Herbes de Provence - The Herbs of Provence. Provencal Cuisine and the Herbes de Provence.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 


 
Herbes de Provence.
Photograph courtesy of Christopher Paquette

Until about seventy years ago, the term the Herbes of Provence did not indicate a spice group. Then if you had asked for the Herbs de Provence, you would have been given a list of the individual herbs that grew wild in Provence. Herbes of Provence, as a particular herb group, to be used for new recipes in French cuisine, is a relatively new creation and now includes specific herbs used together in modern Provencal cuisine. The idea was so successful that tourist purchases of bottled and bagged commercial preparations of dried Herbes de Provence are an important part of the grower's
incomes.

The group of herbs used depends on the chef; they will include five or six from the following list of fresh herbs:

Basilic, basil;  cerfeul, chervil; graines de Fenouil, fennel seeds; feuille de Laurier, bay leaves; marjolaine,marjoram; romarin; rosemary;  farigoule, wild thyme; thym, thyme; sauge, sage; sarriette, summer savory; and estragon, tarragon.  Some chefs add Lavender for its aroma. Lavender is the flower and scent of Provence.

Herbes de Provence on French Menus:
 
Bar Entier Grillé aux Graines de Fenouil et aux Herbes de Provence  A whole grilled European sea bass flavored with fennel seeds and the Herbs of Provence. European sea bass will be on many Provencal menus as loup, which is the fish's name in Occitan. Fennel has an aniseed taste and fennel seeds are stronger than the leaves.

Fennel.
Flowers at the top, seeds in the middle, and at the bottom the thin leaves.
www.flickr.com/photos/zoyachubby/463983617/


Camembert Braisé aux Herbes de Provence – Braised Camembert cheese flavored with the herbs of Provence. Here a whole Camembert braised will before serving. 

Civet de Porcelet et sa Polenta aux Herbes de Provence –civet is a traditional stew that initially was made with small wild animals including rabbit, hare, and young wild boar. Here it is made with suckling pig and served with polenta and flavored with the herbs of Provence. 
  
Bay leaves.
www.flickr.com/photos/55368994@N06/6238396132/

Entrecôte Grillée aux Herbes de Provence – A US rib eye, a UK sirloin steak, an entrecote grilled with the herbs of Provence. 

Les Côtelettes d'Agneau Grillées aux Herbes de Provence – Grilled lamb chops flavored with the herbs of Provence. 
  
When I am in Provence, and I see dishes like those noted above, I ask questions about the herbs used. Chefs demand fresh herbs and make changes when a particular fresh herb is not available. More importantly, the quantities of each herb used vary greatly between chef and chef, and that will significantly affect the taste. Furthermore, no chef uses them all at the same time, at the most six or seven. The fresh herbs come from local market gardeners, and that includes farigoule, wild thyme.  With such a wide choice of herbs and their proportions unlike the herb group, Les Fine Herbs do not expect a single flavor as you dine in Provence.

Lavender fields in Provence.
www.flickr.com/photos/decar66/14351116200/

While chefs demand fresh herbs, the tourists, including French tourists, are sold pre-packed dried herbs. Home cooks can create tastes closer to the original by buying many of these fresh herbs in markets at home, at least four or five will be available all year round. Caveat emptor: the pre-packed dried Herbes de Provence mostly includes only four or five of the original eleven or twelve; usually romarin, rosemary, sarriette, summer savory; ordinary cultivated thym, thyme, with origan, oregano with its overpowering taste replacing the lighter fresh marjolaine, marjoram. Many dried herb packages include lavender; lavender is only added for its scent as it does not affect the taste in any important way. From the label of contents, you will also see that each supplier uses a different percentage of each herb in their mix. 

Bags of dried Herbes de Provence on sale in the market.
   
The origins of the Herbs de Provence.

The cultural influences that created Provence are as varied as the herbs within the group. Nevertheless, all of the herbs that make up the Provencal herb group originated in the Mediterranean, Middle East or Asia, and all predated the discovery of the New World.

Farigoule, serpolet, wild thyme.
www.flickr.com/photos/14583963@N00/7836957046/

I always double check the origins of herbs and spices I learn from the delears on the web pages of Gernot Katzer and his Spice Pages:  http://gernot-katzers-spice-pages.com/engl/ and Eric Schoenzetter and his Toil d'Épices: http://www.toildepices.com/.  These two websites are full of herbal knowledge. Eric Schoenzetter includes, for Herbes de Province more options that include: clous de girofle -cloves; macis and fleur de muscade, mace and nutmeg; and genièvre or baie de genièvre, juniper berries.
  
  
Les Fine Herbes.


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Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

 

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 

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1 comment:

  1. Thanks for informing us . Rosemary is a Mediterranean herb said to help relieve muscle pain, improve memory, boost the immune and circulatory systems, Herbs De Provence Seasoning Herbes de Provence Extract Soothe and calm irritated skin and scalp.

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