My Favorite Herb

SAGE, of course! SAGE is my favorite herb!

Sage is native to Europe, but can tolerate just about any temperate climate, and has spread into the wild anywhere it can be cultivated.

Garden sage is a common ingredient in spice/herb mixtures, and is especially well paired with poultry. It’s used to season sausages, other meat products, vermouth, bitters, soups–even candy and chewing gum. It’s sometimes used as an ingredient in men’s perfume and makes a bitter tea considered good in combating congestion of the nose and lungs. It’s delicious plucked fresh and fried in oil until it’s crisp. TRUE!

Pineapple sage is sometimes used to flavor soft drinks and jellies. Meadow sage, more pungent than its cousins, used to be used to flavor beer and wine. Apple sage sometimes develops galls on the stems which are candied and eaten as sweets. Joseph sage was the variety the ancient Greeks and Romans cultivated, using it to flavor wine. Spanish sage is sometimes used to flavor baked goods, ice cream, candy and chewing gum.

Clary sage is used to flavor wines, ale, beer and liqueurs, and for adding aroma to perfumes and soaps. It’s also used to cleanse the eyes, which is why I used it as a central motif in my fantasy trilogy, SAGE. The Latin name for clary sage is Salvia sclarea. The old woman of Fiddlewood whose eyes seem to look deep into your soul is Salvia Zglaria. Coincidence?

What do you think? heh

Visit my Sage Page to learn more.

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: Name a character after a plant or flower. Now look up the meaning and/or uses and/or legends about that plant or flower. What qualities do they suggest for your character?

MA