我一直为新鲜草药疯狂 - 事实上，我曾经突袭曼哈顿的回廊花园，偷了牛至，迷迭香或百里香的小树枝，只是为了保持自己的供应。

Today I have no need for tactics like that. I’m lucky enough to have my own garden that’s full of many of my favorites: thyme, savory, chives, purple sage, spearmint, lavender, and more. And for those herbs that I just can’t get to thrive in my front yard, I have another convenient (and legitimate) source: the local supermarket. Nowadays, well-stocked groceries often carry herbs like tarragon and marjoram alongside favorites like basil and rosemary.

Such availability is a dream come true for me, but I’ve noticed that many people are intimidated by this abundance of choice. How many passionate cooks (professionals as well as amateurs) buy fresh herbs, use maybe a few sprigs, and then proceed to forget about the rest of the bunch until they’re dried out, limp, or spoiled? Many, I know. Why do they let these wonderfully fragrant flavorings expire in the back of their refrigerators? Because they don’t know how best to store and handle them, and perhaps because they’re a little afraid of using them. What herbs go with what food? How do you use them other than as a sprinkle to decorate a dish? When and how should they be added during cooking?

一旦您对这些问题的答案（我将要给您），您会发现自己越来越频繁地伸手去拿那堆草药，并越来越少地将它们扔掉。

寻找和购买新鲜草药

Supermarkets package fresh herbs in various ways: loose in small plastic boxes, fastened in bunches with rubber bands, or sometimes still growing in a pot. No matter the packaging, look for herbs with vibrant color and aroma (open up those boxes for a sniff), and avoid those that are limp or yellowing, have black spots, or don’t smell totally fresh and appetizing. I like to buy field-grown basil, parsley, mint, cilantro, and dill when possible—as opposed to greenhouse grown—because they’re so much more fragrant. You can recognize field-grown herbs by their larger, hardier stalks and leaves. Some chefs prefer the more tender greenhouse herbs because they make a lovely delicate garnish and because they’re ready to use straight from the bag.

值得探索草药的其他来源，例如中东，拉丁和亚洲市场，这些市场通常比超市更高质量和更低的价格携带草药。

脆弱的草药需要TLC

像迷迭香，Marjoram和Sage这样的强壮草药将保持绿色和香气一两个星期，只要它们被冷藏并且不会弄湿。但是，嫩的草药，例如罗勒，莳萝，香菜，龙拓和芝士，需要特别注意，以便它们不会在冰箱中变黑或冷冻。

To keep tender herbs at their best,remove any rubber bands or fasteners. Because the roots draw the moisture from the leaves, it’s important to trim off the root ends and the lower parts of the stems to prevent the tops from wilting. If the roots are large and prominent, you can save them to flavor soups or stocks. (Southeast Asian cooks chop up cilantro roots along with the leaves, while Jewish cooks like to add parsley roots to chicken soup.)

To keep pesto bright and green,确保您的食品加工机刀片锋利，因此它可以切割而不压碎成分（如果不是成分，请将其带到刀锋夹中）。亚搏手机版官方然后按适当的顺序添加成分：亚搏手机版官方首先，草药最后。我从油开始，然后加入大蒜和松子坚果，将它们完全切成泥。最后，添加果岭，将它们尽可能短的时间加工，以使其保持凉爽并保持颜色。

Try other herbs besides basil in pesto (an Italian word simply meaning paste). Make a Southwest pesto with cilantro, pumpkin seeds, garlic, and aged Monterey Jack or Asiago cheese and a little fresh green chile. In cold weather, I make a sage, parsley, and walnut pesto to stir into a bowl of hearty white bean soup.

修剪但未洗草的草药束在潮湿的纸巾中宽松地包裹，然后将它们放入装满少量空气的重型拉链袋中，垫子垫子。甚至更好，将毛巾包裹的草药整齐地密封在塑料容器中而不会压碎。将草药存放在冰箱中最温暖的部分中，这通常是顶部的架子。每天检查草药，使用那些看起来最不活泼的人，并丢弃任何开始破坏的东西。

Freezing fresh herbs generally turns them black and slimy, but if you protect them with a fat, by making a pesto (without the cheese) or an herb butter, for example, they’ll be fine.

Wash herbs only when you’re ready to use them,because excess moisture shortens their shelf life in the refrigerator. If I can get away without washing them at all, I do. Greenhouse herbs will be cleaner than field-grown and may not need washing. But if the herbs look or feel sandy, I wash them no matter their origin.

洗草药,把它们放在一个大碗里清凉的佤邦ter and swish them to release grit. Lift the herbs out of the water with your hands, a sieve, or a skimmer. If you see a lot of grit on the bottom of the bowl, wash the herbs again in a fresh bowl of water. Spin them dry in a salad spinner or gently blot them dry by rolling them up in a clean towel.

用锋利的刀切碎或用剪刀剪

一把锋利的刀对于切碎草药是必不可少的。一个沉闷的叶子会粉碎和瘀伤的叶子，使您变黑而不是绿色的结果。我用剪刀剪掉少量的嫩草药，尤其是细香草，它们的丝状纤维很难用刀干净地切割。

The more tender the herb, the closer to cooking time you’ll need to chop it. If you chop in advance, cover the herbs with plastic wrap punctured with a few air holes and refrigerate them. You can save leftover chopped herbs for a day or so, but sniff them before using, especially parsley, cilantro, basil, and dill, which are highly perishable when chopped.

Whether you add the herb whole or chopped, or at the start of cooking rather than at the end, depends on both the herb and the effect you want.

如果您希望草药贡献圆形的背景风味，请在烹饪开始时添加小树枝。Strong, resinous herbs like marjoram, thyme, and savory do best when allowed to mellow during the cooking process. To gently release the flavor oils of an herb in a slow-cooking sauce, soup, or stew, lightly crush the sprig before adding it to the liquid. Leaving the leaves on the stem makes it easy to remove the whole herb later.

要获得更直率的草药味，请切碎草药，然后将其添加在烹饪的尽头。切碎的香菜的刺激性，明确的香气似乎很快消散，因此我在烹饪后立即将其搅拌，这也有助于其保留其鲜艳的绿色。有时，您需要通过在烹饪前后添加草药的味道来强调草药的味道。对于我的marinara酱，我一开始就添加了整个罗勒小树枝，然后在将酱汁从热量上取出之前添加精美的叶子来增强罗勒风味。

Take advantage of the whole herb

When a recipe calls for only one part of the herb plant, I make a point of reserving the remains for another use. If you are unsure of which herbs go best with which foods, seeHerb and food pairingsfor some time-honored combinations.

Save tender stems for stocks and woody ones for the grill.少量地加入嫩的草药茎，以在鸡肉或鱼烟雾中含有温和的粉底味。不要被带走，尤其是在含有大量叶绿素（绿色）等草药中，例如香菜，香菜和莳萝。可以使用坚固的树脂草药的木质茎，代替烤架上的木片。尝试热吸烟（在覆盖的烤架中慢慢烹饪，使烟雾渗透到食物上）纽约牛lo牛排在厚实的迷迭香茎上，就像我过去的餐厅时代一样。源自百里香，鼠尾草，玛乔拉姆，迷迭香和咸味，它们都效果很好。

Deep-fry herb leaves for an elegant, crunchy garnish.Fried flat-leaf or curly parsley is a classic partner for fried fish and seafood. I garnish crab cakes served over a fresh tomato sauce with crispy and tasty fried lovage leaves. Whole sage leaves dipped in a simple Italian flour and water batter, called a pastella, and then fried in olive oil, are a traditional complement to fritto misto (batter-fried meat, seafood, and vegetables).

Search out herb blossoms in season.特别是美味的是薰衣草蓝色辣椒花朵，花瓣分离并撒在寒冷的vichyssoise上。甜美的蓝紫色鼠尾草和休砂花朵盛开，制成了季节性沙拉装饰。其他花朵，如微小的白百里香，薰衣草蓝色的夏季咸味和紫色迷迭香，味道鲜美，搭配细香葱和褐色黄油，然后撒上新鲜的意大利面。撒上磨碎的帕尔玛干酪或碎的新鲜山羊奶酪。我不喜欢罗勒（Basil）或马乔拉姆（Marjoram）花朵，因为它们往往苦涩，而且中国或大蒜细香葱的漂亮白色花朵太难吃了。