Grow Tarragon for Your Kitchen Herb Garden

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ILLUSTRATION: MOTHER EARTH NEWS STAFF

Lately, more and more people hove begun to understand just how limited — in both variety and nutritional value — our “modern” diets have become. This realization has sparked a new and widespread interest in the culinary and therapeutic uses of herbs . . . those plants which — although not well-known today — were, just one short generation ago, honored “guests” on the dinner tables and in the medicine chests of our grandparents’ homes. In this regular feature, MOTHER EARTH NEWS will examine the availability, cultivation, and benefits of our “forgotten” vegetable foods and remedies . . . and — we hope — help prevent the loss of still another bit of an cestral lore.

Vinegar and sauce béarnaise, tartar sauce and hollandaise . . . what do all these condiments have in common? Why, they can all include tarragon, of course, the crown prince of the Artemisia herbs . . . whose family includes the fragrant southernwood, wormwood, the Silver King ornamental, and our native western sagebrush.

There are two species of tarragon: the Russian, Artemisia dracunculoides (native to Asia), which is the hardier, more prolific — and less desirable — of the pair . . . and the French, Artemisia dracunculus (from southern Europe), which contains the essential oils so treasured in cooking.

Known as estragon or herbe au dragon in France — where it’s considered one of the fine (as opposed to robust) herbs and is a mainstay of that nation’s famous cuisine — tarragon lends a distinctive and delicious flavor to chicken, veal, seafood, numerous vegetables, salads, sauces, marinades, and more. The herb must be used with a light hand, however, because its flavor — something of anise, something of camphor, and something unique — is so fierce that it overpowers other tastes with ease!

In the Middle Ages the herb was thought to increase physical stamina, so many pilgrims put sprigs of it inside their shoes before setting out on a journey. And –although its use today is almost exclusively culinary — people have employed tarragon as a cure for hiccups, tooth ache, worms, indigestion, air swallowing, rheumatism, lack of appetite, irregular menses, and water retention.

  • Published on Mar 1, 1982
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