Organic Herbs For Cooking, Drinking And Around The Home

Food labeling can be a bit confusing.  Words like "natural" and "wholesome" are thrown around with abandon, but really have little meaning in terms of actual standards of quality being met.  However, the term "organic" does have a standardized meaning when it is used in food labeling.  This also applies to organic herbs, which are available online as dried herbs and bulk herbs.  These organic herbs can be used in cooking, as teas and as an ingredient in household and personal care products.

What Does Organic Mean?

Organic herbs have been grown following stringent guidelines in order to assure their quality.  Namely, organic herbs must be grown without the use of synthetic chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, food additives and antibiotics or genetically modified organisms.  The land upon which these bulk herbs are grown must not have had these chemicals used on it for several years prior to the production of organic food.  The farmer or company needs to keep detailed records that provide an audit trail concerning how the food crops were grown.  Organic food products have to be kept separate from non-organically grown foods to avoid cross contamination, and onsite inspections are performed by governing agencies in order to ensure that the foods being produced by the farmers or companies comply with organic standards.  The oversight agencies involved with organic food certification are the United States Department of Agriculture and the National Organic Program.  Certification is handled at the state level, by federally recognized private or non-profit agencies.  Organic herbs will have a label and symbol stating their organic status as having met these quality guidelines.

Dried Herbs For Cooking

Keeping a variety of dried herbs on hand in your kitchen comes in very handy when the mood to cook strikes.  Certain herbs and spices are connected with various cuisines from around the world.  Greek cuisine relies on dried herbs such as oregano, lemon rind, mint and spices like garlic to produce wonderful dishes such as dolmathes, or rice-and- meat-stuffed grape leaves, and for seasoning Greek-style leg of lamb.  Italian dishes from different regions gain their zest from dried herbs including basil, thyme, bay leaf and spices such as ground black pepper.

Herbs as Tea

There are many black teas that are founded in herbs such as Camellia sinensis, the leaves of which form the basis for traditional black tea.  Green tea, chai tea and herbal teas all make wonderful drinks morning, noon or night that are naturally low calorie and many offer spiciness and sweetness as part of their charm.

You can find many organic herbs from online retailers, who can answer questions and provide you with these quality products.