Victor wrote:

> The dried "herbes de Provence" mixture is a fairly modern marketing
> gimmick and a fairly successful one, particularly among the clueless
> tourists and such. For the true Provençal cooks who care about what they
> are doing, it is always an individual mix which depends on the dish and
> ingredients being prepared

So it's like curry? :-)

Bob

"Victor Sack" > schrieb im Newsbeitrag
.. .
> Michael Kuettner > wrote:
>
>> "Wim van Bemmel" schrieb :
>> >
>> > Who will better know than the French?
>> > <http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbes_de_Provence>
>> >
>> > I will translate for you: "The traditional Herbes de Provençe consists
>> > of
>> > just Origan, Thyme, Romarin and Sarriette ".
>> >
>> > Some commercial mixes contain Lavande or Lavandin as well, amongst
>> > others,
>> > so beware, if you think, like me, that lavender is ment for parfumerie.
>> >
>> Wim, you might be wrong.
>> Dumont's encycolopaedia of spices also claims that lavender is part of
>> the
>> traditional
>> Herbes de Provence.
>> I trust Dumont more than I trust wikipedia.
>
> I wouldn't trust any of those sources.

Well, cross-checking with
http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/index.html
also states lavender as an ingredient.
Dumont is rather good.

> The dried "herbes de Provence"
> mixture is a fairly modern marketing gimmick and a fairly successful
> one, particularly among the clueless tourists and such. For the true
> Provençal cooks who care about what they are doing, it is always an
> individual mix which depends on the dish and ingredients being prepared
> and, as often as not, consists of fresh, not dried, herbs which are
> bundled into a kind of bouquet garni. When only dried herbs are
> available, it is still an individual mix or individual herbs. People
> unwise enough to use commercial "herbes de Provence" mixtures will
> quickly discover that everything prepared with them tends to taste the
> same.
>
Yes, agree fully.
However :
(a) The mixture seems to be based on what herbs were (are) used by the cooks
of
the Provence
(b) Dumont just describes the typical spice-mixture in a chapter about,
well, available
spice-mixtures.

The real question would be : Is lavendar an integral or optional part of the
Provencal
bouquet garni (from which the commercial spice mix is derived) ?


> If you want a source, here is a good one:
> <http://wapedia.mobi/en/Herbes_de_provence>, quoting from Francis Laget,
> "From its Birthplace in Egypt to Marseilles, an Ancient Trade: 'Drugs
> and Spices'."
>
Thanks for the link. Looks good !

Cheers,

Michael Kuettner

Bob Terwilliger > wrote:

> Victor wrote:
>
> > The dried "herbes de Provence" mixture is a fairly modern marketing
> > gimmick and a fairly successful one, particularly among the clueless
> > tourists and such. For the true Provençal cooks who care about what they
> > are doing, it is always an individual mix which depends on the dish and
> > ingredients being prepared
>
> So it's like curry? :-)

It's like chili, I tell you!

Victor

Michael Kuettner > wrote:

> The real question would be : Is lavendar an integral or optional part of the
> Provencal
> bouquet garni (from which the commercial spice mix is derived) ?

It does not at all look like there is any kind of standard Provençal
bouquet garni. There are just typical Provençal herbs which may be used
together in different combinations. If you look at Provençal recipes in
established cookbooks, you do not find much standardisation at all.
Lavender, as such, appears to be fairly rarely mentioned.

Victor

On Mon, 2 Feb 2009 16:49:09 +0100, "Michael Kuettner"
> wrote:

>Well, cross-checking with
>http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/index.html
>also states lavender as an ingredient.
>Dumont is rather good.

I've always understood that lavender was an ingredient, but my reading
about herbs de Provence also says that the exact ingredients are
"cooks choice".



--
I never worry about diets. The only carrots that
interest me are the number of carats in a diamond.

Mae West

On Mon, 2 Feb 2009 23:56:48 +0100, (Victor Sack)
wrote:

>It's like chili, I tell you!

HEH! I think you're right.


--
I never worry about diets. The only carrots that
interest me are the number of carats in a diamond.

Mae West

On Mon, 02 Feb 2009 21:33:17 -0800, sf wrote:

> On Mon, 2 Feb 2009 16:49:09 +0100, "Michael Kuettner"
> > wrote:
>
>>Well, cross-checking with
>>http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/index.html also states lavender as
>>an ingredient. Dumont is rather good.
>
> I've always understood that lavender was an ingredient, but my reading
> about herbs de Provence also says that the exact ingredients are "cooks
> choice".

Here an url to the cooperation of lavender producers in France:
http://www.france-lavande.com/herbes.htm

DEFINITION DU PRODUIT :

Le mélange Herbes de Provence certifié est un mélange de thym, romarin,
sarriette, origan et basilic séchés et mélangés dans les proportions
suivantes : 19 % de thym, 26 % de romarin, 26 % de sarriette, 26 %
d'origan et 3 % de basilic.

So, even the producers of lavender do not specify it in their quality
Label Rouge.

--
Groet, salut, Wim.

On Mon, 2 Feb 2009 23:56:48 +0100, Victor Sack wrote:

> Bob Terwilliger > wrote:
>
>> Victor wrote:
>>
>>> The dried "herbes de Provence" mixture is a fairly modern marketing
>>> gimmick and a fairly successful one, particularly among the clueless
>>> tourists and such. For the true Provençal cooks who care about what they
>>> are doing, it is always an individual mix which depends on the dish and
>>> ingredients being prepared
>>
>> So it's like curry? :-)
>
> It's like chili, I tell you!
>
> Victor

exactamundo!

your pal,
blake

FERRANTE wrote:
>
> I have just a small number of spices in my kitchen. I don't know a lot
> about spices except for the very basic ones such as garlic salt
> (powder), oregano, red pepper flakes, stuff like that.
>
> While watching the latest episode of The Biggest Loser, I saw two guys
> making a delicious looking boneless chicken breast and they made up a
> spice mixture to rub into it. The breast sure looked good and the
> contestant was very pleased with the end results.
>
> Without getting a lot of fancy spices one may only use once in a
> while, what would you suggest that every kitchen should have to make
> up our own spice rack? Can anyone recommend a good collection
> contained on a rotating holder which they had on the show?
>
> Thanks in advance for your help,
> Mark

I'm a bit late here, and the list of what should be in your spice
cabinet would take several pages.

Here are two suggestions for use on baked / grilled chicken breast that
should get you going, both are mixtures, not single spices:

- Adobo - An all purpose seasoning blend, many brands and a few
versions, I typically use the Goya brand regular.

- Old Bay Garlic & Herb - A newer variant of the Old Bay seasoning brand
and particularly good on chicken.

On Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:42:49 -0600, Pete C. wrote:

> FERRANTE wrote:
>>
>> I have just a small number of spices in my kitchen. I don't know a lot
>> about spices except for the very basic ones such as garlic salt
>> (powder), oregano, red pepper flakes, stuff like that.
>>
>> While watching the latest episode of The Biggest Loser, I saw two guys
>> making a delicious looking boneless chicken breast and they made up a
>> spice mixture to rub into it. The breast sure looked good and the
>> contestant was very pleased with the end results.
>>
>> Without getting a lot of fancy spices one may only use once in a
>> while, what would you suggest that every kitchen should have to make
>> up our own spice rack? Can anyone recommend a good collection
>> contained on a rotating holder which they had on the show?
>>
>> Thanks in advance for your help,
>> Mark
>
> I'm a bit late here, and the list of what should be in your spice
> cabinet would take several pages.
>
> Here are two suggestions for use on baked / grilled chicken breast that
> should get you going, both are mixtures, not single spices:
>
> - Adobo - An all purpose seasoning blend, many brands and a few
> versions, I typically use the Goya brand regular.
>

the adobo has the virtue of being cheap. (it does list salt as the first
ingredient, though.) it's good to have around.

your pal,
blake