Side of Xanthan Gum with That?

Posted by Jacqueline Church Aug 23, 2008

Okay, so convenience is there. No one has to touch garlic or wash sand out of parsley if they don't care to, but isn't that what cooking is about? I made swordfish using Rick Moonen's Fish Without a Doubt recipe (p. 166) and it calls for garlic, red pepper flakes, thyme.

I could not have brought myself to squeeze garlic from a tube rather than mash it in the mortar and pestle. I took fresh garlic, mashed it anchovies, and thyme forming a nice paste. To this, red pepper flakes and oil were added, and the swordfish was marinated in the paste. Strong, fresh flavors.

No preservatives, no sugars, no starches, no emulsifiers. I was making the emulsion with the mortar and pestle. The anchovy provided umami, salt. The herbs added great flavor, and the swordfish was delicious.

Here's a technique for drying fresh herbs from Michael Vyskocil.

Here's another method for keeping herbs: make a compound butter, roll it in waxed paper and place in the freezer.

Newer ovens on the higher end (such as Bosch) have extremely low settings such for dehydrating herbs and proofing bread. Last year's end-of -summer garden herbs, dehydrated that way were spectacular!

Read about Gourmet Garden herbs here in my product review. Does convenience rule over all else?