Useful Tips for Herbs and Garlic

• Bay leaves are used in many dishes. They must be discarded after cooking as their
• Flavor is bitter if eaten. If you tie a piece of kitchen string to the stem of bay leaves,
• It is easier to find them when the dish is cooked.
• The seeds and ribs are the parts of fresh chillies that contain the most heat. An easy
• Way to cut them is to remove the cape and use your paring knife to cut off the flesh,
• Leaving the seeds and ribs attached as a core. Discard the core, then chop the flesh.
• Select fresh ginger that is plump and firm. The skin should be tan and shiny, not
• Wrinkled or shriveled.
• It is easiest to chop ginger with a sharp paring knife. Peel the ginger and slice it
• against the grain into then slices. Place a stack of slices together and cut into thin shreds.
• Then turn your cutting board and dice the shreds.
• If you rub your hands with a few parsley sprigs after handling onion, it will take away much
• of the lingering smell.
• An easy way to peel garlic is to separate the cloves from the head and him them with the
• back of a small skillet or the flat side of a meat pounder. The skins will slip right off the garlic
• Cloves.
• If you are preparing a dish with fresh parsley, rinse the remaining parsley sprigs, discard the
• Stems, and pat dry with Bounty paper towels. Wrap small amounts of plastic wrap and freeze
• Them for future use. You can “chop” frozen parsley with the blunt side of a knife and use it for
• Cooked dishes. Use fresh sprigs as a garnish.
• Fresh herbs should be washed before storing in the refrigerator. Dry well and make a “bouquet”
• Cut off the ends of the stems, place in a glass of water, and store in the refrigerator. For extra
• Shelf life, cover the herb bouquet loosely with a plastic bag.
• Always start with the minimum amount of red pepper in a recipe. You can add more if you want it spicier, but you cannot make it less spicy once red pepper flakes have been added.