Savor The Holiday Season With Our Five Favorite Herbs

A few herbs are synonymous with the holiday season, such as rosemary. Its bold, pine-like fragrance instantly evokes thoughts of winter holidays and family gatherings. Rosemary is fantastic for roasting meats, especially turkey, lamb, and chicken, as it infuses the dishes with a fresh, piney essence. It's also a lovely addition to bread and potatoes or steeped in mulled wine for a fragrant twist on tradition.

When applied on crops, rosemary oil helps protect against a variety of small soft-bodied pests, including mites and aphids, without compromising the safety of personnel and crops¹. This fragrant essential oil can be found in the well-loved TetraCURB™ MAX and the newly launched Romivex™ DIP.

Cloves are the quintessential holiday spice with intense, warm flavor and aromatic qualities. Often used in both sweet and savory dishes, cloves bring depth to everything from spiced cookies to ham and mulled cider. The slightly bitter, spicy heat of cloves is balanced with the sweetness of holiday drinks and desserts, making them a go-to ingredient in seasonal treats. Simmering whole cloves with oranges, apples, vanilla, cinnamon, or other fragrant herbs is also a great way to give your home a festive aroma this season.

Clove oil is included alongside rosemary oil in the formulation of TetraCURB MAX. While rosemary is a heavy-hitting ingredient against soft-bodied insects, terpenes unique to clove oil lend additional activity to TetraCURB MAX. Clove oil is known for targeting the olfactory system of insects to cause repellency and nervous system damage in pests².

Thyme is an essential herb for holiday cooking, known for its warm, earthy flavor that complements a variety of dishes. Whether you're roasting meats, simmering stews, or making stuffing, thyme adds a subtle, aromatic note. Often paired with rosemary, thyme's versatility is a holiday staple. Its earthy tones also make it a natural choice for sauces and gravies, enhancing the richness of your favorite holiday recipes.

Thyme oil is at the center of PathoCURB™, Kemin Crop Technologies' fungicide-bactericide product, as it disrupts microbial membranes upon contact³. To learn more about the power of thyme oil in PathoCURB's smart blend formulation and the use of essential oil-based products for crop protection, check out the podcast.

Garlic may not be the first herb that comes to mind when you think of the holidays, but it's a key ingredient in countless dishes cooked year-round. From savory garlic mashed potatoes to roasted garlic-infused olive oil for dipping, garlic adds depth and complexity to meals. It also pairs beautifully with other holiday herbs like rosemary and thyme. Its natural warmth and savory goodness make it an irreplaceable component of seasonal cooking, whether you're preparing a grand feast or a cozy meal by the fire.

Newer to the Kemin Crop Technologies portfolio, AlliCURB™ MAX relies on garlic oil to repel and kill larger soft-bodied insects⁴ than those targeted by TetraCURB MAX, including armyworms, diamondback moth larvae, and spotted wing drosophila. However, while the product may smell uniquely like garlic oil on application, it does not leave any flavor or odor residual on outdoor crops as soon as 24 hours after application.  

Peppermint is the ultimate symbol of the holiday season, bringing a refreshing, minty flavor to a variety of treats. From classic peppermint bark to candy canes, festive cocktails and your morning coffee, this herb is synonymous with the sweetness of the season. When used sparingly, Peppermint can also elevate savory dishes like chocolate-tinged lamb or roasted vegetables. Whether used in hot chocolate or as a topping for cookies, Peppermint's cool, refreshing taste brings a cheerful twist to the table. 

In TetraCURB MAX, peppermint oil is combined with vanillin to add a pleasant scent for the user and additional repellency towards pests, enhancing the contact-kill effects  of rosemary and thyme⁵.