A bouquet garni is a time-honored technique in which a bundle of herbs, tied together usually with kitchen twine, is used to impart aromatic flavors into a variety of dishes.

What to do if you don’t have any kitchen twine:

If you find yourself without kitchen twine or suitable substitutes for making a bouquet garni, there's a simple and effective alternative: finely chopping your herbs and adding them directly to your dish. This method works wonderfully for most herbs and delivers a robust flavor profile to your meals.

Here's how to do it:

1. Finely Chop Your Herbs: Use a sharp chef’s knife to finely chop the herbs you'd plan to include in your bouquet garni. This releases the herbs' natural oils and maximizes their flavor.
2. Add Directly to Your Dish: Sprinkle the chopped herbs into your cooking pot. When you should add the herbs depends on what kind of herb is called for in the bouquet garni.
   1. For woody herbs like thyme/sage/oregano/rosemary: add these along with aromatics like garlic. Sauté for 1 to 3 minutes to allow the herby flavors to infuse throughout the dish.
   2. Bay leaves: Do NOT chop these. Add these whole to the liquid (e.g., broth, canned tomatoes, water) and simmer away. Pick them out before serving.
   3. Soft herbs like parsley or basil: add at the end of cooking to preserve their fresh flavor.

That’s it! Happy cooking 🙂