French herbs: how to grow your own and use them correctly

With the arrival of spring, my thoughts turn to growing herbs. If you want herbs which add an authentic French flavour to your food, you need look no further than the two iconic

combinations: “fines herbes” and “herbes de Provence”. Fines herbes are a blend first promoted by the French chef, restaurateur and writer Auguste Escoffier. Initially, they were a mixture

of finely chopped parsley, chives, tarragon and chervil. In the 1930s Larrousse Gastronomique, the culinary reference book, added salad burnet to the combination. The evolution of herbes de

Provence is a much more complicated story. Originally, these herbs were not a fixed mixture and the term referred to any herbs gathered wild from the hillsides of southern France.  The dry,

rocky terrain favoured herbs which were heavy in flavoursome essential oils, which are produced by a plant to help protect it from drought.  People would gather sprigs of perennial herbs

such as thyme, rosemary, oregano and even lavender, along with tough annuals such as chervil, and either use them fresh or dry them to capture their flavours for year-round use.  In the

mid-20th Century, as travel to the south of France became more accessible, herbes de Provence started to be marketed commercially and I can remember my mother bringing home those iconic

little pots of them to update her recipes.  Read more: Pimp your potage – making the most of French supermarket soups ESCOFFIER'S RECIPE At the same time, the major herb and spice

companies began marketing their own versions of both fines herbes and herbes de Provence.  Some companies strayed from both Escoffier’s original recipe for fines Herbes and the plants

traditionally found in herbes de Provence.  Furthermore, the products people bought – and still buy today – in jars from their supermarket could come from all over the world.  Recent

research found that only around 10% of herbes de Provence sold in France were believed to be of French origin, with the balance coming from eastern Europe, northern Africa and even China. 

In recent years, a group of farmers in Provence decided to protect the provenance of their famous herb blend and market it professionally.  Les Aromates de Provence was created as a result.

This co-operative comprises around 14 members who each farm, on average, around eight hectares.  Its production unit and centre of quality control is in Trets (Bouches-du-Rhône) but farmers

are spread across the PACA departments. The herbs they farm are cultivated and processed traditionally. Les Aromates de Provence specialises in growing thyme, oregano, rosemary, winter

savory, marjoram and basil, all of which they consider to be the authentic ingredients of traditional herbes de Provence.  Read more: Recipe – Impress in record time with this quick Coq au

Vin LABEL ROUGE STATUS Their aim is to protect local producers, the land upon which they work and French traditions. Coveted Label Rouge status was awarded in 2003.  This guarantees that the

herbs are organic, from Provence and that the concentration of essential oils is never less than 2%. Like me, you may not live in Provence, but you can still grow all of the herbs found in

both fines herbes and herbes de Provence.  Parsley (persil), chervil (cerfeuil) and basil (basilique) can be sown now from seed, although I tend to buy my basil as small plants in our local

market in May.  You can also sow your perennial herbs from seed, but for a quicker start, buy young plants from a herb specialist or local markets.  The herb plants to look out for are thyme

(thym), rosemary (romarin), French tarragon (estragon), oregano (origan), marjoram (marjolaine) and both winter and summer savory (sariette).  Add chives (cibolette), which are actually

small bulbs from the allium family, and you have the ingredients of your very own fines herbes and herbes de Provence combinations.  Use them fresh as soon as you can and, once you have

bounteous quantities, freeze or dry some for the winter months. Nothing improves food more than the addition of freshly gathered and finely chopped herbs from your own garden, and a little

herb bed or a collection in pots adds enormously to the pleasures of life in France.