There is no record when man first considered adding herbs to his diet.
We know it probably happened before recorded history.
We can speculate that some semi-intelligent being had tasted some of the plants growing outside his cave and then decided they were not poisonous, but tasted pretty good.
Then he added some, hesitantly, to his cooking meal and was quite pleased with the result.
In fact when man first learned to cook over a fire, probably started by lightning, he most assuredly was eating some herbs prior to that first fire as all food was typically gathered and that meant plant material, seeds, berries, roots and leaves of plants were part of his diet.
Any animal products were probably eaten raw.
Unless you are a fan of Tartar it was not a very appetizing alternative.
As man evolved through time so did his knowledge of local herbs and spices as far back as 400 years before Christ's birth.
The author of the Hippocratic oath wrote, "The are of medicine itself arose in the first place with cooks in the kitchen".
As with any edible substance mythology and superstition became associated with certain herbs.
Most connections were pure "silliness" but as man became more advanced certain herbs were found to ease specific illness or symptoms.
Most herbs found their way into our kitchens on a local basis.
That is to say they were discovered growing wild in a specific region, discovered to be safe and became an ingredient in the local meats and vegetables.
As man became more civilized, a term used loosely for some early civilizations, he set out to explore or conquer new worlds.
The Romans are chiefly responsible for introducing the Mediterranean herbs to England and Northern Europe.
As is the case with most conquering forces, when they left their culinary creations and the herbs to make them were assimilated into the local culture and cuisine.
As trade became a major consideration and activity of developing nations the use of herbs continued to expand.
That meant that choices for flavoring food became more varied and the result was an uptick in the quality of the recipes offered for consumption.
Herb use also spurred interest in exotic spices.
Spices could not be grown locally and hence became a sort of currency for the spice traders of the 17th and 18th centuries.
The herbs and now spices gave the chef greater latitude with their culinary efforts.
With the wide variety of herbs and spices available to an inventive chef it is no wonder that today we have an entire world of culinary delights available to us.
Even with these choices you will find a regionalization of culinary offerings.
Northern Italian cooking is far different from the offerings of Southern Italy.
French cooking has distinct regional offerings and is nothing like German recipes.
That has a lot to do with local food source availability, but also what herbs and spices were available to chefs of that region.
In the following articles in this series I will try to introduce you to raising your own herbs and using them to intensify the flavor of your meals.
The next article in this series is about preparing your soil to get the best results in your growing efforts.
We know it probably happened before recorded history.
We can speculate that some semi-intelligent being had tasted some of the plants growing outside his cave and then decided they were not poisonous, but tasted pretty good.
Then he added some, hesitantly, to his cooking meal and was quite pleased with the result.
In fact when man first learned to cook over a fire, probably started by lightning, he most assuredly was eating some herbs prior to that first fire as all food was typically gathered and that meant plant material, seeds, berries, roots and leaves of plants were part of his diet.
Any animal products were probably eaten raw.
Unless you are a fan of Tartar it was not a very appetizing alternative.
As man evolved through time so did his knowledge of local herbs and spices as far back as 400 years before Christ's birth.
The author of the Hippocratic oath wrote, "The are of medicine itself arose in the first place with cooks in the kitchen".
As with any edible substance mythology and superstition became associated with certain herbs.
Most connections were pure "silliness" but as man became more advanced certain herbs were found to ease specific illness or symptoms.
Most herbs found their way into our kitchens on a local basis.
That is to say they were discovered growing wild in a specific region, discovered to be safe and became an ingredient in the local meats and vegetables.
As man became more civilized, a term used loosely for some early civilizations, he set out to explore or conquer new worlds.
The Romans are chiefly responsible for introducing the Mediterranean herbs to England and Northern Europe.
As is the case with most conquering forces, when they left their culinary creations and the herbs to make them were assimilated into the local culture and cuisine.
As trade became a major consideration and activity of developing nations the use of herbs continued to expand.
That meant that choices for flavoring food became more varied and the result was an uptick in the quality of the recipes offered for consumption.
Herb use also spurred interest in exotic spices.
Spices could not be grown locally and hence became a sort of currency for the spice traders of the 17th and 18th centuries.
The herbs and now spices gave the chef greater latitude with their culinary efforts.
With the wide variety of herbs and spices available to an inventive chef it is no wonder that today we have an entire world of culinary delights available to us.
Even with these choices you will find a regionalization of culinary offerings.
Northern Italian cooking is far different from the offerings of Southern Italy.
French cooking has distinct regional offerings and is nothing like German recipes.
That has a lot to do with local food source availability, but also what herbs and spices were available to chefs of that region.
In the following articles in this series I will try to introduce you to raising your own herbs and using them to intensify the flavor of your meals.
The next article in this series is about preparing your soil to get the best results in your growing efforts.