Writing an article about herbs and spices is no easy feat. There are so many from all over the world used for cooking, medicinal purposes and cosmetics. As it is impossible to cover everything, in this article I will mainly try and look at those used in cooking, which is my particular field.

We all know that different parts of the plant can be utilised: leaves, seeds, roots and bark, can be cooked or used fresh or dried. Many of these plants have medical applications, such as tonics, digestive uses and as diuretics. The applications for cooking from these plants are, for flavouring, smell – as well as the fact that they are good for one’s system.

They add that other dimension to dishes and make the ordinary into the extraordinary. There are plants that will only grow in the tropics such as cinnamon, pepper and vanilla. But herbs need a temperate climate and grow well in Greece and now in Australia having been introduced by the Asians and the southern Europeans (although there are many herbs indigenous to Australia that we are learning more and more about).

In Greece, most herbs grow wild. A prime example is thyme. Also, wild oregano, and yes there is a difference – Greek rigani is more pungent and the flower is what should picked to dry and use. Australia has its own native herbs and we Europeans are beginning to learn how to utilise them in our daily life. However, the Asian and European varieties are more commonly cultivated for our use.

I must always mention the dandelion (ραδίκια) that we boil and eat as a salad, but make sure you don’t throw out the water you have cooked it in – that is where all the vitamins have ended up! Squeeze some lemon in cup of the green juice for one of the biggest vitamin intakes you will have. In Greece, herbs have been used for thousands of years especially in medicine.

The foundation of modern medicine is to be found in the knowledge of the ancient Greeks. Doctors made scientific observations and surgery was performed using the application of herbs. There were even specialists including gynaecologists who focussed on childbirth and diseases of women: all done with herbs. As an example, this excerpt from The Odyssey about drugs: “Presently she cast a drug into the wine whereof they drank, a drug to lull all pain and anger, and bring forgetfulness of every sorrow.

Who so should drink a draught thereof, when it is mingled in the bowl, on that day he would let no tear fall down his cheeks, not though his mother and his father died, not though men slew his brother or dear son with the sword before his face, and his own eyes beheld it. Medicines of such virtue and so helpful had the daughter of Zeus, which Polydamna, the wife of Thon, had given her, a woman of Egypt… ” Today, herbs are still used for healing in Greece and Greeks will tell you to drink this or that if you have an ailment.

I know when I have eaten too much or had a tummy ache and camomile with ginger (πιπερόριζα) tea has been my saving grace. So is sage tea (φασκόμηλο) and mint, fennel seeds made into tea will do the same thing. Another culture that practises age-old traditions to this day is the Chinese. We have all heard of the benefits of Chinese medicine. I will put out a word or warning here.

From personal experience, make sure that your belly can tolerate this. Mine can’t. It was too strong and it gave my very bad colic, so I stick to the much milder Greek herbal remedies. Next time you’re in Greece search out herbal medicines. There are health food shops, or better still – ask an elder in a village. Here is a list of the herbs and spices most commonly used in the Greek household: