Herbs

[Sef]

Grocery had fresh basil in stock yesterday, so I picked up a bunch to see if the guys might like it. After looking up the nutritional values of basil and some other common herbs, I was surprised by the high calcium content (interestingly, cilantro and parsley are the lowest):

per 100 gram serving
Cilantro - 67g
Parsley - 138g
Basil - 177g
Dill - 208g
Mint - 243g
Rosemary - 317g
Thyme - 405g

Couldn't find values for either sage or oregano.

I occasionally buy mint or dill as a treat. Good thing they're so expensive!

[sabrina]

That's interesting. My guys go bonkers if they smell dill in the house. They loved getting basil from the garden too. I'm so glad these are rare treats here.

I wish I could find conclusive info on calcium content of dehydrated herbs and veggies.

[Sef]

Yeah, calcium in dehydrated herbs/veggies seems to be highly concentrated and off the charts, from what little I've seen.

Speaking of calcium...never had any luck tracking down the calcium content of corn husks.

[brendab]

well, husks don't bother Sierra...and she pees sludge when she gets too much calcium...

[vanillapooh1979]

www.baobabfruitco.com/Pdf/2008/CalciumAnalysisofSelectedWesternAfricanFood-BaobabLeaves.pdf

[Sef]

Interesting abstract. I hadn't seen that before. Looks like they're measuring based on dry weight, which is going to skew the nutritional values, but at least it's a ballpark.

[vanillapooh1979]

It was the only thing I could find. LOL

[Sef]

I know; there doesn't seem to be anything out there on the subject. I've been in touch with the USDA, the American Corn Growers Association and two universities (UC Davis' and Purdue University's agricultural departments) -- nothing. Purdue offered to do an analysis of corn husks for me, but they never got back to me with the cost involved.

I don't *think* husks are all that high in calcium, but I'd still be interested in seeing some data.