Culinary herbs
Culinary herbs are the leaves or leafy twigs of aromatic plants that are used to add flavour to a dish. Included here are also leaf bases that form bulbs, in the case of garlic and onion. Herbs that are commonly used or sold as dry products (spice herbs) are marked with an asterisk (*). The aroma compounds of herbs are typically volatile, so that much of the flavour may be lost when herbs are dried. A good supply of fresh herbs is therefore just as important as other fresh ingredients for making an excellent dish.
List of culinary herbs
absinth (Artemisia absinthium)*
Aleppo rue (Ruta chalepensis)
alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum)
allspice leaves (Pimenta dioica)*
angelica (Angelica archangelica)*
anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)
apple mint (Mentha suaveolens)
baldmoney (Meum athamanticum)
basil, sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum)*
bay leaf, Indian, tejpat (Cinnamomum tamala)
bay, bay leaf, sweet bay (Laurus nobilis)*
beefsteak plant (Perilla frutescens)
bergamot, bee balm (Monarda didyma)
black lovage – see alexanders
black thyme – see spiked thyme
boldo (Peumus boldus)
Bolivian coriander (Porophyllum ruderale)
Bowles’s mint (Mentha villosa var. alopecuroides)
calamint (Calamintha nepeta)
catnip (Nepeta cataria)
chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium)*
Chinese chive – see garlic chive
Chinese onion (Allium chinense)
Chinese parsley – see cilantro
chop suey greens (Chrysanthemum coronarium)
cicely – see sweet cicely
clary sage (Salvia sclarea)
coriander leaf – see cilantro
corn mint – see field mint
Corsican mint (Mentha requinii)
cress, garden cress (Lepidium sativum)
Cretan dittany (Origanum dictamnus)
crown daisy – see chop suey greens
culantro, long coriander, eryngo (Eryngium foetidum)
curry leaf (Murraya koenigii)*
curry plant (Helichrysum italicum)
dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
dill, dill weed (Anethum graveolens)*
dittany – see Cretan dittany
eau de cologne mint (Mentha ×piperita var. citrata)
epazote (Chenopodium ambrosioides)
eryngo, culantro, long coriander (Eryngium foetidum)
estragon, tarragon, French tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus)*
Ethiopian thyme (Thymus schimperi)
fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum)*
field mint (Mentha arvensis)*
fishwort, fish mint (Houttuynia cordata)
French tarragon, estragon (Artemisia dracunculus)*
garden cress, cress (Lepidium sativum)
garden nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus)*
garlic chive (Allium tuberosum)
ginger mint, Scottish mint (Mentha gracilis)
Greek oregano (Origanum vulgare subsp. hirtum)*
herb bennet, wood avens (Geum urbanum)
hoary basil, perennial basil (Ocimum americanum)
holy basil, tulsi (Ocimum tenuifolium)
horse mint (Mentha longifolia)
hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis)*
Indian bay leaf, tejpat (Cinnamomum tamala)
Indian borage (Plectranthus amboinicus)
Indian cress (Tropaeolum majus)
Indonesian bay leaf, salam leaf (Syzygium polyanthum)*
Italian parsley (Petroselinum crispum var. neapolitanum)
Japanese bunching onion (Allium fistulosum)
Korean mint (Agastache rugosa)
laksa leaf (Persicaria odorata)
laurel – see bay, bay leaf
lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
lemon balm (Melissa officinalis)*
lemon myrtle (Backhousia citriodora)
lemon thyme (Thymus ×citriodora)
lemon verbena (Aloysia triphylla)*
lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus)*
lovage (Levisticum officinale)*
melinjo (Gnetum gnemon)
Mexican pepperleaf (Piper auritum)
pandan, pandan leaf (Pandanus amaryllifolius)*
papeda – see lime leaf
parsley (Petroselinum crispum)*
pimento leaves (Pimenta dioica)*
pineapple mint (Mentha suaveolens ‘Variegata’)
pineapple sage (Salvia elegans)
pot marjoram (Ocimum onites)
rice paddy herb (Limnophila aromatica)
rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)*
round-leaf mint (Mentha ×rotundifolia)
Russian tarragon – see tarragon
salad burnet (Sanguisorba minor)
salam leaf, Indonesian bay leaf (Syzygium polyanthum)*
sansho leaf (Zanthoxylum piperitum)*
savory – see summer / winter savory
Scottish mint, ginger mint (Mentha gracilis)
shallot (Allium cepa var. ascalonicum)
skirret (Sium sisarum)
sorrel, French sorrel (Rumex scutatus)
sorrel, garden sorrel (Rumex acetosa)
sorrel, red-veined sorrel (Rumex sanguineus)
sorrel, sheep sorrel (Rumex acetosella)
spiked thyme, black thyme (Thymbra spicata)
spilanthes, pará cress (Spilanthes acmella)
sugar-leaf, stevia (Stevia rebaudiana)
summer savory (Satureja hortensis)
sweet balm (Melissa officinalis)*
sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum)*
sweet bay – see bay, bay leaf
sweet cicely (Myrrhis odorata)
tansy (Tanacetum vulgare)*
tarragon, French tarragon, estragon (Artemisia dracunculus)*
tarragon, Russian tarragon (Artemisia dracunculoides)
Thai basil – see basil
tulsi (Ocimum tenuifolium)
Vietnamese balm, kinh gioi (Elsholtzia ciliata)
Vietnamese coriander (Persicaria odorata)
Vietnamese mint, rau ram (Persicaria odorata)
water mint (Mentha aquatica)
Welsh onion (Allium fistulosum)
wild rocket (Diplotaxus tenuifolia)
wild thyme (Thymus serpyllum)
winter savory (Satureja montana)
wood avens, herb bennet (Geum urbanum)
woodruff (Galium odoratum)
wormwood – see absinth
za’atar, zatar (Origanum syriacum)*