With so many herbs and spices to choose from you might feel overwhelmed. A good way to get started using, growing and preserving herbs is to get to know the herb and the unique flavor of each herb. Herbs can add that special taste to your dishes, when used in just the right amounts, to make the dish complete.

Herbs and spices are often categorized together, however; herbs come from the leafy part of a plant; spices are from the dried aromatic parts of plants, most often the seeds, pods, berries, roots and/or fleshy parts of the plant.

The intensity of the flavor is affected by the age of the herb or spice, where it is grown and how it is processed. The flavor is also determined by whether it is fresh or dried. The flavor may vary according to the variety that you grow, the kind of soil used, the amount of sun when the plant was growing, the amount of water given to the plants and when the herb is cut.

Here are four things that will help you to get to know a new herb:

1. Take a clean leaf of the herb and chew, it’s not necessary to swallow. Learning about the flavor of the herb this way will help you to decide if it will make the perfect pot roast or work great in a dessert.

2. Add fresh chopped herbs (one at a time) to something bland yet familiar, like butter, sour cream or potatoes. This allows the intensity of the herb to stand on its own and helps you to know how much of the herb to add.

3. Start experimenting by adding a little Rosemary or Tarragon to potatoes or chicken; sprinkle some Basil on your pizza or pasta; lay sprigs of Thyme on your roast. When you start using an herb, keep notes of what you liked, how much was used and what didn’t work (so you don’t repeat a not-so-great taste). Note whether the herbs were fresh or dried or a combination of both. You will find this invaluable, especially when you start blending herbs together to get more complex flavors

4. When you go to a restaurant and order something, like Lasagna for instance, notice the flavors and try to pick out the herb/herbs that are used, or ask. This is what I did to try and create the perfect lasagna recipe. Every time we went to a restaurant for a while, I ordered lasagna to notice the different flavors and styles. This is also the way that I discovered the taste of cumin and some of the other herbs and flavors.

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