Parsley: Backyard Farming Of Parsley | Aplus Farms

Anyone who's ever tackled a recipe for a French provincial classic like beef bourguignon, bouillabaisse or onion soup will have encountered the cryptic ingredient bouquet garni. Of course, most of us know there's nothing mysterious about bouquet garni ("garnished bouquet"), a sachet or bundle of herbs typically comprising parsley, thyme and bay leaf, added to a soup or casserole for flavour but removed prior to serving.

We say "typically" because, as Wikipedia observes, "there is no generic recipe for bouquet garni". Depending on the recipe, it "may also include basil, burnet, chervil, rosemary, peppercorns, savory and tarragon". A popular supermarket brand of readymade bouquet garni adds marjoram, while some recipes may call for sage, cloves or vegetables such as carrot, celery, celeriac, garlic, leek and onion. 

In France, each chef will design his or her preferred bouquet of aromatics and every region's cuisine has its own flavour profile. In Provence, for example, it's not usual to use dried orange peel. But the classic combo is the "big three" of parsley, thyme and bay leaf, either bound together with string or, if dried, placed in a small cheesecloth or muslin bag. 

Alternatively, the herbs can be tied up inside a celery stalk, wrapped in leek leaves or even placed in a coffee filter or tea strainer - whatever makes for ease of removal. Naturally, while dring mixes are commercially available nothing beats the taste of herbs fresh from your garden and it's simple to make your own bouquet garni. 

Bouquet

In the era of the Sun King, Louis XIV, the appearance of bouquet garni marked the beginning of a new era in French cuisine. Before the 17th century, medieval cooking was a mess of rich, heavily spiced sauces poured lavishly over food, often to mask poorly preserved meat and vegetables. This meant one dish tasted much like another. 

The bouquet garni, added to the sauce or stock early in the cooking process to bring out the flavour of the ingredients, brought a new subtlety, a "built-in" taste, to French cuisine. Its probable first mention came in Francois Pierre de le Varenne's immensely influential cookbook Le Cuisinier Francois, first published in 1651 and still in print. 

Of course, Varenne didn't invent the technique, which was already in use. Five years later, a chef named Pierre de Lune described his own variation, which he called a paquet: "a piece of lard (for modest days), cut leek, thyme, clove, chervil, parsley". On less modest days, he would wrap the little bundle in bacon.

The term "bouquet garni" found its way into English a couple of centuries later and was eventually applied to the use of any bundle of aromatics, a cooking method that was by then common in kitchens other than those that happened to be in France. 

Health Benefits

A fresh bouquet garni doesn't just impart a delicate flavour to soups, stocks and casseroles; it does the system good as well. The traditional ingredients, parsley, bay leaf and thyme, are all good sources of potassium, which your body needs to control heart rate and blood pressure, as well as iron, used to make red blood cells. 

Chervil and parsley are packed with flavonoid antioxidants like apigenin, which may help to prevent Alzheimer's disease, while bay leaf is also a great source of antioxidants such as vitamins A and C. 

All three herbs contain essential oils such as eugenol, which may lower blood sugar, while thyme has been shown to reduce heart rate and lower blood pressure. Thymol, found in oil of thyme, has antiseptic properties and has long been used as a remedy for coughs and sore throats. 

Planting Tips For Beginners

Related to the bouquet garni is herbes de Provence, a range of herbs used in southern French cuisine including thyme, oregano, marjoram, rosemary and savory as well as citrus zest and sometimes lavender, though the latter is very much a matter of taste. 

Widely available commercially as a dried mix, herbes de Provence can be applied in the same way - and in the same proportions - as bouquet garni. It's popular as a rub or marinade for roast meat, especially chicken, and can also be used in salad dressings or sprinkled over vegies coated with olive oil before roasting them. 

Then, of course, there's the delicate mix known as fines herbs, considered the linchpin of French haute cuisine and used to impart subtle flavour to omelettes as well as chicken and fish. Authorities from Auguste Escoffier to Julia Childs have identified fines herbs as "fresh parsley, chives, tarragon and chervil", though controversy rages over the inclusion of parsley. 

Some would omit it entirely, while others insist it's the one essential ingredient. Still others argue in favour of the even more aromatic dill. As with the bouquet garni, the exact definition of fines herbes has become somewhat elastic and ultimately is down to personal choice. 

Scientific

Parsley

• Common name: Parsley 
• Botanical name: Petroselinum crispum
• Family: Apiaceae (carrot family)
• Requires: Rich, well-drained soil 
• Dislikes: Dry conditions 
• Suitable for: Herb gardens, vegie gardens 
• Habit Small biennial branching herb, 30-50cm high 
• Needs: Regular water 
• Propagation: Seed 
• Difficulty: Easy 

Planting Tips and Tricks : 

Be consistent with watering to stop it bolting 

Thyme

• Common name: Thyme 
• Botanical name: Thymus spp. 
• Family: Lauraceae (laurel family) 
• Requires: Full sun to part shade; well-drained soil 
• Dislikes: Poor drainage 
• Suitable for: Cool to temperate 
• Habit: Low-growing perennial herb, groundcover 
• Propagation: Seed (spring), potted plants (year round), cuttings (spring and autumn) 
• Difficulty: Easy 

Planting Tips and Tricks : 

Don't pamper this plant, meaning don't over-water or over-feed 

Bay 

• Common name: Bay, bay laurel, sweet bay 
• Botanical name: Laurus nobilis 
• Family: Lauraceae (laurel family) 
• Requires: Full sun to part shade; well-drained soil 
• Dislikes: Poor drainage Suitable for Cool to temperate 
• Habit: Evergreen tree 
• Propagation: Seed, cuttings, potted plants 
• Difficulty: Easy 

Planting Tips and Tricks : 

As you don't use a lot of leaves, a potted tree will probably supply your needs