A bouquet garni is a bundle of herbs tied together to flavour stocks, soups, stews, and sauces, then removed before serving. The French name means “garnished bouquet,” reflecting its role as a contained packet of aromatics rather than an ingredient usually eaten in the finished dish.
A classic bouquet garni commonly combines thyme, bay leaf, and parsley. Recipes may also add rosemary, basil, tarragon, chervil, savory, peppercorns, leek, celery, or other aromatic vegetables. The bundle can be tied with kitchen string, wrapped in leek leaves, or placed in cheesecloth.
The technique makes it easy to extract flavour without leaving loose leaves or woody stems in a stock. It is especially associated with French cooking and appears in dishes such as bouillabaisse, coq au vin, cassoulet, and boeuf bourguignon.
A bouquet garni is related to a sachet d’épices, but the terms are not identical: a sachet more often encloses spices and herbs in a small bag. Mirepoix is a chopped mixture of aromatic vegetables, while fines herbes are delicate chopped herbs added for fresh flavour rather than bundled for removal.