Called the "royal herb" by ancient Greeks, this annual is a member of the mint family. Fresh basil has a pungent flavour that some describe as a cross between licorice and cloves. It's a key herb in Mediterranean cooking, essential to the delicious Italian pesto. Most varieties of basil have green leaves, but one "opal basil" is a beautiful purple color. Lemon basil and cinnamon basil have green leaves but their perfume fragrance and flavour matches their respective names.

Basil is a summer herb but can be grown successfully inside during the winter in a sunny window. It's plentiful during summer months and available year-round. Choose evenly colored leaves with no sign of wilting. Refrigerate basil, wrapped in barely damp paper towels and then in a plastic bag, for up to 4 days. Or store a bunch of basil, stems down, in a glass of water with a plastic bag over the leaves. Refrigerate in this manner for up to a week, changing the water every 2 days.

To preserve fresh basil, wash and dry the leaves and place layers of leaves, then coarse salt, in a container that can be tightly sealed. Alternatively, finely chop the cleaned basil and combine it with a small amount of olive oil. Freeze in tiny portions to flavour sauces, salad dressings.

Related to the onion and leek, this fragrant herb has slender, vivid green, hollow stems. Chives have a mild onion flavour and are available fresh year-round. Look for those with a uniform green color and no signs of wilting or browning. Store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator up to a week. Fresh chives can be snipped with scissors to the desired length. They're delicious in many cooked dishes but should be added toward the end of the cooking time to retain their flavour. Both chives and their edible lavender flowers are a tasty and colorful addition to salads. Chives are a good source of vitamin A and also contain a fair amount of potassium and calcium.

From a plant native to southern Asia, this fragrant herb looks like a small, shiny lemon leaf and has a pungent curry fragrance. Its flavour is essential in a substantial percentage of East Indian fare. Choose those that are bright green, with no sign of yellowing or wilting. They can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 2 weeks.

The kaffir lime tree produces small, pear-shaped citrus fruit with a skin that's bright yellow-green, bumpy and wrinkled. The glossy, dark green kaffir lime leaves, which are used in cooking, have a unique double shape and look like two leaves that are joined end to end.

Long a symbol of hospitality, Greek mythology claims that mint was once the nymph Mentha. She angered Pluto's wife Persephone, who turned her into this aromatic herb. There are over 30 species of mint, the two most popular and widely available being peppermint and spearmint. Peppermint is the more pungent of the two. It has bright green leaves, purple-tinged stems and a peppery flavor. Spearmint leaves are gray-green or true green and have a milder flavour and fragrance.

It's most plentiful during summer months but many markets carry it year-round. Choose leaves that are evenly colored with no sign of wilting. Store a bunch of mint, stems down, in a glass of water with a plastic bag over the leaves. Refrigerate in this manner for up to a week, changing the water every 2 days. Mint is used in both sweet and savory dishes and in drinks such as the famous mint julep.

In ancient times parsley wreaths were used to ward off drunkenness — though proof of their efficacy in that capacity is scarce. Today, this slightly peppery, fresh-flavored herb is more commonly used as a flavoring and garnish. Though there are more than 30 varieties of this herb, the most popular are curly-leaf parsley and the more strongly flavored continental or flat-leaf parsley. Fresh curly leaf parsley and continental parsley is widely available year-round.

Parsley is sold in bunches and should be chosen for its bright-green leaves that show no sign of wilting. Wash fresh parsley, shaking off excess moisture, and wrap first in paper towels, then in a plastic bag. Refrigerate for up to a week. Dried parsley is available in the spice section of most supermarkets but bears little resemblance to the flavour of fresh. Parsley is an excellent source of vitamins A and C.

This native Mediterranean herb has been enjoyed for centuries for both its culinary and medicinal uses. The name comes from a derivative of the Latin salvus, meaning "safe," a reference to the herb's believed healing powers. The narrow, oval, gray-green leaves of this pungent herb are slightly bitter and have a musty mint taste and aroma. Small bunches of fresh sage are available year-round in many supermarkets.

Choose sage by its fresh color and aroma. Refrigerate wrapped in a paper towel and sealed in a plastic bag for up to 4 days. Dried sage comes whole, rubbed (crumbled) and ground. It should be stored in a cool, dark place for no more than 6 months. Sage is commonly used in dishes containing pork, cheese and beans, and in poultry and game stuffing's. Sausage makers also frequently use it to flavour their products.

There are several varieties of this mint-family member, a perennial herb native to southern Europe and the Mediterranean. Garden thyme, the most often used variety, is a bush with gray-green leaves giving off a pungent minty, light-lemon aroma. Other varieties include the narrow-leafed French thyme and broad-leafed English thyme.

The most well-known other variety of wild thyme - a thick ground cover - is lemon thyme , an herb with a more pronounced lemon aroma than garden thyme. Whatever the variety, thyme is widely used in cooking to add flavour to vegetables, meat, poultry and fish dishes, soups and cream sauces. It's a basic herb of French cuisine and integral to bouguet garni. Fresh As with all herbs, thyme should be stored in a cool, dark place for no more than 6 months.