Vitality Herb Blend

This is a green, leafy herb blend built around rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil and parsley, with a little garlic and a quiet edge of black pepper. The smell out of the jar is piney and grassy at once. On the tongue it leans savory and slightly bitter, with the resinous rosemary and thyme arriving first and the basil rounding things off. Nothing here is hot. It seasons without taking over the plate. It carries no added salt, so you set the seasoning yourself.

Use it where you would reach for dried herbs and then some. Rub it into chicken thighs with olive oil before roasting. Toss it with potato wedges, carrots or cauliflower before they go in the oven. Stir a spoonful into a pot of white bean soup partway through simmering so the leaves soften. It also works cold: whisk it into vinaigrette, fold it through softened butter for bread or steak, or mix it into ricotta for a pasta filling. A teaspoon seasons four servings of vegetables or a pound of ground meat. For soups and braises, start with two teaspoons and taste after twenty minutes, since the rosemary keeps building.

Keep the jar closed, away from the stove and out of direct light. A cabinet shelf is better than a rack above the range. Heat and steam flatten the basil and parsley first, and the blend will smell dusty rather than green once that happens. Spoon from a dry spoon, never over a steaming pot.

• Roast chicken, pork loin and lamb shoulder
• Sheet-pan potatoes, squash, onions and mushrooms
• Tomato sauce, minestrone and bean soups
• Vinaigrettes, compound butter and marinades
• Focaccia dough, savory scones and garlic bread

The 1.1 oz jar is for a cook trying the blend on a few dinners before committing the shelf space. The 9 oz jar covers regular weeknight roasting and soup-making for most of a year. The 35 oz jar suits batch cooking, large households, bread baking or anyone refilling smaller shakers on a schedule.