We spend a good bit of time in the kitchen, planning meals and testing out new recipes to share, while I spend evenings trying to please the taste buds of my picky eater. I’ve found that kitchen twine has a number of uses, including trussing or tying meat when cooking or when you want to keep a stuffing firmly placed inside of something. Use it to tie fresh herbs in a bouquet garni or bouquet garnish (see recipe below) or wrap bacon on the outside of your roast or bird. I also use my twine for tying up birthday presents and pony tails—and stuffed animals at my house are often doctored with bits of twine.  You might also try making our Knotted Necklace with this twine. It is thinner than our Cotton Jersey Pulls but made in the same way.

Twine, especially for use in the kitchen, shouldn’t be made from synthetic materials (they can melt or chemicals can seep into your food), and we’ve found this organic, non-toxic option works perfectly.

Once the dish is finished cooking, the twine can be cut with a knife or kitchen shears before serving. We always keep a separate pair of scissors in the kitchen for this, for vegetable and pastry trimming, and plenty of other tasks; you don’t want to use paper scissors in the kitchen, or vice versa.

These J.A. Henckels stainless steel shears have become my favorite kitchen scissor. Made with the same quality and forged steel Henckels knives are famous for, they also have a screw cap opener to help with tight jars and bottle caps.

TRADITIONAL BOUQUET GARNI

You can really use any combination of available herbs for your garni, but traditional bundles call for parsley sprigs, thyme sprigs, celery leaves and bay leaves all bundled and tied together so they don’t come apart during the cooking process.