What herbs go with what foods?

shaumom

I have just received some great ideas for making some good sauces and salad dressings.

However...I'm herb challenged. I just cannot seem to figure out good herbs to go with various dishes I make. I grow a lot of them, but...yeah, just terrible at it.

Like, what are the best herbs for beans? For beef? For beets or tomatoes, hummus or herb vinaigrette or a spicy chile sauce, cabbage or bell peppers, etc...

Anyone have some herbs or spices that they love to pair with certain foods? Or certain home made herb/spice mixtures that they use?

I'm honestly happy to hear of anything, but if narrowing it down helps, I currently grow:
parsley
cilantro
thyme
rosemary
sage
peppermint
spearmint
mexican tarragon
mexican oregano
greek oregano
oreganillo
savory
lemon grass
fresh ginger
fresh turmeric
bay leaves
epazote
basil
holy basil
lemon basil
lemon balm
lemon verbena
lavender
roses
nasturtiums


thanks for anyone who has some time and some great herb ideas to save. :-)

PartyPerson

A couple of ideas that I find work:

sage and pork
rosemary and lamb
basil and tomato
tarragon and white fish

after that it is about types of flavour that you like for example:
mint, parsley, garlic and lemon juice make a great salad dressing for bulgar wheat with tomato and cucumber
oregano is a Mediterranean herb so look at Italian dishes
lemon grass, ginger and turmeric are asian flavours - so look at Thai or indian recipes

hope this helps
xx

estherdragonbat

I'm vegetarian, so I can't help much on the meat front.

Rosemary goes great with potatoes or butternut squash.
Parsley goes with just about anything.
Cilantro... it's used a lot in Mexican and Indian dishes, but it can really overpower a food. I remember using it and hating it. And then one day I went to an Indian restaurant and I recognized the flavor... except that it was good! And I remember thinking, oh. So if I'd just used a little, it would have worked? Wow.
Thyme is used in a lot of Provencal French dishes, like ratatouille. It can be used with fennel or mushrooms too. And I make a side dish that's sort of like a stuffing that's shaped into loaves and baked instead of stuffed into a bird or vegetable. It's 8 oz of crackers pulverized to crumbs with 1/2 tsp each of pepper, sugar, and thyme, with a teaspoon of paprika. Then puree an onion, two carrots, two celery stalks with 1/4 cup oil, add to crackers, shape into two loaves, wrap in parchment paper or foil and bake at 350 for an hour.
There's a melon dessert I make that involves a citrus-honey-spearmint sauce poured over cantaloupe cubes. And you can steep mint leaves for herbal tea. I've seen mint used in some grain-based salads including tabouli.
I've used savory in a mushroom-cashew spread.
Agree with @PartyPerson about lemon grass and ginger. Ginger is also used in Chinese cookery. Japanese, too. Pickled, it's a sushi condiment. Turmeric is also used in North African cuisine. Moroccan for sure.
Bay leaves are generally used for flavoring and discarded before eating the dish. I generally use one in a soup stock, but it's also in sauces and stews. The leaves are sharp, which is why we don't eat them.
Basil, oregano, and thyme are the basis of a lot of Italian cuisine. Basil also turns up in Mexican and Middle-Eastern dishes.
Epazote is Mexican. I can't remember what specifically.
Lavender is one component of the herbes de Provence mixture (along with thyme for sure.) So, French cuisine.
Rosehips are used in teas. Rosewater in Turkish and Middle Eastern cuisine. And I recall a Swiss jam company that included "fruit of the rose" as one of their flavors.
I'm told that nasturtiums have a peppery flavor and that they can be tossed onto a salad as an accent.

acpgee

I would group geographically.

Mediterranean dishes
oregano
thyme
basil
rosemary

SE Asian dishes
lemongrass
cilantro
mint
ginger
holy basil

S America dishes
cilantro
mexican tarragon
mexican oregano

Deep fry some sage in half an inch of oil. Crumble on potatoes. You can do the same with rosemary leaves for potatoes or tomato soup. Frying mellows the flavour.

kami3006

https://www.finedininglovers.com/blog/food-drinks/list-of-herbs-and-spices/

swirlybee

These are great!

Cilantro can be very polarizing. It tastes like soap to some people but others love it. I used to hate it but now I can't get enough of it. I put it in all of my Mexican dishes and most Southeast Asian dishes.

As someone already posted, I would group the herbs into regional cuisine. For instance, the "holy trinity" of Greek food is garlic, lemon and oregano.

Thyme has a lemony type flavor, so use it accordingly. Otherwise, thyme, rosemary, and sage are typically used for poultry.

acpgee

swirlybee wrote: »

These are great!

Cilantro can be very polarizing. It tastes like soap to some people but others love it. I used to hate it but now I can't get enough of it. I put it in all of my Mexican dishes and most Southeast Asian dishes.

I saw on a documentary that it's genetic, the people for whom cilantro tastes like soap. In Dutch it is called "zeep kruid", which literally translates to "soap weed".

kami3006

The site I linked upthread has a graphic for grouping by cuisine and popular blends. I don't want to keep posting graphics here so just wanted to point that out. I found it helpful.

shaumom

Oh these are great,thank you!!

snickerscharlie

One of my favs that isn't on the list is fresh dill weed. It's fabulous with chicken, especially in chicken soup and cooked chicken breasts with a dill and lemon sauce. Also great with potato and tomato dishes.

Edited to add: If you're using dried dill weed, a little goes a long way.