A handful of rosemary, thyme, bay laurel and parsley stems, bound with butcher’s twine into a bundle small enough to drop into a simmering pot: that is a bouquet garni, an assortment of herbs every cook adjusts to the recipe. Dry the stems until their edges turn brittle and the bundle will keep for months.
A bouquet garni is an assortment of herbs and spices that every cook can customize depending on the recipe.
Whether you prefer growing the plants it is made of, or individually purchasing each spice and flavorful herb, here are the guidelines to create your own bouquet garni.
Clearly rosemary, thyme, bay laurel and parsley enter into its composition, and you can also customize your bouquet garni by growing a few additional plants like sage, savory, garlic, tarragon and stalk celery.
Here is the most common list of bouquet garni ingredients:
Making your own bouquet garni comes down to three moments: picking the leaves, drying them properly, and deciding how to keep them. Here is what each stage asks of you and how to tell it has worked.
| Stage | What to do | How you know it is right |
|---|---|---|
| Harvest | Pick the leaves just as they unfurl and open | Leaves are at their tastiest, in full development |
| Drying by hanging | Tie ten to twelve stems into bundles and hang them upside-down | The spot is dry and well ventilated |
| Drying with a dehumidifier | Wrap the plants in cheese cloth in the flow of dry exhaust air | The leaf edges have turned brittle |
| Storing ready-tied | Bind the bouquet at once and keep it in a jar or airtight box | Herbs keep for many long months, even over winter |
| Storing herb by herb | Keep each herb apart and bind them at the last minute | Each flavour stays more intense |
Whichever route you take, cooking-proof string is what holds the bundle together before and after drying.
Once the herbs have been collected, they must be dried so that they’ll keep for many long months, even over winter.
What is important is to collect the leaves at the right moment. When the leaves are just unfurling and opening is when they are the tastiest because they’re in full development.
Tie about ten or twelve stems into bundles, and hang them upside-down in a dry and well-ventilated spot.
If you’ve got a dehumidifier, wrap the plants in cheese cloth and hang it in the flow of dry exhaust air.
Plants are dry enough when their edges have become brittle.
You can prepare your bouquet garni directly and store them in a jar or airtight box.
Another option is to store each herb type separately, which will make the flavor of each more intense, and bind them at the last minute before cooking.
Whatever the composition of your bouquet garni, cooking-proof string such as butcher’s twine will be perfect to tie the leaves together before and after drying.
