Sweet and Savory Herbs

O, those fun "make in the usual fashion" shorthands.  During season 3 of the Historical Food Fortnightly, I was trying to branch out from my usual baked goods and desserts... only to run into dish after dish calling for the meat or vegetables or eggs or sauce to be seasoned with "sweet herbs" or "savory herbs", and without guidance for what these might be.

So, I started poking around at some other sources, and eventually compiled this short list of possibilities:

Sweet herbs

• Savory, thyme, basil, knotted marjoram The New London Cookery Book (1827)
• Burnet, tarragon, parsley, sage, thyme, penny-royale*, marjoram and knotted marjoram, savory, and basil... also in The New London Cookery Book (1827)
• Parlsey, thyme, and sage (optional cibols or spring onions) make 'a fagot of sweet herbs' in The Principles of Cooking (1884)
• Basil is a sweet herb as well as a savory The Epicure (1898)
• Parsley, young onions, lemon thyme, winter savory, and terragon Domestic Economy and Cookery (1827) [copied verbatim in The Book of the Household (1861)]
• Knotted marjoram, sweet basil, parsley, thyme, chives, and chervil Cassell's Household Guide (1869)
• Marjoram is defined as a sweet herb in Kersey's Dictionary (1793)
• Clary, costmary, lavender, mint, rosemary, tansy, and thyme show up as sweet herbs for cultivation An Encyclopedia of Gardening (1835)
• Sage is one of the sweet herbs Methods of Canning (1890)
• Balm and thyme are specifically called sweet herbs Gardener's Chronicle (1888)

Savoury/Savory Herbs

• Parsley, thyme, bay, celery, and carrots The Epicure (1898)
• Basil is a savory herb, as well as a sweet The Epicure (1898)
• Parsley is called one of the savory herbs Beeton's Book of Household Management (1861), also in Facts for Farmers (1866)
• Celery, and possibly fennel (Domestic Economy and Cookery /The Book of the Household then brings up sweet herbs as a group, under the savoury heading, so your mileage may vary)
• Parlsey, sweet basil, summer savory, winter savory, marjoram, marigold, bay, common whitlow, star of Bethlehem, leek, black briony, coventry bells, hyssop, purslane, primrose, fennel, dill, burnet, tansy, young hops, and golden thistle**
• Onion, sage, spinach, beets, parsley, and leeks all figure into a "savory herb pudding" in The Family Save-All (1861)
• Parsley, savory, sweet marjoram thyme, basil, and lemon peel make a savory herb powder Cassell's Household Guide (1869) and The Domestic Service Guide (1865)
• In a horticultural context Plain and Pleasant Talk About Fruits, Flowers, and Farming (1859) mentions "savory herbs, as sweet marjoram, sweet basil, thyme, sage, lavender, etc., etc."

In addition to the fun versatility of parsley and basil, there's also some nomenclature overlap. The Principles of Cooking refers to the bouquet garni as a bunch of sweet herbs (or a bunch of herbs in general); The Epicure defines it as a bunch of savory herbs. The Modern Housewife uses it as a catch-all, with the specific herbs to be named in the receipt (but when not specified, it means parsley).

Incidentally, The Modern Housewife (1851) has some good discussion of culinary herbs and how to cook with them but doesn't use the 'sweet' and 'savory' designations. A list of "Sweet and Pot Herbs" from an 1829 Seed Catalogue likewise does not distinguish by culinary category. Facts for Farmers lists common culinary herbs (anise, sweet basil, carraway, corriander, dill, fennel, sweet marjoram, summer savory, thyme, sage) without further sweet/savory designation. Domestic Economy and Cookery / The Book of the Household specify that different mixtures of "sweet herbs" could be purchased and should be used for different dishes. Cassell's states their lists/recipes are widely inclusive, and that herbs which are unavailable or undesired should be omitted.

TL;DR: Use parsley, thyme, sage, and basil for everything. And marjoram for sweet herbs.


*Don't actually cook with this one. I've read both historic and contemporary sources indicating that pennyroyal causes miscarriages. See my program on Nineteenth Century Contraceptives for more information.

**This might be the full list of plants used in different 'savory herbs' combinations from Domestic Economy and Cookery, but it's grammatically ambiguous and some of these seem to be used a vegetables.