Culinary herbs are aromatic, edible plants used in small quantities to add flavour dishes – and knowledge of them will help make you a more adventurous cook! This culinary herb course is ideal for gardeners, herb farmers, cooks, chefs or anyone interested in extending their culinary skills.
Certificate of Culinary Herbs is an online course that will show you how to grow, harvest and use herbs to enhance your culinary pursuits!
In this culinary herb course, you will discover how to identify and grow edible herbs, drying methods to preserve flavour, methods for improving soil, water management, propagation, dealing with pests, disease and environmental problems, and establishing herb plants.
You will learn about harvesting roots, leaves, seeds and fruits of herbs and hints for using herbs in cooking, including meals, herbal teas, vinegars, oils, butters, cheeses, salts, sugars and honey.
On completion of this course, you will feel confident to grow, harvest and use herbs to develop your cooking skills and explore more adventurous dishes.
Course Structure
Unit - Culinary Herbs
Unit 1 – Introduction to Culinary Herbs
- Scope and nature of culinary herbs
- Herbs and horticulture
- Accurately naming herbs
- Plant divisions
- Plant families
- Pronunciation of plant names
- Groups of plants
- Other common groupings include:
- Herbaceous plant
- Plant resources
- Plant review worksheets
- Naming the plant
- Describing the plant
- Illustrating the plant
- Example of a plant identification worksheet
Unit 2 – Culture
- Correct growing conditions
- Soils and soil texture
- Ph requirements
- Ph and herbs
- Improving texture
- Improving structure
- Improving fertility
- Potting mixes
- Plant nutrition
- The nutrient elements
- The micronutrients
- Nutrient availability and ph
- Deficiencies and toxicities
- Fertilizers
- More is not better!
- Improving soils
- Water and plant growth – why is water important to plants?
- Symptoms of water deficiency
- Symptoms of water excess
- Improving water retention
- Water repellence
- Mulching
- Plant health
- Diagnosis of some plant disorders
- Some methods for controlling certain insect pests
- Some plant diseases and their control methods
- Viruses
- Environmental problems
- Air pollution
- Water management for herbs
- Diagnosing plant health problems
- Pests, disease and environmental problems
- Planting, staking, and establishing herb plants, etc.
- Air pollution
- Burnt foliage
- Avoiding frost
- Drainage problems
- Avoiding wet
- Hail, wind, shade and temperature
- Cultivation requirements of some culinary herbs
- Planting herbs
- Basic planting procedure
- Time of planting
- Bare rooted plants
- The no dig method of growing
- Weed management
- Weeds can also be useful
- Preventative measures
- Weed control methods
Unit 3 – Propagate Herbs and Create a Kitchen Garden
- Propagation of herbs
- Seed propagation
- Hygiene
- Pre-germination treatments
- Moist chilling
- How to sow seeds in containers
- Pricking out or tubing seedlings
- Germination
- Propagating media
- Propagating mixes
- Cutting propagation (asexual)
- Factors affecting the strike rate of cuttings
- Taking cuttings
- Softwood cuttings and semi hardwood cuttings
- Hardwood cuttings: evergreen and deciduous
- Potting-up cuttings
- Hardening off young plants
- Hardening off methods
- Division/separation
- Layering – when to layer
- Potting mixes
- Potting up plants
- Propagation equipment and materials
- Greenhouses and hotbeds
- Cold-frames and shade-houses
- Mist systems and fluorescent light boxes
- Containers
- Simple structures for propagating plants
- Rejuvenating perennial herbs
- Designing a culinary herb garden
- Herb garden design methods
- Guidelines for planning a fragrant herb garden
- When designing your garden think about herbs and their water requirements
- Consider companion planting when designing your herb garden
- Some companion planting associations
Unit 4 – Cooking with Herbs
- General guidelines for using herbs in cooking
- Harvesting herbs (seeds roots and leaves)
- Handling after harvest
- Drying herbs
- Harvesting hints
- Drying herbs
- Harvesting hints for selected herbs
- Some hints when cooking with common herbs
- When to add herbs into your cooking
- Choosing and using herbs for garnish
- Growing garnishes and using garnishes
- Herbal teas
- Serving the tea the correct way
- Some common herbal teas
- Herb vinegars
- Herb oils
- Herb butters
- Herb cheeses
- Herb salt
- Herb scented sugar
- Herb honey
- Herb confectionary
- Herb biscuits
- Herb mustards
- Herb recipes
- Herbs with fruit
- More recipies
Unit 5 – Most Commonly Grown Varieties
- List of Common Culinary herbs
- Allium (Liliaceae)
- Herb Varieties in the Allium tribe
- Growing Garlic (Allium sativum)
- Aloysia triphylla (Lemon Verbena) (Verbenaceae)
- Angelica archangelica (Angelica) (Apiaceae)
- Anethum graveolens (Dill) (Apiaceae)
- Apium graveolens (Wild Celery) (Apiaceae)
- Anthriscus cerefolium (Chervil) (Apiaceae)
- Armoracia rusticana (Horseradish) syn. Cochlearia armoracia (Brassicaceae)
- Artemisia dracunculus (French Tarragon) (Asteraceae)
- Borago officinalis (Borage) (Boraginaceae)
- Poterium sangisorba or Sanguisorba minor (Salad Burnet) (Rosaceae)
- Carum carvi (Caraway) (Apiaceae) A biennial to 80 cm, fine leaves similar to a carrot, white flowers.
- Chamomile Species (Asteraceae or Compositae)
- Cichorium intybus (Chicory) (Asteraceae or Compositae)
- Coriandrum sativum (Coriander) (Apiaceae)
- Cymbopogon citrata(Poaceae) Lemon Grass
- Foeniculum dulce(Florence Fennel) (Apiaceae)
- Foeniculum vulgare (Common Fennel)
- Foeniculum vulgarePurpureum’ (Bronze Fennel)
- Helichrysum angustifolium(Curry Plant) (Asteraceae or Compositae)
- Laurus nobilis (Bay Tree) (Lauraceae)
- Pelargonium graveolens (Rose Geranium) (Geraniaceae)
- Petroselinum crispum (Parsley) (Apiaceae or Umbelliferae)
- Pimpinella anisum (Anise) (Apiaceae)
- Sanguisorba minor (Salad Burnet)
- Taraxacum officinale (Dandelion) (Asteraceae or Compositae)
- Quick reference herb chart
Unit 6 – Other Important Culinary Herbs
- Lamiaceae (mint family) herbs
- Lemon Scented Herbs
- Recipes
- Hyssop
- Commercial Mint Production
- Lemon Balm Hints
- Origanum Species
- Hints for Rosemary
- Salvia officinalis (sage)
- Sage Species
- Thymus Species
- Using Thyme
- Lavandula spp.(lavender)
- Lavandula Species
- Lavender to eat
Unit 7 – The Lesser Grown Varieties
- Some less commonly grown culinary herbs
- Recipes
- Other less commonly grown herb type plants
- Agastache
- Agrimony
- Visnaga
- Apium
- Arctium lappa
- Bundium
- Capparis; and many more
- Using australian native plants as flavourings
Unit 8 – A PBL Project on a selected genus of culinary herbs
Study Hours
Estimated duration 50 hours
Course Delivery and Start
Start anytime, self-paced and 100% online
Assessment
Assessment will be comprised of written exercises, including short-answer questions, reflective tasks, short reports and/or projects. There are no examinations or due dates for assessment. As a result, you can complete training in your own time and at your own pace with the assistance of unlimited tutor support.
Testimonials
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Graduation
A Certificate of Attainment and Statement of Results will be issued upon successful completion of this course.
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I am an international student. Can I enrol into this course?
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Career Pathways
Future growth
Strong
Unemployment
Low
Professional Development for:
- Cooks
- Chefs
- Caterers
- Gardeners
- Herb farmers
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