Saturday, December 19, 2009

Discover the Many Benefits of a Good Herbs Guide

By Peter Williams

Ever been in a situation where you need to identify an herb? If you have, wouldn't an herbs guide be a handy thing to have to help you choose the herbs to suit your cooking. A good quality herbs guide should contain information about the different varieties, gardening & cooking tips & other relevant information.

Some Examples of Herbs

What are some of the healthiest and most delicious herbs that are recommended by cooks and diners alike? Garlic is certainly at the top of any herbs guide, as this herb delivers both great taste and other physical benefits. Garlic can prevent heart disease and cardiovascular disease, and it also shows signs of preventing cancer development.

Hawthorne berry is another well researched herb you can find in an herbs guide. This herb can improve the heart condition, as it opens the coronary arteries and helps to slow a rapid heart rate. Ginkgo Biloba helps the eyes and is very helpful to patients suffering from macular degeneration.

Sufferers of vertigo, depression & a number of other problems can be treated by it as well. Would you believe Licorice is considered a herb with health benefits, it helps with antiviral issues. To help with arthritis & Alzheimers & as a compliment to curry, Tumeric is the obvious choice here.

For Extra Taste & Improved Health, Eat More Herbs

There's much more to using a herbs guide than your health, many varieties are used exclusively for cooking. If you're wanting a 'minty' taste to you Italian cooking, use Basil, for a spicy, gutsy flavor, oregano is the one. Other varieties used in the kitchen include chives, cilantro, dill, hyssop & mint.

Herbs used in cooking are generally added in small quantities and their main use is to increase the taste without increasing substance. These herbs differ from other varieties like greens, spices, berries, etc and your herbs guide should explain these in detail. A portion of the kitchen herbs are really shrubs, Rosemary being one such example. And some or extracts from the bay laurel tree, while others are from non wooden (botanic) plants.

The Kitchen Cousins... Herbs & Spices

Ever thought about the differences between herbs & spices? Both of these words are commonly used to refer to the drier portions of the plant & they are both responsible for making food taste better. Herbs are more aligned with green leafier plants & spices with more aromatic plants like cinnamon.Spices do better in warm environments whereas herbs prefer a more temperate climate. Generally speaking spices now includes herbs & extracts

One way to significantly improve your cooking skills is to learn all you can about herbs, and the best tool for doing that is a good herbs guide. Herbs can improve most dishes and you'll be healthier for it.

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