About Our Herbs at Mountain Valley View Farm, Inc.

At Mountain Valley View Farm, Inc., we are expanding our herb farm to include organic herbs and ecologically clean herbs.  Because we are a small farm, we can only ship herb products on a limited basis.

Organic herbs are herbs that are grown with only natural substances without the aid of artificial fertilizers, pesticides, or other synthetic products.  Traditionally all herb growth has been organic.

Ecologically clean food is defined as foods which, by their production, do no harm to the physical environment or to any living species.  Care is taken to keep the ecosystem clean while growing food products on a farm.  This trend will expand as more consumers demand ecologically clean foods.  We want to be part of that movement and we encourage our readers to request ecologically clean food at their favorite grocery store.

Some of the herbs we offer are: basil, catnip, chamomile, chives, cilantro, dill, fennel, gingerroot, lavender, lemongrass, marjoram, mint, oregano, parsley, peppermint, rosemary, sage, savory, spearmint, tarragon, and thyme.  We sell fresh and dried herbs on our online store.

Following is more detailed information about our herbs at Mountain Valley View Farm, Inc.

BASIL (Ocimum basilicum) of the family Lamiaceae (mints) is a tender low-growing herb.  Basil is a culinary herb prominently featured in Italian cuisine, and plays a major role in the Southeast Asian cuisines of Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.  The plant tastes somewhat like anise, with a strong, pungent, sweet smell.

There are many varieties of basil.  That which is used in Italian food is typically called sweet basil, as opposed to Thai basil, lemon basil, and holy basil, which are used in Asia.  Basil is originally native to Iran, India, and other tropical regions of Asia, having been cultivated there for more than 5,000 years.

Basil is commonly used fresh in cooked recipes.  It is generally added at the last moment, as cooking quickly destroys the flavor.  The fresh herb can be kept for a short time in plastic bags in the refrigerator, or for a longer period in the freezer, after being blanched quickly in boiling water.  The dried herb also loses most of its flavor, and what little flavor remains, tastes very different, with a weak coumarin flavor, like hay.

CATNIP (Nepeta cataria) is mostly used as a recreational substance for feline enjoyment.  Around 2 out of every 3 cats will be affected by the plant, and approximately 2 hours after an exposure, the feline will be sensitive to another dose.  Whether it is growing in the wild or harvested and dried, felines will be affected by the plant.  The common behaviors that are observed are: rubbing on the plant, rolling on the ground, drooling, or consuming much of the plant.  The plant (terpenoid nepetalactone) is the main chemical constituent of the essential oil of catnip and acts as a feline attractant.  This chemical enters the feline’s nose, and produces semi-hallucinogenic effects on the cat.  Catnip has a history of human medicinal use for its soothing effects.  It has also been known to have a slightly numbing effect.  The plant has been consumed as a tea, juice, tincture, infusion, or poultice and has been smoked.  Also, when the active oils in the plant are isolated and refined, they supposedly work as a mosquito repellent.  Catnip can also be smoked recreationally, and when combined with tobacco and other herbs, it provides a “minty” taste with mildly intoxicating effects.

CHAMOMILE or Camomile is a common name for several daisy-like plants.  These plants are best known for their ability to be made into a tea which is commonly used to help with sleep and is often served with either honey or lemon.  Chrysin, a specific flavonoid found in chamomile, has been shown to be anxiolytic in rodents and is believed to be at least partially responsible for chamomile’s reputation as a sleep aid.  Chamomile is the national flower of Russia.  It is known to reduce stress.

The MedlinePlus database, maintained by the U.S. National Library of Medicine in conjunction with the National Institutes of Health, lists over 100 separate ailments and conditions which chamomile has been traditionally used, for which it lists only a few as having undergone scientific study on animals and/or humans.  Moreover, through the MedlinePlus database, these agencies explicitly warn, “although chamomile is widely used, there is not enough reliable research in humans to support its use for any condition.”  Of the dozens of traditional claims listed, this database explicitly lists only fifteen conditions in which any animal or human scientific testing has ever been done.  Of these fifteen, the NIH also rated the scientific conclusions on fourteen as having “unclear scientific evidence” to recommend either for or against the use of chamomile as a treatment for such conditions (cardiovascular conditions, common cold, diarrhea in children, eczema, gastrointestinal conditions, hemorrhagic cystitis, hemorrhoids, infantile colic, mucositis from cancer treatment, quality of life in cancer patients, open penile sores, skin inflammation, sleep aid, vaginitis, and wound healing).  It also ranked one negatively, as having “fair scientific evidence against” such a use (post-operative sore throat/hoarseness due to intubation).  In short, according to these two agencies, there remains insufficient scientific evidence to produce a medical recommendation for any medicinal or therapeutic use of chamomile in extract, ointment or infusion form.

MedlinePlus and The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine further caution of rare allergic reactions, atopic dermatitis (skin rash), drowsiness or sedation, the potential to stimulate the uterus, leading to miscarriage and the unevaluated safety of breastfeeding while taking chamomile, although some sources do not contraindicate breastfeeding.  Interactions with other herbs and medicines has not been well studied for chamomile.

MedlinePlus also states that Chamomile may increase drowsiness if taken with lorazepam or diazepam, barbiturates, phenobarbital, narcotics, antidepressants, and alcohol.

CHIVES (Allium schoenoprasum) are the smallest species of the onion family Alliaceae, native to Europe, Asia, and North America.  Allium schoenoprasum is also the only species of Allium native to both the New and the Old World and is a perennial.

Its species name derives from the Greek skhoínos (sedge) and práson (leek).  Its English name, chive, derives from the French word cive, which was derived from cepa, the Latin word for onion.

Culinary uses for chives involve shredding its leaves (straws) for use as condiment for fish, potatoes, and soups.  Chives can be found fresh at most markets year-round, making it a readily available herb; it can also be dry-frozen without much impairment to its taste, giving home growers the opportunity to store large quantities harvested from their own garden.  It also has insect-repelling properties, which can be used in gardens to control pests.

Chives are grown for their leaves, which are used for culinary purposes as flavoring herb, and provide a somewhat milder flavor than those of its neighboring Allium species.

Chives are one of the “fines herbes” of French cuisine, which also include tarragon, chervil and/or parsley.

CILANTRO is a member of the carrot family and is also referred to as Chinese Parsley and Coriander.  It is actually the leaves (and stems) of the Coriander plant.

Coriander is common in Middle Eastern, Central Asian, Mediterranean, Indian, South Asian, Mexican, Texan, Latin American, Chinese, African, and Southeast Asian cuisine.  The Cilantro leaves look a bit like flat Italian parsley and in fact are related.

Coriander (Coriandrum sativum) is an annual herb in the family Apiaceae.  Coriander is native to southern Europe and North Africa to southwestern Asia.  It is a soft, hairless plant growing to 20 inches tall.  The leaves are variable in shape, broadly lobed at the base of the plant, and slender and feathery higher on the flowering stems.  The flowers are borne in small umbels, white or very pale pink, asymmetrical, with the petals pointing away from the center of the umbel longer than those pointing towards it.  The fruit is a globular dry schizocarp.

All parts of the plant are edible, but the fresh leaves and the dried seeds are the parts most commonly used in cooking.

DILL (Anethum graveolens) is a short-lived perennial herb.  It is the sole species of the genus Anethum, though classified by some botanists in a related genus as Peucedanum graveolens (L.) C.B.Clarke.

Dill originated in Eastern Europe.  Zohary and Hopf remark that “wild and weedy types of dill are widespread in the Mediterranean basin and in West Asia.”

Although several twigs of dill were found in the tomb of Amenhotep II, they report that the earliest archeological evidence for its cultivation comes from late Neolithic lake shore settlements in Switzerland.  Traces have been found in Roman ruins in Great Britain.

In Semitic languages it is known by the name of Shubit.  In Marathi, it is known as shepu The Talmud requires that tithes shall be paid on the seeds, leaves, and stem of dill.

Fresh and dried dill leaves (sometimes called “dill weed” to distinguish it from dill seed) are used as herbs, mainly in the Baltic, in Russia, and in central Asia.

Like caraway, its fernlike leaves are aromatic and are used to flavor many foods, such as gravlax (cured salmon), borscht and other soups, and pickles (where the dill flower is sometimes used).  Dill is best when used fresh, as it loses its flavor rapidly if dried; however, freeze-dried dill leaves preserve their flavor relatively well for a few months.

Dill seed is used as a spice, with a flavor somewhat similar to caraway but also resembling that of fresh or dried dill weed.  Dill seeds were traditionally used to soothe the stomach after meals.  Dill oil can be extracted from the leaves, stems and seeds of the plant.

FENNEL (Foeniculum vulgare), is a plant species in the genus Foeniculum (treated as the sole species in the genus by most botanists).  It is a member of the family Apiaceae (formerly the Umbelliferae).  It is a hardy, perennial, umbelliferous herb, with yellow flowers and feathery leaves.  It is generally considered indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean, but has become widely naturalized elsewhere (particularly, it seems, areas colonized by the Romans and may now be found growing wild in many parts of the world, especially on dry soils near the sea-coast and on river-banks.

It is a highly aromatic and flavorful herb with culinary and medicinal uses, and is one of the primary ingredients of absinthe.  Florence fennel or finocchio is a selection with a swollen, bulb-like stem base that is used as a vegetable.

Fennel is a perennial herb.  It is erect, glaucous green, and grows to heights of up to 6 feet, with hollow stems.  The leaves grow up to 15 inches long; they are finely dissected, with the ultimate segments filiform (threadlike).  (Its leaves are similar to those of dill, but thinner.)  The flowers are produced in terminal compound umbels 2 to 6 inches wide, each umbel section having 20 to 50 tiny yellow flowers on short pedicels.  The fruit is a dry seed from 1.5 to 4 inches long, half as wide or less, and grooved.

The bulb, foliage, and seeds of the fennel plant are widely used in many of the culinary traditions of the world.  Fennel pollen is the most potent form of fennel, but also the most expensive.  Dried fennel seed is an aromatic, anise-flavoured spice, brown or green in color when fresh, slowly turning a dull grey as the seed ages.  For cooking, green seeds are optimal.  The leaves are delicately flavored and similar in shape to those of dill.  The bulb is a crisp, hardy root vegetable and may be sauteed, stewed, braised, grilled, or eaten raw.

Fennel seeds are sometimes confused with those of anise, which are very similar in taste and appearance, though smaller.  Fennel is also used as a flavoring in some natural toothpaste.

GARDEN CRESS (Lepidium sativum) is a fast-growing, edible herb that is botanically related to watercress and mustard, sharing their peppery, tangy flavor and aroma. In some regions, garden cress is known as garden pepper cress, pepper grass, pepperwort, or poor man’s pepper.

This annual plant can reach a height of 24 inches, with many branches on the upper part. The white to pinkish flowers are only 1/12 of an inch across, clustered in branched racemes.

Cultivation of garden cress is practical on both mass scales and on the individual scale. Garden cress is suitable for hydroponic cultivation and thrives in water that is slightly alkaline. Edible shoots are typically harvested in 1 to 2 weeks, when they are 2 to 5 inches tall.

Garden Cress is commercially grown in England, France, the Netherlands and Scandinavia.

Garden Cress is added to soups, sandwiches, and salads for its tangy flavor. It is also eaten as sprouts, and the fresh or dried seed pods can be used as a peppery seasoning.  In England cut cress shoots are commonly used in sandwiches with boiled eggs, mayonnaise, and salt.

GINGERROOT is a tuber that is consumed whole as a delicacy, medicine, or spice.  It is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale.  It lends its name to its genus and family (Zingiberaceae).  Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal.

Ginger cultivation began in South Asia and has since spread to East Africa and the Caribbean.  It is sometimes called gingerroot to distinguish it from other things that share the name ginger.

The characteristic odor and flavor of ginger is caused by a mixture of zingerone, shogaols, and gingerols, volatile oils that compose one to three percent of the weight of fresh ginger.  In laboratory animals, the gingerols increase the motility of the gastrointestinal tract and have analgesic, sedative, antipyretic, and antibacterial properties.  Ginger oil has been shown to prevent skin cancer in mice and a study at the University of Michigan demonstrated that gingerols can kill ovarian cancer cells.

Ginger contains up to three percent of a fragrant essential oil.

Young ginger rhizomes are juicy and fleshy with a very mild taste.  They are often pickled in vinegar or sherry as a snack or just cooked as an ingredient in many dishes.  They can also be steeped in boiling water to make ginger tea, to which honey is often added; sliced orange or lemon fruit may also be added.  Ginger can also be made into candy.

Mature gingerroots are fibrous and nearly dry.  The juice from old gingerroots is extremely potent, and is often used as a spice in Indian recipes, and is an quintessential ingredient of Chinese, Japanese, and many South Asian cuisines for flavoring dishes such as seafood, goat meat, and vegetarian cuisine.

Ginger acts as a useful food preservative.

Fresh ginger can be substituted for ground ginger at a ratio of 6 to 1, although the flavors of fresh and dried ginger are somewhat different.  Powdered dry ginger root is typically used as a flavoring for recipes such as gingerbread, cookies, crackers and cakes, ginger ale, and ginger beer.  In Western cuisine, ginger is traditionally used mainly in sweet foods such as ginger ale, gingerbread, ginger snaps, parkin, ginger biscuits and speculaas.  A ginger-flavored liqueur called Canton is produced in Jarnac, France.  Green ginger wine is a ginger-flavored wine produced in the United Kingdom, traditionally sold in a green glass bottle.  Ginger is also used as a spice added to hot coffee and tea.

Candied ginger is the root cooked in sugar until soft, and is a type of confectionery.

Fresh ginger may be peeled before eating.  For longer-term storage, the ginger can be placed in a plastic bag and refrigerated or frozen.

LAVENDER. The lavenders (Lavandula) are a genus of 39 species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae.  An Old World genus, distributed from Macaronesia (Cape Verde and Canary Islands and Madeira) across Africa, the Mediterranean, South-West Asia, Arabia, Western Iran, and South-East India.  The genus includes annuals, herbaceous plants, subshrubs, and small shrubs.  It is thought the genus originated in Asia but is most diversified in its western distribution.

Because the cultivated forms are planted in gardens worldwide, they are occasionally found growing wild as garden escapees, well beyond their natural range.  However, since lavender cross-pollinates easily, there are countless variations within the species.  The color of the flowers of some forms has come to be called lavender.

Flowers also yield abundant nectar from which bees make a high-quality honey.  Monofloral honey is produced primarily around the Mediterranean, and is marketed worldwide as a premium product.  Flowers can be candied and are sometimes used as cake decorations.  Lavender flavors baked goods and desserts (it pairs especially well with chocolate), as well as used to make “lavender sugar.”  Lavender flowers are occasionally blended with black, green, or herbal tea, adding a fresh, relaxing scent and flavor.

Though it has many other traditional uses in southern France, lavender is not used in traditional southern French cooking.  In the 1970s, an herb blend called herbes de Provence usually including lavender was invented by spice wholesalers, and lavender has more recently become popular in cookery.

Lavender lends a floral and slightly sweet flavor to most dishes, and is sometimes paired with sheep’s-milk and goat’s-milk cheeses.  For most cooking applications, the dried buds (also referred to as flowers) are used, though some chefs experiment with the leaves as well.  Only the buds contain the essential oil of lavender, which is where the scent and flavor of lavender are best derived.

The French are also known for their lavender syrup, most commonly made from an extract of lavender.  In the United States, both French lavender syrup and dried lavender buds make lavender scones and marshmallows.

Lavender is used extensively with herbs and aromatherapy.  English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) yields an essential oil with sweet overtones, and can be used in balms, salves, perfumes, cosmetics, and topical applications.  Lavandin, Lavandula × intermedia (also known as Dutch lavender), yields a similar essential oil, but with higher levels of terpenes including camphor, which add a sharper overtone to the fragrance.  Mexican lavender, Lavandula stoechas is not used medicinally, but mainly for landscaping.

Essential oil of lavender has antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties.  It was used in hospitals during WWI to disinfect floors and walls.  These extracts are also used as fragrances for bath products.

According to folk wisdom, lavender has many uses.  Infusions of lavender soothes, heal insect bites and burns.  Bunches of lavender repel insects.  If applied to the temples, lavender oil soothes headaches.  In pillows, lavender seeds and flowers aid sleep and relaxation.  An infusion of three flower heads added to a cup of boiling water soothes and relaxes at bedtime.  Lavender oil (or extract of Lavender) heals acne when used diluted 1:10 with water, rosewater, or witch hazel; it also treats skin burns and inflammatory conditions.

A recent clinical study investigated anxiolytic effects and influence on sleep quality.  Lavender oil in form of capsules was generally well tolerated.  It showed meaningful efficacy in alleviating anxiety and related sleep disturbances.  These remedies should be used with caution since lavender oil can also be a powerful allergen.  Avoid ingesting lavender during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

LEMONGRASS (Cymbopogon citrates) is a genus of about 55 species of grasses, native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Old World and Oceania.  It is a tall perennial grass.  Common names include lemon grass, lemongrass, barbed wire grass, silky heads, citronella grass, cha de Dartigalongue, fever grass, Hierba Luisa or Gavati Chaha amongst many others.

Lemongrass is native to India.  It is widely used as a herb in Asian cuisine.  It has a citrus flavor and can be dried and powdered, or used fresh.  Lemongrass is commonly used in teas, soups, and curries.  It is also suitable for poultry, fish, and seafood.  It is often used as a tea in African counties such as Togo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Latin American countries such as Mexico.

Lemongrass oil is used as a pesticide and a preservative.  Research shows that lemongrass oil has anti-fungal properties.

In 2006, a research team from the Ben Gurion University in Israel found that lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus) caused apoptosis (programmed cell death) in cancer cells.  Through in vitro studies, the researchers examined the effect of citral, a molecule found in lemongrass, on both normal and cancerous cells.  Using concentrations of citral equivalent to the quantity in a cup of tea (one gram of lemon grass in hot water), the researchers observed that citral induces programmed cell death in the cancerous cells, while the normal cells were left unharmed.

MARJORAM (Origanum majorana, Lamiaceae) is a somewhat cold-sensitive perennial herb or under shrub with sweet pine and citrus flavors.  In some middle-eastern countries, marjoram is synonymous with Oregano, and there the names Sweet Marjoram and Knotted Marjoram are used to distinguish it from other plants of the genus Origanum.

The name marjoram (Old French majorane, Medieval Latin majorana) does not directly derive from the Latin word maior (major).  Marjoram is indigenous to the Mediterranean area and was known to the Greeks and Romans as a symbol of happiness.

Marjoram is cultivated for its aromatic leaves, either green or dry, for culinary purposes; the tops are cut as the plants begin to flower and are dried slowly in the shade.  It is often used in herb combinations such as Herbes de Provence and Za’atar.

The flowering leaves and tops of marjoram are steam distilled to produce an essential oil that is yellowish in color (darkening to brown as it ages).  It has many chemical components, some of which are borneol, camphor, and pinene.

MINT (Mentha) is a genus of about 25 species (and many hundreds of varieties) of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae (Mint Family).  Species within Mentha have a subcosmopolitan distribution across Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and North America.  Several mint hybrids commonly occur.

Mints are aromatic, almost exclusively perennial, rarely annual, herbs.  They have wide-spreading underground rhizomes and erect, square, branched stems.  The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, from simple oblong to lanceolate, often downy, and with a serrated margin.  Leaf colors range from dark green and gray-green to purple, blue, and sometimes pale yellow.  The flowers are produced in clusters (‘verticils’) on an erect spike, white to purple, the corolla two-lipped with four subequal lobes, the upper lobe usually the largest.  The fruit is a small, dry capsule containing one to four seeds.

While the species that make up the Mentha genus are widely distributed and can be found in many environments, most Mentha grow best in wet environments and moist soils.  Mints will grow 10–120 cm tall and can spread over an indeterminate sized area.  Due to their tendency to spread unchecked, mint is considered invasive.

The leaf, fresh or dried, is the culinary source of mint.  Fresh mint is usually preferred over dried mint when storage of the mint is not a problem.  The leaves have a pleasant warm, fresh, aromatic, sweet flavor with a cool aftertaste.  Mint leaves are used in teas, beverages, jellies, syrups, candies, and ice creams.  In Middle Eastern cuisine, mint is used on lamb dishes.  In British cuisine, mint sauce is popular with lamb.  In American cuisine, mint jelly is often served with lamb.

Mint was originally used as a medicinal herb to treat stomach ache and chest pains, and it is commonly used in the form of tea as a home remedy to help alleviate stomach pain.  During the Middle Ages, powdered mint leaves were used to whiten teeth.  Mint tea is a strong diuretic.  Menthol from mint essential oil (40%–90%) is an ingredient of many cosmetics and some perfumes.  Menthol and mint essential oil are also much used in medicine as a component of many drugs, and are very popular in aromatherapy.  Mint is also used in some shampoo products.

OREGANO is scientifically named Origanum vulgare by Carolus Linnaeus and is a common species of Origanum, a genus of the mint family (Lamiaceae).  It is native to warm-temperate western and southwestern Eurasia and the Mediterranean region.

Oregano is a perennial spice.  The flowers are purple, and produce in erect spikes.  It is sometimes called Wild Marjoram, and its close relative Origanum majorana is known as “Sweet Marjoram.”

Many subspecies and strains of oregano have been developed by humans over centuries for their unique flavors or other characteristics.  Tastes range from spicy or astringent to more complicated and sweet.  Simple Oregano sold in garden stores as “Origanum vulgare” may have a bland taste and larger, less dense leaves, and is not considered the best for culinary uses, with a taste less remarkable and pungent.  It can pollinate other more sophisticated strains, but the offspring are rarely better in quality.

Oregano is an important culinary herb.  It is particularly widely used in Turkish, Palestinian, Syrian, Greek, Portuguese, Spanish, Latin American, and Italian cuisine.  It is the leaves that are used in cooking, and the dried herb is often more flavorful than the fresh.

Oreganois often used in tomato sauces, fried vegetables, and grilled meat.  Together with basil, it contributes much to the distinctive character of many Italian dishes.

Oregano combines nicely with pickled olives, capers, and lovage leaves.  Unlike most Italian herbs, oregano works with spicy foods, which are popular in southern Italy.

Oregano is a widely used ingredient in Greek cuisine.  Oregano adds flavor to Greek salad and is usually added to the lemon-olive oil sauce that accompanies many fish or meat barbecues and some casseroles.

In Turkish Cuisine, oregano is mostly used for flavoring meat, especially for mutton and lamb.  In barbecue and kebab restaurants, it can be usually found on table, together with paprika, salt and pepper.

It has an aromatic, warm, and slightly bitter taste and can vary in intensity.  Good quality oregano may be strong enough that it almost numbs the tongue, but the cultivars adapted to colder climates have often unsatisfactory flavor.  Factors such as climate, seasons, and soil composition may affect the aromatic oils present, and this effect may be greater than the differences between the various species of plants.

The dish most commonly associated with oregano is pizza.  Its variations have probably been eaten in Southern Italy for centuries.  Oregano became popular in the US when returning WW2 soldiers brought back with them a taste for the “pizza herb.”

Hippocrates used oregano as an antiseptic as well as a cure for stomach and respiratory ailments.  A Cretan oregano (O. dictamnus) is still used today in Greece as a palliative for sore throat.

Oregano is high in antioxidant activity, due to a high content of phenolic acids and flavonoids.  It also has shown antimicrobial activity against strains of the food-borne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes.

PARSLEY (Petroselinum) is a bright green biennial herb, often used as spice.  It is common in Middle Eastern, European, and American cooking.  In modern cooking, parsley is used for its leaf in much the same way as coriander (which is also known as Chinese parsley or cilantro), although parsley is perceived to have a milder flavor.

Two forms of parsley are used as herbs: curly leaf (P. crispum) and Italian, or flat leaf (P. neapolitanum).  Curly leaf parsley is often used as a garnish.  One of the compounds of the essential oil is apiol.  The use of curly leaf parsley may be favored by some because it cannot be confused with poison hemlock, like flat leaf parsley or chervil.

Another type of parsley is grown as a root vegetable, as with hamburg root parsley (Petroselinum crispum var. tuberosum).  This type of parsley produces much thicker roots than types cultivated for their leaves.  Although little known in Britain and the United States, root parsley is very common in Central and Eastern European cuisine, used in soups and stews.

Though it looks similar to parsnip, it tastes quite different.  Parsnips are among the closest relatives of parsley in the carrot or umbellifer family of herbs.  The similarity of the names is a coincidence, parsnip meaning “forked turnip”; it is not closely related to real turnips.

Parsley attracts winged wildlife.  The swallowtail butterfly uses parsley as a host plant for its larvae.  Caterpillars are black and green striped with yellow dots, and will feast upon parsley for two weeks before turning into butterflies.  Bees also visit the blooms.  Seed eaters such as the lesser goldfinch feed on the seed.

In Central and Eastern Europe and in West Asia, many dishes are served with fresh green chopped parsley sprinkled on top.  Green parsley is often used as a garnish.  The fresh flavor of the green parsley goes extremely well with potato dishes (french fries, boiled, buttered potatoes or mashed potato), with rice dishes (risotto or pilaf), with fish, fried chicken, lamb or goose, steaks, meat or vegetable stews (like beef bourguignon, goulash or chicken paprikash).  In Southern and Central Europe, parsley is part of bouquet garni, a bundle of fresh herbs used to flavor stocks, soups, and sauces.  Freshly chopped green parsley is used as a topping for soups like chicken soup, green salads, or salads like Salade Olivier, on open sandwiches with cold cuts or pâtés.  Parsley is a key ingredient in several West Asian salads, e.g., tabbouleh (the national dish of Lebanon, also called terchots by Armenians from Van, historic Armenia).  Persillade is a mixture of chopped garlic and chopped parsley used in French cuisine.  Gremolata is a traditional accompaniment to the Italian veal stew, ossobuco alla milanese, a mixture of parsley, garlic, and lemon zest.  Parsley is the most abundantly used herb in the Spanish cuisine.  Its preferred uses are in paste and dressing.

Root parsley is very common in Central and Eastern European cuisines, where it is used as soup vegetable in many soups and in most meat or vegetable stews and casseroles.

PEPPERMINT (Mentha × piperita, also known as M. balsamea Willd) is a hybrid mint, a cross between the watermint (Mentha aquatica) and spearmint (Mentha spicata).  The plant, indigenous to Europe, is now widespread in cultivation throughout all regions of the world.  It is found wild occasionally with its parent species.

Peppermint typically occurs in moist habitats, including stream sides and drainage ditches. Being a hybrid, it is usually sterile, producing no seeds and reproducing only vegetatively, spreading by its rhizomes.  If placed, it can grow anywhere, with a few exceptions.

Peppermint has a long tradition of medicinal use, with archaeological evidence placing its use at least as far back as ten thousand years ago.

Peppermint has a high menthol content, and is often used as tea and for flavoring ice cream, confectionery, chewing gum, and toothpaste.  The oil also contains menthone and menthyl esters, particularly menthyl acetate.  It is the oldest and most popular flavor of mint-flavored confectionery.  Peppermint can also be found in some shampoos and soaps, which give the hair a minty scent and produce a cooling sensation on the skin.

In 2007, Italian investigators reported that 75% of the patients in their study who took peppermint oil capsules for four weeks had a major reduction in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms, compared with just 38% of those who took a placebo.  Peppermint relaxes the gastro-esophageal sphincter, thus promoting belching.

ROSEMARY (Rosmarinus officinalis) is a woody, perennial herb with fragrant evergreen needle-like leaves.  It is native to the Mediterranean region.  It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae, which also includes many other herbs.

The name rosemary derives from the Latin name rosmarinus, which is from “dew” (ros) and “sea” (marinus), or “dew of the sea,” apparently because it is frequently found growing near the sea.

Forms range from upright to trailing; the upright forms can reach 5 feet tall, rarely 6 feet 7 inches.  The leaves are evergreen, green above, and white below with dense short woolly hair.

Flowering, very common in a mature and healthy specimen, blooms in summer in the north; but can be ever blooming in warm-winter climates and is variable in color, being white, pink, purple, or blue.

The fresh and dried leaves are used frequently in traditional Mediterranean cuisine; they have a bitter, astringent taste and are highly aromatic, which complements a wide variety of foods.  A tisane can also be made from them.  When burned they give off a distinct mustard smell, as well as a smell similar to that of burning which can be used to flavor foods while barbecuing.

Rosemary is extremely high in iron, calcium, and Vitamin B6.

Rosemary contains a number of potentially biologically active compounds, including antioxidants such as carnosic acid and rosmarinic acid.  The results of a study suggest that carnosic acid, found in rosemary, may shield the brain from free radicals, lowering the risk of strokes and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Lou Gehrig’s.  Other bioactive compounds include camphor (up to 20% in dry rosemary leaves), caffeic acid, ursolic acid, betulinic acid, rosmaridiphenol, and rosmanol.

When rosemary is harvested appropriately and used within recommended guidelines, side effects are minimal.  A few instances of allergic skin reactions to topical preparations containing rosemary have been reported.

Recent European research has shown that rosemary interferes with the absorption of iron in the diet, which indicates that it should not be used internally by persons with iron deficiency anemia.

SAGE (Salvia officinalis), also known as Garden sage and Common sage, is a small perennial evergreen subshrub, with woody stems, grayish leaves, and blue to purplish flowers.  It is a member of the family Lamiaceae and is native to the Mediterranean region, though it has naturalized in many places throughout the world.  Cultivars are quite variable in size, leaf and flower color, and foliage pattern, with many variegated leaf types.  The Old World type grows to approximately 2 feet tall and wide, with lavender flowers most common, though they can also be white, pink, or purple.  The plant flowers in late spring or summer.  The leaves are oblong, and are grey-green, rugose on the upper side, and nearly white underneath due to the many short soft hairs.  Modern cultivars include leaves with purple, rose, cream, and yellow in many variegated combinations.

It has a long history of medicinal and culinary use, and in modern times as an ornamental garden plant.  The common name “Sage” is also used for a number of related and unrelated species.

Common sage is grown in parts of Europe for distillation of an essential oil, though other species, such as Salvia fruticosa may also be harvested and distilled with it.

As a kitchen herb, sage has a slight peppery flavor.  In western cooking, it is used for flavoring fatty meats, Sage Derby cheese, poultry or pork stuffing, Lincolnshire sausage, and in sauces.  Sage is also used in Italian cooking, in the Balkans, and the Middle East.

Salvia and “Sage” are derived from the Latin salvere (“to save”), referring to the healing properties long attributed to the various Salvia species.  It has been recommended at one time or another for virtually every ailment by various herbals.  Modern evidence shows possible uses as an anhidrotic, antibiotic, antifungal, astringent, antispasmodic, estrogenic, hypoglycemic, and tonic.  In a double blind, randomized and placebo-controlled trial, sage was found to be effective in the management of mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease.

The strongest active constituents of sage are within its essential oil, which contains cineole, borneol, and thujone.  Sage leaf contains tannic acid, oleic acid, ursonic acid, ursolic acid, cornsole, cornsolic acid, fumaric acid, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, niacin, nicotinamide, flavones, flavonoid glycosides, and estrogenic substances.  Investigations have taken place into using sage as a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease patients.

SAVORY (Satureja) is a genus of aromatic plants of the family Lamiaceae, related to rosemary and thyme.  There are about 30 species called savories, of which Summer savory and Winter savory are the most important in cultivation.

Both summer savory and winter savory are used to flavor food.  The former is preferred by cooks but as an annual is only available in summer; winter savory is an evergreen perennial.

Savory plays an important part in Italian cuisine, particularly when cooking beans.  It is also used to season the traditional Acadian stew known as fricot.  Savory is also a key ingredient in sarmale, a stuffed cabbage dish in traditional Transylvanian cuisine.

Yerba Buena (Spanish: “good herb”; S. douglasii) is used to make a herbal tea in the western United States.

Satureja species are food plants for the larva of some Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths).  Caterpillars of the moth Coleophora bifrondella feed exclusively on Winter savory.

Savory may be grown purely for ornamental purposes; members of the genus need sun and well-drained soil.

SPEARMINT (mentha spicata) is a species of mint native to much of Europe and southwest Asia, though its exact natural range is uncertain due to extensive early cultivation.  It grows in wet soils.

It is a herbaceous rhizomatous perennial plant growing 12 to 39 inches tall, with variably hairless to hairy stems and foliage, and a wide-spreading fleshy underground rhizome.  The leaves are 2 to 3.5 inches long and .5 to 1.2 inches broad, with a serrated margin.  Spearmint produces flowers in slender spikes, each flower pink or white, and about 1 inch long and broad.

Spearmint is grown for its aromatic and carminative oil, referred to as oil of spearmint. It grows well in nearly all temperate climates.  Gardeners often grow it in pots or planters due to its invasive spreading roots.  The plant prefers partial shade, but can flourish in full sun to mostly shade.  Spearmint is best suited to loamy soils with plenty of organic material.  Spearmint leaves can be used whole, chopped, dried and ground, frozen, preserved in salt, sugar, sugar syrup, alcohol, oil, or dried.  The leaves lose their aromatic appeal after the plant flowers.  Dry it by cutting just before, or right (at peak) as the flowers open, about 1/2 to 3/4 the way down the stalk (leaving smaller shoots room to grow).  There is some dispute as to what drying method works best; some prefer different materials (such as plastic or cloth) and different lighting conditions (such as darkness or sunlight).

Spearmint is an ingredient in several mixed drinks, such as the mojito and mint julep. Sweet tea, iced and flavored with spearmint, is a summer tradition in the Southern United States. It is used as a flavoring for toothpaste and confectionery, and is sometimes added to shampoos and soaps. In herbalism, spearmint is steeped as tea for the treatment of stomach ache.

TARRAGON or dragon’s-wort (Artemisia dracunculus) is a perennial herb in the family Asteraceae related to wormwood. Corresponding to its species name, a common term for the plant is “dragon herb.” It is native to a wide area of the Northern Hemisphere from easternmost Europe across central and eastern Asia to India, western North America, and south to northern Mexico. The North American populations may, however, be naturalized from early human introduction.

Tarragon grows to 48 to 59 inches tall, with slender branched stems. The leaves are lanceolate, .75 to 3 inches long and .75 to 4 inches broad, glossy green, with an entire margin. The flowers are produced in small capitulae  .75 to 1.5 inches diameter, each capitulum containing up to 40 yellow or greenish-yellow florets. (French tarragon, however, seldom produces flowers.)

French tarragon is the variety generally considered best for the kitchen, but is difficult to grow from seed. It is best to cultivate by root division. It is normally purchased as a plant, and some care must be taken to ensure that true French tarragon is purchased. A perennial, it normally goes dormant in winter. It likes a hot, sunny spot, without excessive watering.

Russian tarragon (A. dracunculoides L.) can be grown from seed but is much weaker in flavor when compared to the French variety. However, Russian tarragon is a far more hardy and vigorous plant, spreading at the roots and growing over a meter tall. This tarragon actually prefers poor soils and happily tolerates drought and neglect. It is not as strongly aromatic and flavorsome as its French cousin, but it produces many more leaves from early spring onwards that are mild and good in salads and cooked food. The young stems in early spring can be cooked as an asparagus substitute. Grow indoors from seed and plant out in the summer. Spreading plant can be divided easily.

In culinary use tarragon is one of the four fine herbs of French cooking, and particularly suitable for chicken, lasagna, fish and egg dishes. Tarragon is one of the main components of Béarnaise sauce. Fresh, lightly bruised sprigs of tarragon may be steeped in vinegar to impart their flavor.

Tarragon is used to flavor a popular carbonated soft drink in the countries of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and, by extension, Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. The drink, named Tarhun, is made out of sugary tarragon concentrate and colored bright green.

In Slovenia, tarragon is used as a spice for sweet pastry called potica.

As companion plant the scent and taste of tarragon is disliked by many garden pests, making it useful for intercropping as a companion plant, to protect its gardenmates. It is also reputed to be a nurse plant, enhancing growth and flavor of companion crops.

The plant’s common name and Latin name originate from the belief in the Doctrine of Signatures which suggested that a plant’s appearance reflected its possible uses. The serpentine shape of Tarragon’s root made herbalists believe it could cure snake bites. From this came the Greek name drakon (dragon), the Arabic tarkhum (little dragon), and the Latin name dracunculus (little dragon).

THYME is a well-known culinary and medicinal herb.

Ancient Egyptians used thyme for embalming.  The ancient Greeks used it in their baths and burnt it as incense in their temples, believing that thyme was a source of courage.  It was thought that the spread of thyme throughout Europe was thanks to the Romans, as they used it to purify their rooms and to “give an aromatic flavor to cheese and liqueurs”.  In the European Middle Ages, the herb was placed beneath pillows to aid sleep and ward off nightmares.  In this period, women would also often give knights and warriors gifts that included thyme leaves as it was believed to bring courage to the bearer.  Thyme was also used as incense and placed on coffins during funerals as it was supposed to assure passage into the next life.

Thyme is a good source of iron and is widely used in cooking.  The herb is a basic ingredient in Levantine (Lebanese, Syrian, Jordanian, Palestinian), Libyan, Indian, Italian, French, Albanian, Persian, Portuguese, Assyrian, Spanish, Greek, Nigerian, Caribbean cuisine, and Turkish cuisines, and in those derived from them.

Thyme is often used to flavor meats, soups, and stews.  It has a particular affinity to and is often used as a primary flavor with lamb, tomatoes, and eggs.

Thyme, while flavorful, does not overpower and blends well with other herbs and spices.  In some Levantine countries, and Assyrian the condiment za’atar (Arabic for thyme) contains thyme as a vital ingredient.  It is a common component of the bouquet garni, and of herbes de Provence.

Thyme is sold both fresh and dried.  The fresh form is more flavorful but also less convenient; storage life is rarely more than a week.  While summer-seasonal, fresh thyme is often available year-round.

Fresh thyme is commonly sold in bunches of sprigs.  A sprig is a single stem snipped from the plant.  It is composed of a woody stem with paired leaf or flower clusters (“leaves”) spaced ½-1 inch apart.  A recipe may measure thyme by the bunch (or fraction thereof), or by the sprig, or by the tablespoon or teaspoon.  If the recipe does not specify fresh or dried, assume that it means fresh.

Depending on how it is used in a dish, the whole sprig may be used (e.g. in a bouquet garni), or the leaves removed and the stems discarded.  Usually when a recipe specifies ‘bunch’ or ‘sprig’ it means the whole form; when it specifies spoons it means the leaves.  It is perfectly acceptable to substitute dried for whole thyme.  Leaves may be removed from stems either by scraping with the back of a knife, or by pulling through the fingers or tines of a fork.  Leaves are often chopped.

Thyme retains its flavor on drying better than many other herbs.  As usual with dried herbs less of it is required when substituted in a recipe.  As a rule of thumb, use one third as much dried as fresh thyme – a little less if it is ground.  Substitution is often more complicated than that because recipes can specify sprigs and sprigs can vary in yield of leaves.  Assuming a 4-inch sprig (they are often somewhat longer), estimate that 6 sprigs will yield one tablespoon of leaves.  The dried equivalent is 1:3, so substitute 1 teaspoon of dried or ¾ tsp. of ground thyme for 6 small sprigs.

As with bay, thyme is slow to release its flavors so it is usually added early in the cooking process.

The essential oil of common thyme (Thymus vulgaris) is made up of 20-54% thymol.  Thymol, an antiseptic, is the main active ingredient in Listerine mouthwash.  Before the advent of modern antibiotics, it was used to medicate bandages.  It has also been shown to be effective against the fungus that commonly infects toenails.  It can also be found as the active ingredient in all-natural, alcohol-free hand sanitizers.

A tea made by infusing the herb in water can be used for cough and bronchitis.  Medicinally thyme is used for respiratory infections in the form of a tincture, tisane, salve, syrup or by steam inhalation.  Because it is antiseptic, thyme boiled in water and cooled is very effective against inflammation of the throat when gargled 3 times a day.  The inflammation will normally disappear in 2-5 days.  The thymol and other volatile components in the leaf glands is excreted via the lungs, being highly lipid-soluble, where it reduces the viscosity of the mucus and exerts its antimicrobial action.  Other infections and wounds can be dripped with thyme that has been boiled in water and cooled.

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Mountain Valley View Farm, Inc.
Your Source for Northwest Farm Fresh Foods Shipped Worldwide
4301 South Chapman Road
Greenacres, Washington 99016-8732 USA
Phone (509) 928-1800 | Fax (509) 922-9949
Email: sales@mountainvalleyviewfarm.com

Website: www.mountainvalleyviewfarm.com
Online Store: www.mountainvalleyviewfarmstore.com

Blog with us at www.mountainvalleyviewfarmblog.com

Mountain Valley View Farm Hours:

Monday – Saturday
8:00 a.m. – Noon;  1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. (Pacific Time)
Closed Noon – 1:00 p.m.

Other farm hours by advance appointment only.
Please call (509) 928-1800 to schedule an appointment.

Getaway Studio Dining Room
& Bed and Breakfast
Phone (509) 928-8900

Directions to Mountain Valley View Farm, Inc.

From I-90 East or West

Take the Sullivan Exit (291B) – South for about 3 miles
Turn left on Saltese (east), and continue straight for .5 mile
Turn right on South Chapman Road (south), and proceed .9 mile
The farm will be on the left-hand side of the road – 4301 South Chapman Road