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An herb, which is actually an evergreen plant native to the Mediterranean region but cultivated throughout Europe and America. This herb has narrow, leathery, smooth-edged leaves that are green on top and whitish gray on the under side, resembling the apperance of pine needles. Rosemary is very aromatic, providing a flavor that tastes somewhat like lemon and pine. This herb is used in many foods, such as salads, soups, vegetables, lamb, pork, poultry, fish, eggs, and vegetables such as cauliflower, green beans, mushrooms, peas, and spinach. Breads and stuffings are also commonly enhanced with Rosemary. In addition to foods, Rosemary is added to cosmetics to provide an aroma or scent.
Rosemary is available fresh or dried, and ground, chopped or whole. To retain the most flavor when drying, dry the whole sprig and not only the leaves. To release the flavor of dried Rosemary, crush in the palm of your hand. When cooking with Rosemary, use caution in quantity and the amount of time it is cooked. If Rosemary is cooked too long the flavor can become bitter and taste too much like medicine. Therefore, it may be best to add a whole sprig of Rosemary rather than a few chopped leaves to cooked meats, fish and poultry during only the last few minutes of cooking to impart the fresh pine flavor that Rosemary contains.
To store, wrap fresh Rosemary in a paper towel, place in a plastic bag and keep in the refrigerator. Keep dried Rosemary in a cool dry place, away from direct light. To chop fresh Rosemary, strip the leaves from the stems, discard the stems and gather leaves into a tight, dense bunch. Using a sharp knife, cut across the gathered bunch to chop coarsely. To mince coarsely chopped leaves, use a sharp knife blade and with a rocking motion, cut back and forth across the leaves until they have been cut to the desired fineness.
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