Recipe Requested Herbes de Provence- Lavender or no?

[Bert2368]

Looking at the "Bear Á La Bourguignon" project, I have no ready made herbes des Provence. I do have a majority of the ingredients listed (most of them fresh as well as dried, I have been successfuly protecting my herb garden from frost so far this fall).

However, I have no savory or lavender flowers. Neither does the local grocery store, they have never heard of them. I do not recall seeing lavender in the two restaurants I worked at which occasionally made Boeuf Á La Bourguignon.

I see controversy about lavender belonging? Some people who have lived in Provence scoff at it, some (non French?) folks think it belongs.

I grew lavender in my herb gardens a couple of times back in the 90's because Badger in "The Wind in the Willows" kept it in his linen closet to Mole's approval... And I dried some for my own, but never tried to use it in cooking. I question whether the herb I grew would have been a good thing, I recall mine had a medicinal/soap aisle kind of odor.

I am soliciting recipes for the herb mix from people who have compounded herbes des Provence and more input on the lavender question.

 

[user 29468]

There is no lavender at all in this mix.

Romarin, origan, sarriette, thym, basilic et aussi serpolet, marjolaine, cerfeuil, estragon, livèche, sauge, laurier sauce, fenouil is,the grand mix.
but usually it’s just « 26 % de sarriette, 26% origan, 26% de romarin, 19% de thym, et 3% de basilic. »

i don‘t use herbes de Provence for my bourguignon but a bouquet garni (Thym et laurier sauce, and you can add persil, sarriette, sauge, romarin, coriandre, origan)

 

[Bert2368]

There is no lavender at all in this mix.

Romarin, origan, sarriette, thym, basilic et aussi serpolet, marjolaine, cerfeuil, estragon, livèche, sauge, laurier sauce, fenouil is,the grand mix.
but usually it’s just « 26 % de sarriette, 26% origan, 26% de romarin, 19% de thym, et 3% de basilic. »

i don‘t use herbes de Provence for my bourguignon but a bouquet garni (Thym et laurier sauce, and you can add persil, sarriette, sauge, romarin, coriandre, origan)

Thanks!

Now to spend quality time with Google translate on a few nouns I didn't encounter in 3 years of highschool French. I learned useful phrases like "drinking luke warm mutton fat" instead of a decent culinary herbarium, our Mr. St.Clair was apparently a crap French teacher- Bastard!

 

[Bert2368]

There is no lavender at all in this mix.

Romarin, origan, sarriette, thym, basilic et aussi serpolet, marjolaine, cerfeuil, estragon, livèche, sauge, laurier sauce, fenouil is,the grand mix.
but usually it’s just « 26 % de sarriette, 26% origan, 26% de romarin, 19% de thym, et 3% de basilic. »

i don‘t use herbes de Provence for my bourguignon but a bouquet garni (Thym et laurier sauce, and you can add persil, sarriette, sauge, romarin, coriandre, origan)

% for bouquet garni are by weight of fresh herbs?

(Quote)
26% savory, 26% oregano, 26% rosemary, 19% thyme, and 3% basil

For the first bill of materials, both thyme and WILD thyme? The thyme plant I have on hand was sold as "German thyme". Lovage & "Bay leafed sauce", both are new to me.

(Quote)
Rosemary, oregano, savory, thyme, basil and also wild thyme, marjoram, chervil, tarragon, lovage, sage, bay leaf sauce, fennel

 

[user 29468]

to be honest I only put one branch of each... but no lavender

 

[spaceconvoy]

There's no such thing as an authentic "herbs de provence" recipe because it was invented in the 70s to sell to tourists. It's not really a culinary ingredient, more like a souvenir that people misguidedly use in cooking.

Lavender does not belong in food, that's just gross.

For beef bourguignon, use a bouquet garni with whatever seems good. Fresh thyme and bay leaf for sure, but beyond that is personal choice. It's a recipe with strong competing flavors, and I doubt you'll notice whether you used 18% or 19% of thyme in your mix. Any recipe calling for that level of precision (outside of baking) shouldn't be taken seriously.

 

[Bert2368]

Oui. Bien sur! Je suis un fou.

 

[Bert2368]

I have several fresh herb plant growing still:

Italian flat leaf parsley, german sage, rosemary, german thyme, both Greek and Mexican oregano, chives, Italian basil.

I've got fresh bay laurel leaves and a few sprigs of freh marjoram.

I obtained a small jar of dried summer savory too, for what that's worth. Thawed out 3 lb. of bear, Saturday, I'm going to give "Bear Á La Bourguignon" a shot.

 

[Bert2368]

Made the dish last night, I and others liked the results.

Used a bit of cheesecloth and some cotton bakers twine to contain the herbs as I used a couple of dried varieties along with sprigs of fresh herbs. Didn't weigh anything, guessed as to proportions and makeup.

-----------

3 large sprigs of German thyme

2 sprigs of Greek oregano, one mainly flowers, one of leaves.

1 sprig marjoram

1 sprig Italian basil

1 sprig Italian flat parsley, plus more chopped fresh parsley as garnish before serving and in the parsley buttered potatoes on the side.

A couple of large leaves of German sage

1 small sprig of rosemary

About 1 teaspoon each of dried Summer savory and French tarragon.

A couple of dried bay leaves

Also used a fair ammount of the kampot ripe black pepper, freshly ground and a big pinch of the urfa biber red pepper powder.

-----------

Next time, I'll try this without the tarragon. It wasn't BAD, just the smell came through a bit more strongly than the other aromatics. I might prefer the thyme, rosemary and oregano be a little more out front.

 

[Logan]

% for bouquet garni are by weight of fresh herbs?

(Quote)
26% savory, 26% oregano, 26% rosemary, 19% thyme, and 3% basil

For the first bill of materials, both thyme and WILD thyme? The thyme plant I have on hand was sold as "German thyme". Lovage & "Bay leafed sauce", both are new to me.

(Quote)
Rosemary, oregano, savory, thyme, basil and also wild thyme, marjoram, chervil, tarragon, lovage, sage, bay leaf sauce, fennel

There's no such thing as an authentic "herbs de provence" recipe because it was invented in the 70s to sell to tourists. It's not really a culinary ingredient, more like a souvenir that people misguidedly use in cooking.

Lavender does not belong in food, that's just gross.

For beef bourguignon, use a bouquet garni with whatever seems good. Fresh thyme and bay leaf for sure, but beyond that is personal choice. It's a recipe with strong competing flavors, and I doubt you'll notice whether you used 18% or 19% of thyme in your mix. Any recipe calling for that level of precision (outside of baking) shouldn't be taken seriously.

I'm just now looking into the subject of Herbs de Provence and am quite disappointed that it is not a high class classic perfectly thought out blend. Any suggestion for a blend as a change from typical Italian seasoning that you think would not be misquided spaceconvoy?

 

[Jovidah]

As non-traditional it may be, over here (Netherlands) it's a fairly common 'standard' dried herb blend you can find in any supermarket... although the composition might vary a bit. But it's one of those generic kind of names that can cover a lot of different recipes like 'curry' or 'ras el hanout'. Never saw anything lavender related in any of those blends though. In a sports-club where we used it a good amount on our breakfast eggs we used to call it herpes.

 

[MarcelNL]

Lavender is a no no for me in cooking, yet some swear by it. In the town we live in there is a very high end chocolatier who can't do wrong (because his flavor combinations are stellar) with me except for one combo using Lavender....I instantly start thinking of having a bath.

 

[BillHanna]

A small candy shop I go to used to do a lavender fudge. I tried very hard to like it. No success.

 

[ian]

I’m a fan, depending on the application. Ice cream or beet-goat cheese-lavender, or even a bit in a vinaigrette on a green salad.

 

[Bert2368]

Is the lavender is tasty/lavender is like snorting scented soap divide possibly a genetic thing, like the cilantro is tasty & great/cilantro is soapy, bitter and awful gene?