A bouquet garn is a bundle of fresh herbs or a packet of dried herbs used to flavor broths, sauces, stews, beans, and soups. The herbs are tied together so they are easier to pull out of the liquid at the end. Also, when making broths, a bundle isn't as likely to interfere when you are skimming off the froth and fat. If you put the herbs in the bottom of the pot and cover them with bones, or if the liquid is not being skimmed and is going to be strained, just put the herbs in loose.

Bouquet garnis are ideally made by tying up sprigs of fresh thyme with parsley stems or whole parsley (stems with leaves) bay leaves, and the greens from leeks. But you can use any herbs you like, as long as they release their flavors slowly, allowing them to meld with the other ingredients. Chervil and basil are best left out of bouquet garnis since they release their flavor very quickly. Tarragon, in general, is best added near the end of cooking, but it does lend a subtle delicacy to the chicken broth when included in the bouquet garnis.

If you have fresh thyme or thyme that has been dried on the sprigs, make the bouquet garni by just wrapping it in a short length of string or in unflavored dental floss. If you only have dried thyme leaves (don't bother with powdered thyme) use cheesecloth or leek greens to make little packs to encase the thyme. Most of us make bouquet garnis too small. A bouquet garni for a large pot of broth should be as thick as a man's wrist and a bouquet garni for a pot roast twice the thickness of a thumb.

Make a Bouquet Garni

1. For a large bouquet garni, cradle the herbs in a washed leek green.

2. Tie with kitchen string to secure the bundle.

Reprinted from "Cooking" by James Peterson,
published by Ten Speed Press. www.tenspeed.com