Historic, Archive Document

Do not assume content reflects current scientific knowledge, policies, or practices.

LIBRARY

fl ^ c e J V E D

01d>-fasMoned Her"bs - Hot? to Grovr and Usm ^emiij^^j ^, d»

the DeDartmgn.t of

^^^^ Ij^ HOUSEHOLD CALEMDAE

A dialogue 'between Mi as Ruth Van Deman, Bureau of Some Economics, and Ir. 17. R. Beattie, Bureau of Plant Industry, delivered in' Agriculture period of the National Farm and Home Hour, brc of 48 associate IMBC stations, Thursday, October 8, 1936.

— -ooOoo —

MR. SALISBURY; Even if the World Series is over, the season for double headers hasn't closed. Today we're sending you as part of the Department of Agriculture program a double hea-der led by two of your good friends - Ruth Van Demar and I7. R. Beattie. They tell me this is going to be an old-fashioned kitchen garden program. And didn't you say something, Ruth, about it being by special request?

MISS VAN DEIvlAM; Yes, Mr. Beattie and I have been getting letters from some of our listeners asking us to talk about old-fashioned herbis. Here's one letter from Coral Gables, Florida, and here's another from Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. There seems to be a regular revival of interest in herb gardens and in using these old-fashioned seasonings in cooking. It seems to be Sweeping the whole country. Tihat do you think started it, Mr. Beattie?

MR. BEATTIE;_ Hard to say what started it. Gardening, like everything else, seems to go in cycles. Anyway, I thinlc the cottage herb garden up at the TTashington Cathedral has had a lot to do in spreading the interest in these aromatic plants. Didn't they tell us up there the other day that they had some 300,000 visitors a year? And they come from every state in the Union,

MISS VAM DEMAU; Yes, they said they have a constant stream of people visiting the Bishop's garden and stopping to sniff the sage, and the rosemary, and the lemon verbena, and all the rest growing there in the little herb garden. It's amazing the number of kinds they have in that small space. It seems to be ' ■true what Henry Beston said "A garden of herhs need be no larger than the shadow of a bush. "

i/IR. BEATTIE; Quite true. You can grow all the herbs the average family wants^for seasoning purposes in a few square feet of garden space. The creeping plants like thyme and winter savory will even flourish in the cran- nies of a sunny wall. You rememher the winter savory we saw the other day ■ on the stone wall up at the Cathedral garden.

MISS VAM DEt/IAH; Indeed I do . I remember the way the warm sun brought out- the fragrance. The leaves and tender twigs from one of those savory plants would be enough to season the stuffing for dozens of roast turkeys and chickens. TThen herbs are fresh it takes only a pinch or two to flavor a stuffing, or a soup, or a stew. To mo that's the beauty of having herbs grow- ing in your own garden or oven in a window box indoors in winter. Then you have them to use fresh before the volatile oils that give them their spicy, ' ■ aromatic flavor have a chance to escape. •. ■ :

- over -

- 2 -

IvIR. BEAT TIE: That's true even of the kinds that are dried --md cured and stored. Then there are some kinds like chives and mint that are oest rhen used fresh.

j^Tovr, on the gardening side, mth the exception of tarragon and one or two others, there's nothing difficult about growing heroes or very different in their culture from that of other garden plants. Some are annuals. But most are either perennials or "biennials. And "because the plants are going to stay in the same spot for year after year, it is important that the soil he well-prepared "beforehand.

iJiSS VAM DEIvIAN; 'Well, what are the special points ahout preparing the soil for an herh garden?

MR. BEATTIE; Eirst spread a liheral dressing of honemeal over the surface, then spade or fork the soil to a depth of 8 or 10 inches — the deeper the hetter. I wouldn't advise the addition of manure to the gro^and although manure applied a year in adv.ance of planting the herhs would oe all right.

As for the seeds to start with, quite a num"ber of the seed houses carry a pretty full line of herh seeds. The seeds of a numher of the herhs do not keep well so it is essential to get good fresh seeds. Seeds of several of the herhs can "be saved at homo after you once get started. This is especially true of the annuals.

MISS VAN DEIvIAjM!: Now, }!ir. Bcattie, shall we hcgin and run right down the horh alpha"bct. On my list A stands for anise,

ISR. BEATTIE; All right. Anise is an annual- You simply sow the seeds as you would for carrots. In fact, anise helongs to the same family of plants as carrots. TThen the plants are well started, thin them to ahout 12 to 18 inches apart in the rows. Ahout midsummer when the plants are two feet or so high, they will hlossom and form seed heads. Before the seeds "begin to shatter, cut off the seed hea^s, spread them on paper or cloth, and dry them in the shade. Then ru'b out the seeds and "blow off the chaff, and store the seeds in thin cloth "bags, not paper hags. Anise seeds need plenty of air to keep them from heating and hecoming rancid. And there you ha_vc the anise seeds ready to use.

MISS VAM DEilAM_; Well, anise seed is an old-time favorite for flavoring candies and cakes and "bread. Sometimes the seeds are stirred into the bread dough, especially in making rye "bread, or t'iiey m.ay "be mixed with salt and sprink- led on the top of rolls. Anise seeds are used just about like caraway seeds.

Iffi . ..BEATTIE; That's reasonable. Caraway is a close relative of anise. It's grown in practically the same v;ay, except that it is a biennial and does not produce its seed until the second season. In the colder sections of the country it may be necessary to protect the cara.way plants over winter.

MISS VAN DEL'LAN; We're getting a little ahead of ourselves alphabetically, Mr. Seattle, but while we're on caraway, I want to put in a good word for that Norwegian way of seasoning sauerkraut with caraway seeds. They heat the sauer- kraut in butter or some other fat, and stir in the caraway seeds, and let the sauerkraut cook slowly for 15 or 20 minutes. The result is a very delicious blend of flavors, a great improvement on either caraway or sauerkraut alone, I

- 3 -

think. Also, lots of people like caraway seeds stirred into their cottage cheese or cream cheese to give it more flavor.

Mow, getting "back into our alphahetical stride, I think hasil comes next. That's rather easy to grow, isn't it?

IviR. B5ATTIE; Yes, l^asil is verj'" easy to grow, and stvi.rdy, , and attractive enough to sow along in a "border with flowering annuals. Also, it will hold up in the house in the winter as a potted plant. The leaves and tender tips of "basil caji "be used fresh, or the stalks can "be cut off v/hen they are in "bloom and tied in small "bunches and hung up to dry in the shade. Basil has an odor and flavor that reminds some people of "bay leaf.

inSSJ^MjDMM: That's what makes it such a good flavoring for tomatoes. A few of the. fresh "basil leaves cut up in a tomato salad give it a very delight- ful flavor. And you can use either the: fresh or the dried in tomato soup or in giving a different and interesting taste to an old stand"by like stewed or scalloped tomatoes. Or if you put a little "basil in the tomato sauce for macar- oni or spaghetti, some"body will "be sure to ask you for your new recipe.

Now for the C's, Mr. Seattle, Tiiat a"bout celery and chives? Or do you class celery with the herhs?

IvIR. BEATTIE: T7ell, Miss Van Deman, celery is really an important vege- ta'ble crop, "but a few celery plants in a corner of the hcrh garden are fine to have, "because you can cut the tender stems and leaves all summer long, and use them just as you do the tops from celery stalks. Celery is a little diffi- cult to grow. It needs a rich soil and plenty of moisture. Celery seed is of course verj?- widely used for flavoring, "but it can "be "bought very cheaply, and I wouldn't recommend trying to raise it in the her'b garden.

iMow chives are quite a different story. They "belong to the onion family. The plants grow only 6 or 8 inches tall, and at certain seasons they hav^ very attractive, violet-colored clusters of "bloom.- Chives also need rich soil, and they are propagated "by dividing the clumps of hulhs either in the fall or early spring. Cutting the leaves for flavoring purposes does not inj-ure the plants. New ones soon grow again. Many people like to keep a pot of chives on the kitchen window sill all winter, and clip off the leaves for salads.

J-ilSS im DEMAN; Yes, and for sandwiches. A few little green chives chopped fine are very good in meat or cheese sandwiches, or mixed with hutter to make a sandwich spread. And chopped chives on hot hroiled steak with melted "butter over all make a comhination fit for the gourmet. There's a restaurant in New York famous for its minute steal^s. The dressing of chives and hutter is the real secret, I've found. Chives give just that soupcon — that suspicion of onion flavor the French chefs are always talking a"bout.

Now garlic, it's as much stronger than ordinary onion as chives are milder. A mere ru"b of the salad howl with the cut surface of a clove of garlic gives enough of that pungent flavor to suit me. But strictly speaking, mayhe garlic doesn't helong among the herhs either. How about that, fe. Beattie?

- 4 -

MP.. BEAT TIE: The.t ' a an open question. The true garlic is rather hard to grow — harder than either chives or onions, and I wouldn't "bothor ^7ith it in an herb garden. I'd rather use my space for something like dill, r/hich, as ever^A- hody knows, is the popular flavoring herh for cucuml:er pickles. But not every- hody seems to know that it can also "be used fresh as a seasoning.

HISS VAI-T DEIIAII; You must have "been talking to Miss Miriam Birdseye. 'She-'-s very enthusiastic ahout fresh dill leaves as a seasoning.

But, Mr. Beattie, I'm afraid we've taken on a largerorder he le than we can handle. Our time's a'bout up, and we're not halfway down the her"b alpha"bet.

MR. BEATTIE; Xlell what do you say to our signing off now and saving the rest for next v/eek?

HISS YAM DEIvlAN; That's a good idea. Since our trip out to the her"b garden at the Cathedral the other day, I'm that her"b-conscious I don't want to slight a single one. Some of these little plants are so modest and unassun- ing.that you don't know how fragrant end useful they are until you "begin to handle them and study them.

■ im.. SALISBURY: All right, Miss Van Deman and Mr. Beattie. 'iTe'll sched'ole another dou"ble header for you next "iTednesday so you can give us more of this interesting information about growing and using garden her"bs.