I’m still wandering through my eighty year-old cookery book, with recipes designed to be practical, frugal, adventurous and tasty in times of rationing. Foraging, and food for free was something country folk (like my mum and her family) had always done, hedgerow fruits and nuts, wild mushrooms, and in my dad’s family catching game and going fishing. During the second world war, this must have become a necessity for many families.
There is a section in “Cookery To-Day and To-Morrow” by Nell Heaton, on herbs – and these would have been grown or gathered as well as maybe buying them at the grocers’ or in the market.
When wanted for drying or storing, herbs should be gathered on a dry sunny day before they begin to flower. After making sure that they are clean, and washing if necessary, they should be thoroughly dried, either in the sun or in the house in a cool oven. or a little away from the fire. The leaves should then be pulled out and rubbed through a sieve,, then bottled, or be left on their stalks and tied in bundles and hung in paper bags.
Remember. when using herbs, that too long cooking gives a bitter flavour to the soup or stew, so do not add the herbs at the beginning of the cooking. Use herbs sparingly or all the subtleness of their flavour will be spoilt.
Nan lists twenty-three herbs, and then adds four mixtures – aromatic herbs and spices (cloves, white peppercorns, sweet basil, grated nutmeg, powdered mace, bayleaves and marjoram) bouquet garni (parsley, thyme, marjoram, bayleaf) fines herbes (chives, chervil, parsley, tarragon) and mixed herbs ( (i) parsley, marjoram, savory, lemon thyme, or (ii) basil, marjoram, savory, lemon thyme) She adds that the cook should also remember to use edible flowers, such as nasturtiums and cowslips.
This reminds me that accusations of English food, especially after the war and in the 1950’s and 60’s being dull or awful (or both) are often unjustified, that home cooks were creative and imaginative, making tasty dishes out of not much. I shall park my hobby-horse and think about what herby creation I can make tomorrow, and as I am going out for a country ramble, what wild goodies I can look out for!
My featured image is of my herb garden after it went rampant a few years ago!
Lois Elsden 