Thursday, July 29, 2010

Herbs in daily life...


“Herbs (medicines), while descending down from heaven to earth proclaimed those who eat us, are never destroyed. (Yajurveda)”


Throughout history. ..Mankind has benefited from plants in many different ways: Fundamentally for food and shelter yet also for several other purposes, including medicine, perfumes and cosmetics…Among these valuable plants is one group with a long history of use which we known as herbs. Knowledge of herbs and their properties has been passed down both orally and in written form for centuries. Since men’s early history, herbs have been used to add flavor to food. A few herbs are widely used around the world. Certain herbs are particularly associated with specific cuisines.
Indian cuisine is famous for its use of spices. Fresh coriander, mint chutneys etc. in south Indian cuisine curry leaf etc.
In European cookery, certain herbs are widely used in number of countries. Basil for ex with its strong, sweet scent evokes in Italian cuisine, famously key ingredient of pesto,/trenette pasta. Dill is associated with Sweden famous (salmon marinated with rock salt, dill, lemon, sugar, pepper). Aromatic bay leaves are one of the most widely herb used in European and North American kitchens, added to stews, sauces, & marinades. Rosemary crops ups across Europe, combined with lamb in many countries. In classical French cookery, certain combination of herbs are traditional such as fine herbs (Chopped parsley, chervil, tarragon, chives), herbs de Provence (thyme, rosemary, bay, basil, savory). Throughout herbs have been prepared for different medicinal uses. Something is surprising that some are very toxic. Such as Foxglove, opium, monkshood (though this is antidote to snack venom), henbane… Even though it’s mentioned in Ayurveda everything can be used as medicine only after applying certain criteria…

2 comments:

  1. Great work. Indian cooking has a lot of herbs, like neem, coriander, fennel.

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  2. Yes Varsha..Indian cooking is blend of spices and its well mentioned in Indian traditional system of medicine that how to do ideal combination according to Body Type, seasons etc

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