Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 15.1
Herbs Usually Marketed as Leafy Fresh Produce.
Herb
Main production areas
Post-harvest treatments
Basil (
Ocimum basilicum,
O. americanum, O. gratissimum,
O. kilimandscharicum, O. sanctum
;
Labiatae)
Mediterranean
Fresh, whole, preserved in olive oil
or vinegar, dried and powdered,
puréed, freezes well
Chervil (
Anthriscus cereifolium
;
Umbelliferae)
Eurasia
Fresh
Chives (
Allium schoenoprasum
;
Liliaceae)
Temperate worldwide
Fresh, puréed, dried and chopped or
powdered
Coriander (
Coriandrum sativum
;
Umbelliferae)
Middle East, North Africa, India,
South America, Russia,
Hungary, The Netherlands
Fresh, puréed, dried and chopped or
powdered
Dill (
Anethum graveolens
;
Umbelliferae)
United States, Scandinavia, Russia,
Balkans, southern Europe
Fresh, dried, powdered, oil extract
Epazote (
Chenopodium ambrosioides
;
Chenopodiaceae)
Tropical America
Fresh
Mache or lamb's-lettuce (
Valerianella
locusta
: Valerianaceae)
Mediterranean North America
Fresh
Mint (
Mentha spicata
; Labiatae)
Mediterranean North America,
Middle East, United Kingdom
Fresh, dried and chopped, freezes
well
Mitsuba (
Cryptotaenia canadensis
;
Umbelliferae)
North America, East Asia, Australia
Fresh
Parsley (
Petroselinum crispum
;
Umbelliferae)
Mediterranean, North America,
Europe
Fresh, puréed, dried and chopped
Purslane (
Portulaca oleracea
subsp.
sativa
; Portulacaceae)
Tropics
Fresh
Rocket, arugala (
Eruca vesicaria
subsp.
sativa
; Cruciferae)
Mediterranean
Fresh
Rosemary (
Rosmarinus officinalis
;
Labiatae)
Mediterranean
Fresh, dried and chopped
Sage (
Salvia officinalis
; Labiatae)
Mediterranean, Spain
Fresh, dried and chopped
Savory (
Satureja montana
,
S. hortensis
: Labiatae)
Europe, North America
Fresh, dried
Shiso (
Perilla frutescens
: Labiatae)
Japan, South-east Asia, South
Europe
Fresh
Tarragon (
Artemisia dracunculus
;
Compositae)
Thyme (
Thymus vulgaris
; Labiatae)
Mediterranean
Fresh, dried, powdered
Source: From Cantwell and Reid (1993), Mulherin (1994) and Mabberley (1997).
species
Salvia officinalis
mixed with
S. trilobula
and
S. tomatosa
. Packs of thyme may be
Thymus vulgaris
with
quantities of
T. capitatus
and
T. serpyllum
. Among spices,
powdered turmeric, although defined botanically as
Curcuma longa
, may be mixtures of subspecies such as
Alleppy and Cuddaph. Thus it has been suggested that the
term quality is preferable to authenticity, quality being
defined as 'fit (and customary) for the purpose intended'
(Muggeridge & Clay 2001).
Although flavour is a critical factor for spices, reflected for
example in the eight grades of paprika quality (Berke & Shieh
2001), cleanliness and freedom from microbial contamination
