thumb|Bouquet garni of thyme, bay leaves, and sage, tied with a string
thumb|A bouquet garni in cranberry sauce
The bouquet garni (French for "garnished bouquet"; ) is a bundle of herbs usually tied with string and mainly used to prepare soup, stock, casseroles and various stews. The bouquet is cooked with the other ingredients and removed prior to consumption.
There is no standard recipe for bouquet garni, but most French recipes include thyme, bay leaf and parsley. Traditionally, the aromatics are bound within leek leaves, though a cheesecloth, which similarly adds aromatic flavor to a soup, stock, casserole or stew. It acts as a tea bag, infusing flavor into a liquid. The bag may be tied or untied; in the case of the latter, the liquid is strained afterwards. Like a bouquet, sachets may undergo no, small, or significant variations, from the small additions of a garlic clove or carrot, to the dramatic additions of spices and flavors of ginger, cardamon or cinnamon.
- Bouillabaisse
- Brown Windsor soup
- Carbonnade flamande
- Cassoulet
- Coq au vin
- Court-bouillon
- French onion soup
- Lapin chasseur (huntsman's rabbit)
- Ossobuco
- Pot-au-feu
- Poule au pot
- Tripes à la mode de Caen
References
Bibliography
- The New Larousse Gastronomique, Crown Publishers, Inc., NY, NY , p. 141