Culinary Herb Identification

Basil (Ocimum basilicum)

• This culinary herb is easy to spot with its fat leaves and soft stems. Basil leaves have a spade shape and can grow to be quite large. They are glossy and dark green in color. Basil leaves can be chopped up or rolled and sliced to make culinary herb chiffonades. Opal basil is distinguished from other basil varieties by its the purple coloring if its leaves.

Bay Leaf (Laurus nobilis)

• This culinary herb is an evergreen shrub that can grow into a decorative tree. Bay leaves can be short and fat or long and narrow. What sets bay leaves apart from other culinary herbs is that they often are sold dried and whole rather than dried and chopped or crushed. The leaves of the fresh bay plant are stiff and sturdy. Both the fresh and dried bay leaves are a favorite for cooks because they are easy to put in and take out of soups and stocks for flavoring.

Sage (Salvia officinalis)

• This culinary herb is easy to identify with its thick, soft and slightly fuzzy leaves. The sage herb plant is often found dried and "rubbed" due to its leaf properties. Fresh sage can be found in hues of green, purple and pink, making it a great choice for color in cooking.

Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)

• Thyme is an herb with very small leaves on a rigid stem. The herb is identified by looking at the stalks and stems. The leaves will be tiny and all upturned. Thyme is generally used whole, with the leaves still on the stem or the leaves pulled off the stem.

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)

• This herb is identified by its tall stems and many leaves. The leaves are hardy, and the sprigs are often used whole in grilling. The leaves of the rosemary plant are a darker color on the topside and a silvery color on the underside.

Parsley (Petroselinum crispum)

• Parsley is a soft leaf herb that is mainly used fresh. It is one of the most commonly used and easily recognizable herbs used in culinary applications. Curly leaf parsley is found with each leaf ending with a ruffled or curly pattern at the edges. The other type of parsley is flat-leaf parsley, or Italian parsley. Flat-leaf parsley is identified by the way the leaves lay flat rather than being ruffled at the edges.

Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum)

• Cilantro is identified for being a smaller and slightly more delicate looking flat-leaf parsley, although its flavor is very different. Cilantro goes by the name Chinese parsley, coriander and fresh coriander. This herb has long stems, The leaves are interspersed more widely than other herbs, leaving it with fewer usable leaves than parsley, for example. It is light to dark green in color, and each leaf has three points.