Caught up in the fast pace of the present day we often forget age-old culinary treats that made life pleasant for our ancestors. One of the most aromatic is the inconspicuous savory, recommended by Vergil to his countrymen.
The berries contain a deep red juice, hence the name Sambucus, derived from the Greek word `sambyx', meaning red colour. Both the flowers and fruits are used in cookery. The inflorescences are cut off as soon as they open, spread out on nets to wilt, the blooms are then stripped from the stalks and rapidly dried so they do not discolour.
In Germany it is used mostly to flavour beans (hence the name Bohnenkraut) and in English and French cookery in stuffing for turkey and roast veal. It is also good with fish and pickled vegetables. The youngest terminal leaflets have the most delicate aroma and are delicious in salads. Savory is also used to flavour sausage meat.
The leaves are very aromatic and may be used both fresh and dried. They are added, together with the flowers of elderberry, to wine to give it a nutmeg-like flavour, hence the German name Muskateller-Salbei. They are also used to flavour jams and jellies. Nowadays clary is grown in Europe mainly for the extraction of the essential oil which has a lavender-like fragrance and is used in perfumery. In cookery it is used for the same purposes as common sage, but is rarely found on the kitchen shelf.
Summer savory is treated as an annual herb up to 30 cm (1 ft) high with stem that becomes woody at the base and branches like a shrub. The linear-lanceolate, short-stalked leaves are dotted on both sides with glands. The flowering period is from July until the frost; the fruits are nutlets.
It is very suitable for growing in the herb garden. Propagation is by means of seeds sown outdoors where the plants are to grow in early spring. The non-woody flowering top parts of the plant are gathered. These are tied in bunches and dried in a well-ventilated spot at a temperature not exceeding 35C (95F). They should then be stored in air-tight containers
The berries contain a deep red juice, hence the name Sambucus, derived from the Greek word `sambyx', meaning red colour. Both the flowers and fruits are used in cookery. The inflorescences are cut off as soon as they open, spread out on nets to wilt, the blooms are then stripped from the stalks and rapidly dried so they do not discolour.
In Germany it is used mostly to flavour beans (hence the name Bohnenkraut) and in English and French cookery in stuffing for turkey and roast veal. It is also good with fish and pickled vegetables. The youngest terminal leaflets have the most delicate aroma and are delicious in salads. Savory is also used to flavour sausage meat.
The leaves are very aromatic and may be used both fresh and dried. They are added, together with the flowers of elderberry, to wine to give it a nutmeg-like flavour, hence the German name Muskateller-Salbei. They are also used to flavour jams and jellies. Nowadays clary is grown in Europe mainly for the extraction of the essential oil which has a lavender-like fragrance and is used in perfumery. In cookery it is used for the same purposes as common sage, but is rarely found on the kitchen shelf.
Summer savory is treated as an annual herb up to 30 cm (1 ft) high with stem that becomes woody at the base and branches like a shrub. The linear-lanceolate, short-stalked leaves are dotted on both sides with glands. The flowering period is from July until the frost; the fruits are nutlets.
It is very suitable for growing in the herb garden. Propagation is by means of seeds sown outdoors where the plants are to grow in early spring. The non-woody flowering top parts of the plant are gathered. These are tied in bunches and dried in a well-ventilated spot at a temperature not exceeding 35C (95F). They should then be stored in air-tight containers
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment