HERB LORE

Herbs are ancient plants, and their history goes back at least 5,000 years. Every human culture has used them to flavor foods as well as for cosmetics, liniments, deodorizers, salves, perfumes, dyes, love potions, embalming fluids, disinfectants, and medicines.

Many Greek and Roman sacred rituals incorporated herbs thought to be beloved by their gods. Romans made crowns from bay laurel, used rosemary for temple incense and draped sacred animals in fragrant herbs for sacrifice. In Greek mythology, Minthe was a nymph whom Pluto transformed into the herb because of his wife's jealousy.

The Romans valued herbs so highly that they took seeds of some 200 kinds-including fennel, sage, parsley, rosemary, thyme, and borage-with them to cultivate when exploring new lands.

On the practical side, Romans spread aromatic strewing herbs, such as tansy, mint and thyme, on their floors to mask household odors and to repel pests. Lavender got its name-derived from the Latin lavare, to bathe-because it was frequently used in Roman baths.

The Bible suggests that cumin and anise seeds were used as currency. Chervil, purported to have blood-and skin-cleansing qualities, was eaten in quantity during Lent. Hyssop was thought to purify the body of disease and soul of sin. Bitter herbs-probably tansy at one time and parsley today-are eaten during the Jewish Passover holiday still.

The Chinese thought that cilantro could make a person immortal and developed several recipes with this in mind. In the Arabian tales, The Thousand and One Nights, cilantro is said to arouse passion.

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