The Essence of Herbs

About the Book

"The Essence of Herbs" is designed to provide today's busy professional, including parent and homemaker, with the basic information that he or she needs to select, grow and use culinary herbs in a mere 42 pages and very few words. It is an accessible, easy to use guide to the thirteen most common and most usable culinary herbs; basil, chervil, chives, cilantro, dill, marjoram, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, tarragon and thyme. It presents only the essential information in easily digestible snippets.

After some very useful introductory information on growing and using herbs in a general sense, and on their compatibility with food and with each other, each herb is explored on two facing pages. These two pages include the particular herb as a background illustration to aid the reader in recognizing the herbs in their shopping expeditions. The page on the left contains descriptive information on the origin and history of the herb, along with a descriptiuon of its flavor and aroma profile and suggestions on food compatibility and synergism with other herbs. The page on the right contains two or three basic recipes designed to showcase the particular herb.

This is a book designed for accessibility and ease of use to meet the needs of the dedicated home cook who doesn't have the time, or inclination to pour through the many excellent reference books on herbs that are available.

About the Author

The author is an engineer/scientist by training, with a Doctorate from Stanford University. He is retired from a 35 year career in research and development and engineering management. His previous publications have been in esoteric scientific journals such as "The Journal of Applied Physics" and "The Philisophical Magazine".

Dr. Gulden’s interest in food began early with exposure to the fresh produce avaialble at the “Pike Street Market” in his home town of Seattle. It was further honed by access to the many fine restaurants of San Francisco and to the prime wine districts of Northern California. This has been further augmented by a two year period of living and traveling in Europe and by subsequent extensive personal and professional travel in many parts of the world.

The author has continued his interests in food and wine as an avid amateur cook with a particular interest in “country food” of any ethnic origin (things like risotto, coq au vin, cassoulet, gravlax, ropa vieja, chimichurri, English pub food and American Bar and Grill food) and the use of fresh ingredients, particularly herbs.

This book is the result of the author’s extended quest for the “essence of herbs”.