Herbs: The Spice of Life
An herb is a plant or plant part used for its scent, flavor, or therapeutic properties. Herbs can be used to enhance the taste of food and as a source of phytochemicals for health benefits. Herbs, spices, botanicals, and medicinals are a special part of California agriculture.
Activity
How do herbs affect the smell and taste of food? Compare culinary herbs from your family’s kitchen. Select an herb and record its name, how it smells, and what dishes it could be used in.
Herb/Spice
What does it smell like?
What do you use it in?
Standards: ELA – Grade 3: Reading 2.7; Written and Oral English Language Conventions (WOLC) 1.2; Grade 4: Reading 2.7. Science – Grade 3: Investigation & Experimentation 5a; Grade 4: Investigation & Experimentation 6a; Grade 5: Investigative & Experimentation 6b, 6c, 6g
Herbs can either be used fresh cut, straight from the garden or farm, or dried. A general guideline when using fresh herbs in a recipe is to use three times as much as you would use of a dried herb.
Activity
A recipe you’re using calls for the following dried herbs. Convert the ingredients from tablespoons to cups to represent the amount of fresh herbs needed. One cup equals 16 tablespoons. Express your answer using cup equivalents.
4 tablespoons dried oregano = ____ cup fresh oregano
1 1/3 tablespoons dried thyme = ____ cup fresh thyme
8 tablespoons dried basil = ____ cups fresh basil
Standards: Mathematics – Grade 3: Number Sense 3.1, Algebra and Functions 1.1, 1.2, 1.4; Grade 4: Number Sense 1.5, Algebra and Functions 1.4; Grade 5: Number Sense 2.3; Grade 6: Algebra and Functions 2.1; Grade 7: Measurement and Geometry 1.1
Did You Know?
Both the leaves (cilantro) and seeds (coriander) are from the Coriandrum sativum plant.
Bonus Activity
Find your favorite recipe in a cookbook from the library or on the Internet (www.californiabountiful.com/recipes). Do the ingredients include herbs? How do you imagine it would taste without the herbs? Try making a new dish each week for a month to find new flavors that you like.