Where to Buy Fresh Herbs
Farmer's Markets, Wildcrafting and Community Supported Agriculture
When seasoning your culinary creations use fresh herbs whenever possible. Having a supply of fresh herbs available to you can be accommplished in a variety of ways.
Obtaining Fresh Herbs
Delicate tasting herbs, such as basil, chervil and parsley, should only be used fresh as they loose most of their flavor and aromatic qualities when dried. The produce section of most grocery stores carry a wide variety of fresh herbs on a year-round basis. You may also want to check your local farmer’s market to see if any of the vendors offer fresh herbs for sale. The majority of farmer’s markets are only open one-day per week. However, The Farmer’s Market in Ashville, North Carolina is under permanent cover and is open 7-days a week on a year round basis. Check the schedule of the farmer’s markets in your area to find out when they are open.
Community Supported Agriculture
You can also check to see if Community Supported Agriculture is offered in your area. CSA’s are run by small local farms who deliver fresh produce direct to their subscribers doorstep. If you live close to the farm you can arrange to pickup the produce in person which will save you a few dollars in delivery charges. You may subscribe to as few as one weeks worth of deliveries or sign up for the entire growing season. Your CSA will deliver a box of fresh produce, reflecting whatever is being harvested on the farm that week, including vegetables, edible flowers and herbs.
Growing Your Own Herbs
You can plant a garden and grow your own herbs that you have started from seeds or you can buy plants from a nursery or garden center. If you purchase established plants, either transplant them to your outdoor garden, or transplant them to larger containers in order to establish your own indoor herb garden. Growing herbs indoors in containers is also a way to ensure that you have a supply of fresh herbs available throughout the winter. Container grown plants can be brought outdoors when the weather warms up if desired.
Wild-Crafting Herbs
Another way to collect fresh herbs is to harvest them in their natural habitat. This type of plant collecting is sometimes referred to as wild-crafting. Plants such as dandelion, lamb’s quarters and purslane can often be found growing in the wild in uncultivated fields.
Use common sense when collecting herbs in the wild. Make sure you have the permission of the land owner where you are collecting your herbs and make certain that the plants have not been sprayed with any harmful chemicals or pesticides. You will also want to choose a location that is away from the contamination of car and vehicle exhaust fumes as might be found around empty lots near major roads and highways.
Proper Identification
You will also want to make sure you know the exact identification of the material you are collecting, consult a good field guide on wild plants to make sure of your identification. Many of the more popular herbs such as ginseng, golden seal, trillium and echinacea have been over harvested in recent years. Never harvest any of these endangered species from the wild.
Resources
For further information on cooking with herbs see the article Herb Infused Cooking; Culinary Recipes Featuring Fresh Herbs.
For information on how to replace one herb with another see the article Common Herbal Substitutes.
