You’ve tried fresh chopped chives added to sour cream and served as a filling for a baked potato. But how about chives added to sour cream to serve with borscht and tomato soup? Fresh-picked and snipped chives are a tasty garnish or flavoring in omelets, scrambled eggs, salads, and soups. Chives are also a perfect […] More
Parsley has a clean, fresh, peppery flavor that makes it a good match for all savory dishes. Parsley is an aromatic herb whose leaves and stems are edible. Parsley can usually be found year-round but is the youngest and most tender in spring. Types of parsley There are more than 30 varieties of parsley but […] More
Cherry season is short and sweet. Well, the sweet cherry season is short and sweet, and the sour cherry season is short and tart. Put the two seasons together and you can enjoy about four months of fresh cherries each year: sweet cherries for eating out of hand and using in fruits salads, compotes, custards, […] More
Viewed from a distance while in bloom, it’s easy to understand how the herb rosemary got its name. The Latin name for rosemary is ros marinus which means “sea dew” or “sea spray. Rosemary in bloom is covered with small clusters of shimmering blossoms of both light and deep blue. This tough but marvelously fragrant […] More
There are two apricots you must simply eat out of hand: ‘Blenheim’ is a medium to large, sweet and aromatic, and very juicy apricot with a classic apricot flavor; ‘Moorpark’ is a large, sweet, aromatic, and juicy apricot with a rich plum-like taste. Once you have enjoyed these two universally acclaimed apricots eaten out of […] More
Botanically speaking the nectarine is a variety of peach. But eaten out of hand or served at the table, the nectarine is both more and less than the peach. Less: the nectarine is smaller than the peach; it is about the size of a plump plum. The skin of the nectarine is fuzzless which makes […] More
Half a peach poached in syrup served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream topped with raspberry purée: peach Melba. Barely chilled peach slices served with sugar and cream: peach Mom. Auguste Escoffier—the most famous chef of his time–created peach Melba in 1892 in honor of the Australian opera singer Nellie Melba. Peach Mom has […] More
Thyme adds a spicy note to soups, stews, tomato and wine-based sauces, dried bean dishes, stuffings, and stocks. It can be used in marinades for pork and game and also in chowders, gumbos, and jambalayas. What this says is that thyme can take a long, slow cooking and—unlike other herbs—still bring something special to the […] More
Marjoram and oregano and oregano and marjoram. Have you noticed that these two spicy herbs are inseparable when you go to cooks’ reference books? The reason is that marjoram and oregano are generic names for two frequently interchanged (but different) herbs. Both are small aromatic shrubs that grow to approximately 2 feet (.6 m). Both […] More
Raspberries are the most intensely flavored and delicate of berries. The peak season for red raspberries in the Northern Hemisphere is June through September; for the golden or yellow raspberry June through October, and for the black raspberry during July. To best experience the luscious raspberry—many consider it a finer fruit than the strawberry–be sure […] More
Slice the persimmon down to the stem base once and then twice and lay it open like a flower. You can then enjoy its delightfully sweet and cool flesh spoonful by spoonful. Some say the persimmon has a pumpkin flavor mixed with allspice and cinnamon. You will surely find it exotically sweet and very juicy. […] More
Chestnuts can be roasted, boiled, grilled, braised, puréed, preserved, and candied. You can add shelled and peeled chestnuts finely diced or chopped to soups, stuffings, and salads. The rich, sweet taste of chestnuts is a good match for savory dishes such as game and poultry. Chestnuts grow in temperate regions around the world. They can […] More
Stephen Albert