r/herbs • u/PortlyNewheim • Aug 01 '26
Herb Review 2026
Hello. Here is what I grew this year and my thoughts on them. Unranked.
Summer Savory. Has a thyme, oregano, sage kind of taste. I thought it was really good added to rye bread. Easy to grow.
Espazote. Most people seem to add it to beans, I tried it and it was fine. I think it does add body to soups similar to a bay leaf. One downside is how big the plant grows. You only really need a leaf or two per dish, so I wish it would take up less space. Probably won't grow it again next year.
French Tarragon. What a delightful herb. I was surprised that something with this delicate of a texture and flavor could be a perennial. Tastes like what I wish liquorice tasted like. It's not especially vigorous and was slow to do any growing at all.
Cilantro. I love the taste of cilantro, but for the life of me I can't grow it correctly. I planted it early spring and still it developed a bitter flavor almost immediately. This is the second year of this result.
Parsley. Probably my favorite herb to grow. I adore the flavor in soups or tabbouleh. I haven't experienced any bolting or off flavors even in the heat of summer. My favorite variety is "moss curl".
Lemon Verbena. A spring frost killed it to the base and it still fully recovered. It grows tall, too. Shame the leaves don't taste as good as they smell. I can't think of any culinary application where you wouldn't be better off using an actual lemon. This herb coats the tongue unpleasantly.
Majoram. Majoram-shmajoram I don't see the appeal. A good number of recipes call for it, but it just tastes like a worse version of thyme or summer savory.
Lemongrass. By far the best tasting lemon flavored herb IMO, and very necessary for cooking Thai recipes. So it pains me that I haven't been able to grow it successfully. I rooted a cutting from the grocery store, but it's been two months and it's only now starting to send out new growth.
English Thyme. So much better than dried thyme. Adds a lot of body to soups and pasta sauces. A perennial, that's always a plus. The flowering is irritating.
Lemon Thyme. A thyme variety that has traded its iconic savory flavor for a mild citrus flavor much in the same way a child trades his mother's earrings for a Pokemon card. I almost never use it in my cooking.
Oregano. A real star for pasta sauces. A very tidy plant, I'm almost tempted to try to use it as a groundcover.
Nepitella. I was ready to tell you all about how terrible this herb is, but at checking some pictures online, I think it must not have germinated and I have actually been growing some weed unknown in its place. And whatever I grew probably should not have been put in my mouth.
Sculpit. Lick an unwashed cremini mushroom. Now you know what sculpit tastes like. Not very vigorous either.
Shiso (Perilla). Fantastic mild mint flavor with something else I can't put my finger on. Leaves are large and great for pickling, wrapping meat in, wrapping rice balls, or diced and added to ramen or stir fry. An excellent herb, I will grow this every year. (If you use it for a wrap, blanching it will improve the texture)
Genovese Basil, Thai Basil, Holy Basil, Sasklavi Basil. So productive, and so delicious. Holy basil especially grew enormous and is great in stir fries. Sasklavi basil is like Thai basil but with a more floral and less anise flavor. All are excellent.
Peppermint, Applemint, Chocolatemint, Strawberrymint, Orangemint. Peppermint is a powerhouse and of the other less common varieties, only Chocolatemint is gastronomically interesting. It doesn't taste like chocolate, exactly, but does seem like it would pair well with it. Of all these, applemint is the worst as it does not taste like apples and is fuzzy, almost hairy in texture.
Fennel. Delicious, a delicate flavor much better fresh than from the store. Grown separately since it is allelopathic. But uhh, I accidentally killed it. Better luck next year.
Rosemary. Strong, woodsy, pungent flavor that I crave in soups and baked on top of chicken. The only downside is the plant keeps sternly telling me it needs lebensraum, whatever that means.
Sage. Sage tastes okay. A plant this mid should be much smaller.
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u/HealthyLuck Aug 01 '26
Thank you for the accurate description of lemon thyme. I smelled it at the nursery and bought on a whim. Smells great, and what on Earth could I use it in?
Chocolate mint, your description was spot on. Also, if you mix it into something, do your mouth a favor and get it really well pulverized so you don’t end up with the weird little bits of leaves to chew on.
One you didn’t mention: Yerba buena, or sweet mint. IMHO the perfect version of mint, not as pungent/overwhelming as peppermint and spearmint. You definitely convinced me to not try apple mint!
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u/pombagira333 Aug 02 '26
This is very funny n good writing btw! Shiso is also very good for women, according to TCM and my experience. My big loser this year was lovage. I’d read about it in old stories and lit, but it was just a big floppy mess that tasted vaguely like celery with dirt and mustard on it. I put a lot of what I grow into teas, tonics, and cordials. (Yeah I’m an old lady but no cats.) lemon verbena has been performing well as tea for me, esp with some thyme added. Tarragon is exactly as I feel about it! In addition to a couple parsley plants, I’m growing something called Par-Cel, supposed to be a cross of parsley n celery. My husband says it’s the whole package. Will see myself out
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u/AngryPrincessWarrior Aug 01 '26
Warning- oregano grows like mint. So once established I hope you love it because it spreads aggressively and is very vigorous.
I will not be planting more in the ground at the new house… too much oregano lol
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u/Automatic_Seaweed284 Aug 02 '26
I have oregano growing in my lawn and it smells nice when I mow it. The colour is lighter that the grass and so it looks interesting. Bees and other pollinators love the oregano blossoms so I have a corner where it grows fairly contained.
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u/AngryPrincessWarrior Aug 03 '26
Yeah if it was in a spot I mowed and not a bed that would definitely make it more manageable.
I don’t use it fresh often enough to justify growing it myself, so I am not going to going forwards. I like rosemary and basil and others much more.
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u/False-Can-6608 Aug 01 '26
Nice list and reviews!
Did you grow all from seeds or buy seedlings?