Herbal Kitchen Garden

Name: Herbal Kitchen Garden
Price: 15.99 GBP
Availability: InStock

What would our food be without the deliciousness of herbs? Brimming with flavour, herbs have a long history of use in the kitchen and the clinic. Herbalist-chefs have discovered which plants enhance the taste of our meals as well as the health benefits of our diet. Whether spicy, sweet, aromatic or tangy, herbs bring out the best in every dish – and our digestion.

The flavours in our Herbal Kitchen Garden come from the essential oils that keep the plants – and us – in good health. We have chosen some of our favourites for you to grow a mouth-watering garden: basil leaves are renowned for their verdant freshness; fennel offers a delightful burst of sweetness (try nibbling the fresh seeds); lovage leaves have a distinctive celery-like flavour; oregano delivers strong spicy notes; sage evokes the essence of pine forests, and thyme provides a warming, woody aroma.

While we primarily grow the leaves for culinary use, many of these herbs – especially oregano, fennel, and thyme – also produce stunning flowers that will bring your garden to life with the sound of buzzing bees.

Category: Seed Collections

Species in the Collection

Basil, Genovese

Ocimum basilicum

Fennel

Foeniculum vulgare

Lovage

Levisticum officinale

Oregano

Origanum vulgare

Sage, Garden

Salvia officinalis

Thyme, Common

Thymus vulgaris

How to use

Nothing is better to lift a meal than fresh herbs straight from your garden.

Six-Herb Super-Pesto.
100g fresh herbs – 75% fresh basil, 25% mix of fennel fronds, lovage leaf, oregano leaf, sage leaf, thyme leaf
150ml olive oil
50g pine nuts (walnuts also good)
1 clove of garlic (optional)
Salt & pepper

Lightly toast the nuts, allow to cool. Roughly blend the nuts with remainder of the ingredients and if you don’t eat it all at once, store in an airtight jar in the fridge. Pour a layer of oil over the top to keep it at its freshest.

Herbal Kitchen Oils
Making home-made herbal oils for the kitchen is delicious. Use 1 part herb : 4 parts oil and infuse for 2 weeks. If using fresh plants you should ‘wilt’ them for 6 hours first to remove some moisture and then strain to ensure no water remains.

Dried Kitchen Garden Herbs
Once you start drying your own Kitchen herbs you will realise how good dried herbs can actually be. Lay them out on a rack and keep in a warm – around 35C – and well ventilated area for 12-24 hours, or until crisp and dry. Basil and lovage leaf must be handled especially carefully and used in a short space of time as they easily loose their flavour. Pick individual leaves and place neatly on your drying rack. A dehydrator may be best for the very delicate leaves and store in an airtight container. Fennel seed, oregano, sage and thyme all store well to keep for your over winter supplies.

Remember to take your herbs with every meal and always read the specific information on each individual herb to find out how to use them properly.

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