What are Fines Herbes?
Fines herbes, or fine herbs, are a staple of French cuisine. This classic mixture of French herbs is traditionally used fresh in a wide range of dishes, although it is also available dried. The exact composition of a fines herbes blend varies, depending on the type of dish being cooked, although it usually includes parsley and chives. Ideally, fines herbes should be made fresh with herbs grown in the garden or purchased at market, but for cooks who cannot do this, dried blends are often available in the store. A common fines herbes blend includes tarragon and chervil in addition to parsley and chives. Other herbs such as coriander, lovage, thyme, marjoram, basil, cress, and dill may be used as well. The herbs are minced very fine, so that they will be almost invisible in the final dish. Fines herbes are also typically added at the very end of the cooking process, as they will lose potency as they are heated.
