Herbs and Spices as Thickeners Some herbs and spices are used to provide the substance of a dish as well as its aromatic essence A puree of fresh herbs, as in the Italian pesto sauce made from basil, is thick because the herb’s own moisture is already bound up with various cell materials And thanks to the abundance of those cell materials — mainly cell walls and membranes — such purees also do a good job of coating oil droplets and so creating a stable, luxurious emulsion (p 628) Fresh chillis, which are fruits, produce a watery puree, but one that cooks down to a wonderful smoothness thanks to its abundant cell-wall pectins Many Mexican sauces are made from a backbone of dried chillis, which are easily rehydrated to produce the same smooth puree; and Hungarian paprikashes are thickened with powdered chillis Indian and Southeast Asian dishes often owe their thickness to a combination of dried and fresh spices Ground coriander absorbs a lot of water thanks to its thick dry husk; ginger, turmeric, and galangal are starchy root-like rhizomes, and their starch dissolves during prolonged simmering to provide a thickening tangle of long molecular chains Ground dried sassafras leaves, or filé powder, similarly thickens Louisianan gumbo And fenugreek is remarkable for its high content of a mucilaginous carbohydrate called galactomannan, which is released simply by soaking the ground seeds A Survey of Common Herbs Most of the herbs used in traditional European cooking are members of two plant groups, the mint family and the carrot family The family members resemble each other to varying degrees, so in this survey I’ve grouped them together The remaining herbs then follow in ... similarly thickens Louisianan gumbo And fenugreek is remarkable for its high content of a mucilaginous carbohydrate called galactomannan, which is released simply by soaking the ground seeds A Survey of Common Herbs Most of the herbs used in traditional European... Most of the herbs used in traditional European cooking are members of two plant groups, the mint family and the carrot family The family members resemble each other to varying degrees, so in this survey I’ve grouped them...owe their thickness to a combination of dried and fresh spices Ground coriander absorbs a lot of water thanks to its thick dry husk; ginger, turmeric, and galangal are starchy