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dawnnys

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I bought a Stevia plant, which all I know about it is that the oils from it are used as a sugar substitute. Not sure what (if it) the leaves would be used for in cooking or baking. Any suggestions?

I also just bought a Helichrysum italicum, which is labeled "Curry Plant". Although it looks like rosemary, it smells JUST like curry - warm and earthy. I did a little reading on it, and it says that while it smells like curry (which is a combination of spices), it has a sharp taste. It is usually grown for its essential oils, I guess.

So, any advice on these? Thanks. Getting out there are fixing my herb garden today!

 
The curry plant is an ornamental.It will become a large globelike

grayish plant--very nice accent plant. I'm trying to remember the other name. It is also not curry leaf plant used in Asian cooking.

 
Your herbs...

Dawn, here are a couple of excerpts, regarding your 2 herbs, from Herbs & Edible Flowers by Lois Hole.


“Curry (Helichrysum italicum)
Tender perennial
Height to 60 cm; spread to 1 m.

A dense evergreen shrub with silver-grey leaves and clusters of yellow, button-like flowers.

In The Kitchen: Add sprigs of curry to rice, vegetables and deviled eggs.

Plant Notes: Don’t confuse the curry plant with curry powder, which is a blend of several spices including turmeric, cumin, mustard seed, and fenugreek, among others. The plant cannot be used to replace the powder.

Curry may be grown for its scent. The essential oil is used to enhance fruit-flavoured confections and perfumes.”


“Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana)
Tender Perennial
Height 30-60 cm.

A slender perennial herb with long, weak, semi-woody stems and purple and white flowers.

In the Kitchen: The powdered leaf may be used as a sugar substitute in drinks and baked desserts.

Plant Notes: Stevia is hundreds of times sweeter than sucrose, making it a superb low-calorie sugar substitute.

Indigenous peoples in Paraguay and Brazil have used stevia as a sweetener for centuries, and during World War Two, stevia was cultivated as a possible sugar substitute.”

 
Stevia & Curry Plant

>I bought a Stevia plant, which all I know about
>it is that the oils from it are used as a sugar
>substitute.

The entire leaf is usable, you can crush a couple leaves to put in ice tea or lemonade, to sweeten it. You can add the leaves, finely chopped, to all types of dishes (salad dressing, my mother made a lemon juice-tarragon-Stevia dressing, most baked goods, etc.) however even in small quantity it can turn everything green. That's one reason why the white granular form offered through health food stores (& at Trader Joe's) is so popular. I've posted many times previously, on Epi, if you want to search for more on Stevia (but I don't think I posted recipes). There are many recipes online for it if you Google but I found they need a lot of tweaking, and in the case of baked goods some sugar, since Stevia doesn't cause browning.

My only concern with Stevia, in your climate, is whether it will reach true maturity since it's more of an equatorial native. I have trouble getting enough consistent heat in my area (coastal, San Francisco) for Stevia to mature (though a friend in the Central Valley here has excellent results with his). If it's immature, it tastes like artificial sweetener, but mature it tastes like pure cane sugar. Keep tasting throughout the season after a hot spell and, when it tastes like pure sugar, you know it's time to harvest and dry at least some of it.

>I also just bought a Helichrysum italicum, which
>is labeled "Curry Plant".

As others have mentioned, this shouldn't be confused with true curry (the spice mixture used in curries) but it is an edible so you can chop and use small amounts in dishes. I tried it but it doesn't thrive in my growing area.

One caution, watch the designations of ornamental or culinary or medicinal, and do your research well. A friend has just learned this the hard way, and they're still sorting out whether her problems are related to an ornamental herb, there's anecdotal evidence (other cases) that it might be... long story.

 
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