. It is widely used in soups, stews, casseroles, stuffing and poultry dishes. Its flavor and fragrance is not adversely affected by long, slow cooking.
Varieties: Caraway, Creeping Lemon, Doone Valley (Lemon), English, Foxley, French, Golden Lemon, Highland Cream, Lemon, Red creeping, Silver Edge, Spicy Orange, Woolly
