49
votes
Can I dissolve mint in water and drink it?
No, mint won't dissolve in water (leaves are mostly cellulose), but it does make excellent tea.
Boiling water, steep 5-6 minutes.
For best results, I recommending purchasing whole leaf mint intended ...
- 1,907
27
votes
Do I need to rip the leaves off mint?
You probably don't need to remove the stalks from the leaves, especially for young plants. However, the older and stronger the stalk becomes, the less appetizing it will be, in my opinion.
To rip the ...
- 3,518
24
votes
Accepted
How can I use Rosemary bulbs in cooking?
I don’t know what you dug up, but rosemary doesn’t have bulbs so do not eat this!
For plant id questions (which is outside the scope of this site), I recommend our sister site Gardening SE.
- 58.5k
24
votes
Sage - how much can you eat fresh?
Sage (Salvia officialis) is a staple herb in various cuisines. It pairs with veal in an Italian Saltimbocca or pork in the British sage and onions stuffing and is eaten even on its own, e.g. battered ...
- 58.5k
22
votes
Can I dissolve mint in water and drink it?
Mint leaves, and plant matter in general, won’t dissolve in water no matter how finely you grind them. They are largely made of substances which are simply not (very) soluble in water. At best you’ll ...
- 26.9k
21
votes
What type of mint in tzatziki?
The standard "mint" is spearmint, and peppermint would usually be called "peppermint". You wouldn't want to blend peppermint into any kind of sauce, it's much too strong for that.
- 2,277
19
votes
How to wash dirty herbs in bulk
most farms that I use, use an agitator and a spinner. the agitator is a vat of water with high volume air bubbles introduced to gently agitate the herbs and jostle the dirt. this can refresh the ...
- 199
17
votes
Can I dissolve mint in water and drink it?
You have several options for mint-flavored water, and none of them includes dissolving dried mint leaves in it. As others said, leaves don't dissolve in water (plants would be in a lot of trouble if ...
- 136k
16
votes
Accepted
What type of mint in tzatziki?
It refers to spearmint in this case.
You can find both spearmint (Mentha spicata, known in Greek as δυόσμος) and peppermint (Mentha × piperita, generally known as μέντα, though that may be used for ...
- 1,677
15
votes
Accepted
Is it advisable to cook cilantro or mint leaves and store them, instead of blanching them?
No, it is certainly not advisable.
Cooking reduces the fridge life of plants. If you cook your herbs, they will only last 3 days in the fridge. Besides, you will also change the taste, and not for ...
- 136k
15
votes
How to wash dirty herbs in bulk
I don’t know about ‘completely dirt free’, but putting leafy things into a large amount of water, agitating them, then lifting them out leaves much of the dirt and debris in the water.
If you let the ...
- 80k
14
votes
Sage - how much can you eat fresh?
If you were a human-sized rat, it seems that in the worst case, 2 kg of leaves might be enough. That's a rather handwavy amount, of course.
To go into more depth: the presence of papers like "...
- 136k
13
votes
What is the measurable difference between dry basil and fresh?
In addition to the great answer by M.K: Most industrially dried and fresh herbs are not even of the same exact kind.
Taking basil as an example: Most basil species don't preserve their aroma well ...
- 1,096
12
votes
Accepted
Is tomato foliage edible?
Tomato leaves are edible, both the articles agree on that. The Modern Farmer article says you'd have to eat pounds and pounds of them before you'd get appreciable amounts of toxins to make you ill, ...
- 75.4k
12
votes
Do I need to rip the leaves off mint?
It depends on your mint, and even the time of year. I grow mint in a pot in the garden, and the early growth of the year can be chopped (finely) stems and all for things like potato salad or falafel. ...
- 43.7k
12
votes
Accepted
Is sugar in syrup necessary?
As you said, syrup is sugar with some water and some flavorings, in your case herbs. It is frequently used as a concentrate for flavored drinks.
If you instead boil herbs in water, you are not making ...
- 136k
11
votes
What is the measurable difference between dry basil and fresh?
Dry herbs in general last longer and have the "advantage" of better conservation. But they take more time to release their flavours, so you want to cook them earlier and for longer time (for example, ...
- 1,431
11
votes
Accepted
1946 Horehound Beer recipe - what is "capaicine"?
I suspect that the word intended was "capsicum". 2 ounces of chili pepper would be reasonable given the amounts of other spices. 2 ounces of capsaicin would be difficult to source and would make the ...
- 26.9k
11
votes
What is this plant? Is it edible?
Don't consume unknown plants for safety reasons, not even ones identified by a random stranger on the internet!
It is very difficult to identify plants based just on leaves alone, generally for a ...
- 13.8k
8
votes
Solubility of herbs and spices
I know that link-only answers are discouraged here, but I don't know that there's another efficient way of answering this question. Here's a link to a document that gives basically most of the ...
- 32.1k
8
votes
Accepted
What is this plant that sometimes accompanies parsley?
I believe your mystery plant is....parsley. This question was asked and answered here.
It appears that the best explanation is a leaf variant on the common cultivar "Italian Giant". Having grown ...
- 73.8k
8
votes
What's 香茜 or 芫荽 in English?
Googling 香茜 ("Wu Chinese") and 芫荽 ("Chinese") yields the wikipedia page for coriander in both cases. Coriander is also known as cilantro in parts of the world, which causes some ...
- 4,881
8
votes
Is there an organic preservative that I can add to homemade pesto to extend its refrigerated shelf-life?
I'm not totally certain whether you're trying to end up with room-temperature shelf-stable pesto. If so, you may have to look elsewhere. However, my family has grown bumper crops of basil before, ...
- 470
8
votes
Is sugar in syrup necessary?
‘Sugar free’ syrups exist, but they usually have some sort of artificial sweetener as a replacement.
Typically they’re sold for flavoring coffee or snow cones.
Besides the sweetness, the sugar gives ...
- 80k
7
votes
Difference between parsley and coriander(cilantro)?
Cilantro
The leaf on the left is Coriander - it's a slightly lighter green, and has rounder leaves.
Botanical Classification
Coriandrum sativum is an annual herb in the family Apiaceae.
Uses
All ...
- 171
7
votes
Accepted
Bitter taste of rocket pesto
Rocket has an inherent bitterness and not much sweetness, so any pesto you make from it will have that quality. You can try and balance it with sweetness, acidity, etc but that will only go so far. ...
- 75.4k
7
votes
What is the difference between an herb and a spice?
From fooducate.com
The difference between the two is where they are obtained from a plant.
Herbs come from the leafy and green part of the plant.
Spices are parts of the plant other than the leafy ...
- 160
7
votes
1946 Horehound Beer recipe - what is "capaicine"?
I would vote for a spelling error, and that capaicine is actually capsaicin. I can't find any reference for the original spelling. I have never consumed horehound beer, but it seems to me that, in ...
- 73.8k
7
votes
Accepted
How to prepare and use fresh herbs with woody stems (thyme, oregano)
There are two ways to deal with herbs like thyme.
First, you can strip the leaves by pinching the stem with two or three fingers and pulling up towards the tips. Nails can be helpful, too. That should ...
- 58.5k
7
votes
Is it advisable to cook cilantro or mint leaves and store them, instead of blanching them?
If you want a "fresh herbs" taste, then freezing herbs without first cooking them is the way to go. Cooking herbs longer won't make them taste any fresher than blanching them did.
In my ...
- 2,277
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