The A-Z of herbs

The strength of garlic is relative to how much you assault it. Leave a clove whole and in its skin and very little of the characteristic garlic strength will escape. Roasted like this, the flesh becomes soft and mellow and is wonderful squeezed out and added to sauces. Peel the skin away and you will start to get more garlic smell and flavour. Add a peeled clove to oil and vinegar salad dressings to impart a subtle garlic flavour. Slice it, penetrating deep into the flesh and you release its classic, pungent scent. Chopping and crushing releases the fullest flavour.

Ginger
Like garlic, ginger is also not a herb but worth mentioning in this context. In its fresh form, it's a root from a tropical plant. The skin is peeled to reveal a pale flesh with a fresh, spicy fragrance. Chopped, sliced or grated, it is used extensively in Thai, Chinese and Indian cooking. Also available as a spice.

Herbes de Provence
A mixture of dried herbs from the South of France. It can include any grouping of herbs native to that area; for example, savory, thyme, rosemary, marjoram, oregano, basil, bay, sage, hyssop and lavender. Used fresh in summer months, it's usually sold dried and used to flavour soups and stews, and is good rubbed into chicken or fish before grilling.

HyssopA strong flavoured herb whose leaves can be eaten in salads, sprinkled on meat and fish or used in soups, stews and fruit dishes. Bees love it, and it makes for wonderful honey.

Kaffir lime leaves
Grown in Southeast Asia, these highly aromatic leaves are distinctively Thai - no green curry would be complete without their unique, citrus flavour. They can be used fresh or dried.

Lavender
An aromatic herb with blue-grey spiky leaves and pale to dark purple flowers, depending on the variety. Usually used for its perfume scent but can also be used in cooking, both sweet and savoury.

Lemon balm
A lemon scented plant whose leaves can be used in salads, sauces, herb butters and fresh salsas. Also consider sprinkling it over chicken or fish, and using it to infuse custards and ice-creams.

Lemon verbena
Another lemon-scented plant, this one native to South America, whose leaves go well with just about anything that benefits from the lemon fruit, both sweet and savoury.

Lemon Grass
Native to India and Asia, this herb has long, tough leaves that wrap around a bulbous base. The citrus aroma is contained in oil sacs around the base, so it's worth bashing the base of the stem with the handle of knife to release the oils. Once the tough outer leaves have been peeled away, the softer core can be chopped or sliced and added to soups and stir-fries or used to infuse sugar syrups.

Lovage
A tall plant with a strong celery-like flavour, good for flavouring stocks and soups. The leaves are occasionally available in supermarkets.