Add it to your herb garden
Both types of Savory (Satureja montana and Satureja hortensis, winter and summer savory or bean herb) are members of the Lamiaceae family, the former being a perennial and the latter an annual. They are native to southern Europe and grow to about 50cm in well-drained barren soil in full sunlight. The plants have narrow aromatic leaves that resemble rosemary and display small white and pink flowers; hortensis has sparser and more rounded leaves.
Dioscorides and Galenus valued winter savory as a drying herb; one that would expel fluid from the chest cavity. The crushed leaves have been used for centuries to alleviate the pain of bee stings.
Culpeper used summer savory as a treatment for tinnitus, ‘The juice heated with a little oil of rose, and dropped in the ears, easeth them of the noises and singing in them, and of deafness also’.
The principal constituents are the same in both plants, namely, carvacrol, cymene, thymol, cineol and borneol. This makes it anticatarrhal, antibacterial, fungicidal, stimulant, cicatrisant, emmenagogue, and a vermifuge. It is taken in the form of tea because although it contains an essential oil, its aromatherapeutic use is minimal and should only be used under supervision. However, it is recommended for candidiasis. The infusions are taken for cramps, nausea, indigestion, menstrual disorders, respiratory conditions such as asthma, catarrh and sore throats. It is also taken as a tonic to dispel lethargy and improve eyesight. In Crete it is sold to tourists as an aphrodisiac and an aid to slimming, an interesting combination but there is little evidence to support this theory.
Savory is best known for its affinity for peas, beans, and marrows. It will enhance the flavour of all three, it will even improve the flavour of tinned or frozen beans and peas. The leaves have a spicy, peppery taste without being hot.
The herb is used in sauces and to flavour vinegars and liqueurs, it is often added to unpleasant tasting medicines. Those people who find the flavour of basil too strong, may substitute savory.
The herb makes an unusual conserve, which may be used to garnish cold meats and also spread on toast like marmalade. In Cyprus, savory is called ‘throumbi’ and can be found growing on any slope or open land. Collect some and try the following:
Savory and Grape Juice Jelly
Take half a litre of grape juice, a handful of fresh savory, 120g of powdered pectin, 3 cups of brown sugar, the juice from one lemon.
Heat the grape juice and savory together, add the pectin, sugar and lemon and bring to the boil for 2 minutes, remembering to stir continually. Remove from the heat and filter out the savory. Seal in jars immediately. Give them to your friends for Christmas.
Savory grows very easily in Cyprus, so collect some seed or cuttings, set them out in seed pots, once they have taken, add them to the kitchen garden. You wont be disappointed.
Caution; savory is not to be consumed when pregnant.
Next week Geranium
