Herb blends like fines herbes, herbes de Provence, or bouquet garni are an essential part of French cooking. Many French dishes heavily rely on a careful combination of fresh or dry herbs that render subtle, bright flavors to them.
Classic French cuisines like Oeufs Brouillés (scrambled eggs), Coq-au-Vin (a French poultry dish), Herb Vinaigrette, or Remoulade (French mayonnaise) are indebted to fines herbes for their elegant taste.
Fines herbes, it’s an herbal mixture that perfectly embodies earthy, fresh French flavors.
This article examines the best substitutes for fines herbes, and also a little about its ingredients, uses, and taste profile.
What Are Fines Herbes?
Fines herbes is a traditional French seasoning. As per records, in 1903, famed French chef Auguste Escoffier was the first to name this herb mixture in writing. Fines herbes is defined as a mixture of fresh parsley, tarragon, chives, and chervil.
Usually, fresh herbs are used in this herbal blend although dried is acceptable when fresh are not available.
You can buy fines herbes from a grocery store either as a bunch of four herbs clubbed together or as individual fresh herbs.
Store the soft herbs like chervil, parsley, and tarragon placed stem-end down in a glass of water, and placed in the refrigerator. Chives, a sturdy plant, can be stored by rolling them up in a damp paper towel and placed in an unsealed plastic bag.
Two tablespoons of fresh fines herbes are equivalent to one tablespoon of dry herbs mixture.
If these four herbs are not available in your area, use fines herbes substitute in your recipes.
What Herbs Are In Fines Herbes?
What are the ingredients in fines herbes? The canonical fines herbes of French haute cuisine comprises four herbs. This mixture is made of equal amounts of chopped fresh parsley, tarragon, chervil, and chives.
Some chefs also add additional ingredients like watercress, marjoram, and thyme as per the requirements of the recipe. If you wish to have strong herbal flavors, you are free to include robust herbs like basil, oregano, or rosemary in fines herbes.
What Does Fines Herbes Taste Like?
Fines herbes have a complex taste resulting from the distinct flavors of four herbs. However, these four herbs complement one another and create an overall freshness to the dish. While tarragon adds a licorice note, chives and parsley give a bright herbaceous flavor and texture to the dish. Chervil boosts the combined flavors for parsley and tarragon.
How Are Fines Herbes Used In Cooking?
All the herbs in fines herbes have mild flavors that do not overpower the dish. This herb mixture works exceptionally well in egg and chicken dishes, and also in salads. It adds a subtle herbaceous and earthy flavor to the dish without diminishing the flavor profile of other ingredients in the dish.
The mild aroma and taste of fines herbes vanish with prolonged cooking, thus this herb mixture is typically added at the end of cooking.
Depending on the recipe, you may also customize this seasoning by adding one or more additional herbs to it. Other herbs like watercress, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, basil, or oregano would play a good second fiddle to fines herbes.
What Is A Good Substitute For Fines Herbes?
While making a French dish, especially egg or poultry items, you might certainly require fines herbes, a traditional Provencal herb blend. You get to buy fines herbes in the French foods section of a supermarket or at a good grocery store. Usually, all four herbs are bundled together and sold. If you can’t trace out these herbs in your locality, then try one of the fines herbes substitutes listed below.
Self-Convoked Fines Herbes
The four herbs that constitute fines herbes are commonly available leafy vegetables in most places or you may already have them in your kitchen garden. What you need is tarragon, chives, chervil, and parsley in equal amounts. Always, use fresh green herbs for maximum flavor and health benefits. Besides the four core ingredients, you may customize your fines herbs by adding other herbs with mild and subtle flavors. In short, assembling your own fresh-green fines herbes is the ultimate substitute for the fines herbes bunch you buy from a grocery store.
Tarragon
Among the four herbs, the taste of tarragon is the outstanding flavor that you can distinguish in fines herbes. The overall taste of this blend of herbs is dominated by the anise and licorice flavors of tarragon. The other ingredients in fines herbes with their subtle flavor add brightness and herbaceous appearance to the dish. They are complementary subordinates to tarragon. In short, tarragon by itself can render most of the flavor features of this herb mixture.
While solely using tarragon as a substitute for fines herbes, a noticeable decrease in complex flavors rendered by all four herbs is sure to happen. But that is not going to make a big difference to the dish.
Also, tarragon is a well-utilized herbal ingredient in several French dishes, especially in egg and chicken dishes. Just like the fines herbes, chop the tarragon leaves into small bits and use them in your dishes.
Herbes de Provence
True to its name, herbes de Provence is another popular herbal blend used in French savory dishes. All the ingredients of fines herbes are found in herbes de Provence plus a few more of them. Other herbs like thyme, savory, rosemary, and marjoram are part of herbes de Provence.
Of course, herbes de Provence has more complex and strong flavors than fines herbs, and are used differently. Dried ingredients are preferred in herbes de Provence.
In an emergency, you can use herbs de Provence to sub fines herbes, suitable to be used in many dishes that call for fines herbes. Use this classic ingredient close to the start of cooking.
Fennel
The dominant flavor profile of fennel fronds is a distinctive licorice note, something very similar to tarragon. In place of tarragon, you may use fennel fronds with other herbs or alone as a substitution for fines herbes. It can also be a nice substitute for chervil used in fines herbes.
Final Thoughts
Fines herbes, a traditional French seasoning first named by chef Auguste Escoffier in 1903, comprises parsley, tarragon, chives, and chervil. When unavailable, alternatives include making your own blend with these common herbs, using tarragon alone for its dominant licorice flavor, substituting with herbes de Provence for a more complex taste, or using fennel for its similar licorice note. These substitutes maintain the essence of fines herbes in French dishes, particularly those involving eggs or poultry.
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