Have a Sweet Adventure
(Page 8 of 8)
February/March 2006
By Susan Belsinger
Rose. The unmistakable perfume of roses can lend an exotic quality to desserts, however no two roses taste alike and some are downright bitter or sour, so be sure to taste before using. Rose petals, rosehips and rosewater are used in making candy, cookies, syrups, jellies and frostings; they should be used with mild-flavored or citrus fruits in order to savor their delicate scent.
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Rosemary. Since this herb has such a strong resinous and piney flavor, it should not be used with mild-tasting fruits. It is an herb that is great with red wine — use it for poaching or macerating apples, pears, oranges, cranberries and dried fruits. It adds good flavor to mulled wine, tea and cider.
Thyme. This well-rounded herb has a flavor that is sweet and savory and is tasty with apples and pears, or baked, stewed or macerated in compote. It also is tasty in grape and cranberry jelly. Lemon thyme and orange thyme have citrus flavors and are less savory, and can be added to fruit salad; but they tend to lose some of their citrus dimension when cooked.
Sage. Use cold-weather fruits like apples and pears with this earthy, musky, slightly camphorus-tasting herb — stewed, in a sauce or fritters, or baked in bread or cake.
Sweet cicely. The leaves and flowers of this anise-flavored herb are best used fresh in fruit salads, although they are also good stewed with pears or apples.
Sweet woodruff. This traditional herb of spring goes best with seasonal fruits — strawberries and rhubarb. Its delicate scent of hay-and-vanilla goes well with most berries and is delicious used in infusions and macerations with white and sparkling wines. The tiny white blossoms are a lovely garnish on desserts and in the punch bowl.
When experimenting with herbs in a recipe, pause for a minute, think about the aroma and taste of the herb or herbs, and how it will work with the other ingredients in the recipe, then experiment courageously. If you don’t have anise hyssop, for example, use another herb that you might like the flavor of and substitute it. If a recipe calls for lemon balm, you can replace it with a different lemon-flavored herb, such as lemon verbena, lemongrass, lemon thyme or lemon basil. The idea is to be inventive, and to use herbs to give new flavor and fun to your desserts.
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