Sweet woodruff has whorled, rough-edged leaves, which give it its generic name Asperula - meaning rough. It has a pleasant fragrance, due to the presence of coumarin, when dried (hence the specific name odorata, meaning fragrant). It is a perennial herb with a creeping rhizome and tiny white flowers. Its range of distribution includes practically the whole of Europe, where it often forms dense undergrowth in deciduous woodlands.
Mugwort is used as seasoning for roast meat, especially pork and mutton, as well as roast goose and duck. It is sprinkled on the meat before cooking, but sparingly. In Spain it is used to flavour onion and vegetable soups as well as fish and fish soups. It is also good in salads. Mugwort is easily grown from the seeds (achenes) even in poor soil. As a rule, however, this is unnecessary for it may be found growing wild on waste ground and by the wayside.
If it is to be used as seasoning then the tips of the young shoots must be harvested before the small flower-heads open. The reason for this is that the amount of bitter principles rapidly increases during flowering, thus making the plant unsuitable for use as a culinary herb. The shoots are best dried tied into bunches and hung up in a well-ventilated place. The dried herb retains its pleasant aroma for a long time if stored in air-tight containers.
Wormwood is indigenous to the temperate regions of Europe and Asia. Often it becomes naturalized and may be found on unfilled land, waysides, waste ground and rocky slopes. It is a woody perennial herb up to 130 cm (4 ft 6 in) high with leafy stems terminated by loose panicles of yellow flowers (I). The pinnate leaves are felted silvery-grey.
Nowadays it is a relatively rare shrub in the wild because it is a host plant of one stage of the life cycle of grain rust (Puccinia graminis) and thus not welcomed by farmers in the vicinity of grain fields, where it is systematically eradicated. This will doubtless soon lead to the disappearance of its sour, pleasantly astringent berries, which are used, the same as rowanberries, to flavour compotes and tarts, as well as piquant sauces for game and roast beef.
Nowadays it is used to make tarragon Vinegar (a'fresh sprig of tarragon put in a bottle of white or wine vinegar), tarragon mustard and pickled gherkins. It is widely used in Chinese and French dishes, especially with poultry, rice and poached fish, and in Barnaise and Tartare sauces.
Mugwort is used as seasoning for roast meat, especially pork and mutton, as well as roast goose and duck. It is sprinkled on the meat before cooking, but sparingly. In Spain it is used to flavour onion and vegetable soups as well as fish and fish soups. It is also good in salads. Mugwort is easily grown from the seeds (achenes) even in poor soil. As a rule, however, this is unnecessary for it may be found growing wild on waste ground and by the wayside.
If it is to be used as seasoning then the tips of the young shoots must be harvested before the small flower-heads open. The reason for this is that the amount of bitter principles rapidly increases during flowering, thus making the plant unsuitable for use as a culinary herb. The shoots are best dried tied into bunches and hung up in a well-ventilated place. The dried herb retains its pleasant aroma for a long time if stored in air-tight containers.
Wormwood is indigenous to the temperate regions of Europe and Asia. Often it becomes naturalized and may be found on unfilled land, waysides, waste ground and rocky slopes. It is a woody perennial herb up to 130 cm (4 ft 6 in) high with leafy stems terminated by loose panicles of yellow flowers (I). The pinnate leaves are felted silvery-grey.
Nowadays it is a relatively rare shrub in the wild because it is a host plant of one stage of the life cycle of grain rust (Puccinia graminis) and thus not welcomed by farmers in the vicinity of grain fields, where it is systematically eradicated. This will doubtless soon lead to the disappearance of its sour, pleasantly astringent berries, which are used, the same as rowanberries, to flavour compotes and tarts, as well as piquant sauces for game and roast beef.
Nowadays it is used to make tarragon Vinegar (a'fresh sprig of tarragon put in a bottle of white or wine vinegar), tarragon mustard and pickled gherkins. It is widely used in Chinese and French dishes, especially with poultry, rice and poached fish, and in Barnaise and Tartare sauces.
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