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The herb Tarragon (Tarragon) is known throughout the world as a fragrant seasoning. Drinks and dishes with aromatic spices are characteristic of Indian, Asian, Mediterranean, and European cuisine, and are widely used by the peoples of the Caucasus. Fresh herbs, dry seasoning, and frozen tarragon are used in cooking and folk medicine. The spicy aroma and characteristic refreshing taste of tarragon are used in baked goods, first courses, salads, sauces, and a variety of drinks.
What does tarragon grass look like?
Dragoon grass, Stragon, Tarragon wormwood are different names for one fragrant herb, known to healers and cooks since ancient times. From Latin, the botanical name Artemísiadracúnculus is translated as “Artemis’s snake.” Another name for Tarragon is Tarragon, which is used everywhere to designate several related European species. Mongolia and Eastern Siberia are considered the birthplace of the perennial crop, but the plant is most in demand in Asian cuisine.
Tarragon belongs to the genus Wormwood, but lacks its bitterness, and its aroma is much stronger.The height of the erect stem of tarragon varies from 50 cm to 1.5 m. The powerful tap root bends bizarrely, resembling a curled up snake, and over time becomes lignified. Based on the photo of the plant and its botanical description, tarragon really resembles wormwood, but has obvious differences with it.
The leaves are a rich emerald green color, attached to stems without a petiole, and have an oblong, pointed shape. The lower leaves on the central shoot may bifurcate at the end. Small, yellow Tarragon flowers, collected in dense panicles, appear on the bushes towards the end of summer. Numerous small seeds ripen by October.
European varieties of Tarragon: Russian, Polish, French, are of Arab origin and are obtained from the cultivation of varieties imported from Asia.
Where does tarragon grow?
Wild Tarragon is found in Central Asia, India, Eastern Europe, China, and North America. In Russia, different species of Tarragon grow from the temperate latitudes of the European part to Siberia and the Far East. A low-growing wild species of Artemisia tarragon in Transcaucasia is called “Tarragon” in the Arabic manner.
Favorite places where Tarragon grows are gradual, rocky slopes, pebble rocks, and Tarragon is occasionally found in uncultivated fields. Among herbs, Tarragon stands out for its ability to take root in climates unusual for it and is cultivated everywhere. Wild species prefer dry soils, while cultivated plantings require constant moisture.
How to use tarragon
Tarragon is rich in carotenes, aromatic substances, and vitamins. The rich chemical composition includes many mineral compounds necessary for the body. Magnesium, potassium, iron, manganese, zinc, and other micro- and macroelements are present in Tarragon greens in significant concentrations and are easily absorbed by the body. Tarragon, unlike other wormwoods, is not toxic.
The benefits of Tarragon in the treatment of vitamin deficiency, apathy, and insomnia were well known to Arab doctors back in ancient times. The herb can strengthen the immune system, elevate mood, relieve swelling, and support vision. Adding spices to food increases the production of bile, thus improving digestion.
Methods of using Tarragon:
- Fresh green parts of the plant are added to cold sauces and sprinkled on ready-made main courses. Leaves and stems are recommended to be used without heat treatment. When heated, a specific bitterness may appear. We combine the taste of fresh Tarragon with all types of salads; it complements fish, poultry, and lamb dishes well.
- Dried Tarragon seasoning has a richer smell and taste than the original green raw material. The shades that spice gives to food also vary slightly. Dry seasoning can be boiled and added to baked goods; bitterness does not appear when using this herb.
- Frozen herb retains almost all the properties and beneficial substances inherent in tarragon. You can use the chilled spice the same way as fresh herbs.
- Adding Tarragon to oils saturates them not only with taste, but also with vitamins and minerals. Liquid oils are infused with Tarragon for about 14 days.Dense fractions are mixed with finely chopped Tarragon greens.
Adding spices gives dishes or drinks a piquant, cooling, slightly spicy taste, as well as an invigorating aroma reminiscent of anise. The specific color of tarragon is more pronounced when using fresh shoots and leaves.
Use of tarragon seasoning in cooking
Tarragon came to Europe in the 17th century from Asia and became popular first in French cuisine, and then spread throughout the continent. Spicy herbs perfectly complement a wide variety of dishes:
- Finely chopped fresh Tarragon can be added to any salad. The amount of green spice in vegetable dishes should be moderate due to the strong aroma of the plant. It is enough to add ½ tsp. chopped Tarragon per serving of salad to appreciate its specific taste and give the dish a refreshing smell.
- There are special “salad” varieties of Tarragon with a more muted aroma and less pungent taste. This Tarragon can be used in large quantities. The tender tops of young shoots are used to prepare salads.
- Sauces served with fish, meat, and poultry can be enriched with tarragon wormwood. Add spice to mayonnaise, vinegar, and vegetable oils. Any marinades for barbecuing, baking, frying meat or fish also receive bright aromatic shades when Tarragon is added to them. For better flavor, tarragon is ground with salt, adding to sauces and marinades to taste.
- Before baking, the meat is rubbed with fresh grass leaves. Dried seasoning is sprinkled on fish, poultry, and game before cooking. Tarragon perfectly masks the specific taste of lamb and is used in any meat dishes of Caucasian cuisine.
- First courses of vegetables, meat broths, fish soup can be prepared with the addition of dried spices. Tarragon is added at the end of cooking, a few minutes before readiness. This food is useful for people suffering from weak digestion. It is permissible to add fresh Tarragon greens to cold soups (for example, okroshka or beetroot soup).
To enrich wine varieties of vinegar, just put one sprig of green spice in a 200 ml bottle and leave for at least a week.
Where can you use dried tarragon herb?
The specificity of the spice lies in the greater release of aromatic substances from the dried plant. High-quality prepared herb has a strong characteristic odor, slightly changes color, and is easily rubbed with your fingers to a powder state.
In a mixture of seasonings, Tarragon not only gives off its own aroma, but also helps to reveal the smells and tastes of other plants. Tarragon goes well with the following spices:
- oregano;
- marjoram;
- thyme;
- rosemary;
- mint.
Ways to use dried tarragon:
- In folk medicine in the form of powder, infusion, decoction. As an additive to medicinal rubs and ointments. For enrichment of cosmetic products.
- In cooking, add to any hot dishes or drinks during cooking 2-3 minutes before cooking. With prolonged boiling, the specific aroma and pungency of tarragon are lost.
- Dry Tarragon reveals its taste more fully when combined with products containing plant acids: lemon juice, natural vinegar, fruits, berries.
- The spice gives flour products a forest, fresh aroma. Tarragon is rarely used for sweet baked goods. Most often, a pinch of dried herb is added to the dough for homemade bread and flatbreads.
Tarragon is a seasoning with a strong specific odor and a cooling, pungent aftertaste. Its use should be moderate. To experiment with any dish, a small pinch of herb is enough at first.
Where is tarragon added when canning?
When canning at home for the winter, Tarragon acts as both a flavoring agent and an additional preservative. The active ingredients in the herb prevent the growth of bacteria, which allows the preparation to remain fresh longer.
Application of Tarragon in preparations for the winter:
- Tarragon jam, prepared with sugar syrup from fresh herbs, can be eaten as a separate dessert or used as syrup. It is convenient to enrich drinks, cocktails, and desserts with this additive.
- Adding sprigs of fresh Tarragon adds cooling notes to compotes, jellies, berry and fruit jams. At the same time, it is unacceptable to boil fresh leaves for more than 5 minutes, otherwise the taste of the preparation will be spoiled.
- Green Tarragon adds a refined flavor to marinades. Fresh branches are added to brines when soaking apples, sauerkraut, pickling vegetables and mushrooms.
- Pickled cucumbers and tomatoes also acquire an unusual spicy aroma with tarragon. The spice does not change the original taste of vegetables, but emphasizes it and makes it more pronounced.
To preserve cucumbers or tomatoes in any way (salting, pickling, pickling), add 2-3 fresh tarragon branches to one 3-liter jar. It is recommended to add the spice along with cloves of garlic, which also does not tolerate prolonged heating.
Application of Tarragon herb in the production of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks
The famous carbonated drink “Tarragon” clearly demonstrates the color, smell, and unusual taste of the spice.You can prepare drinks with your favorite flavor yourself. Moreover, the herb goes well with both refreshing drinks and alcohol.
To make a vodka tincture for a bottle (0.5 l) of high-quality alcohol, just add a small bunch of green or dried herbs and place the container in a dark place. After 15-20 days, the alcohol will acquire a characteristic aroma. The color of Tarragon (Tarragon) tincture, as in the photo below, may vary. Often the homemade drink turns out to be cloudy, which does not affect the taste. At the same time, dried and fresh herbs give different shades of taste and color to the drink.
For homemade lemonade, you can use tarragon or jam syrup. An emerald, spicy-cooling drink quenches thirst well and invigorates in the heat. The green mass, crushed in a blender with sugar, can be diluted with ordinary or mineral water to taste or added to other lemonades at the rate of 1 tsp. per 1 liter of liquid.
It is convenient to use a sweet tarragon extract infused with syrup. The base is boiled from water and sugar (1:1), chopped fresh herbs are poured into the solution for at least 30 minutes. Then the syrup is added to any cold drinks, tea, liqueurs, sweet liqueurs to taste.
When preparing a smoothie, add a few young shoots to the blender with the rest of the ingredients. This makes the drink even healthier, gives it an emerald color, and enhances the taste of the main components.
Is it possible to freeze tarragon?
The easiest way to preserve the benefits and taste of a plant for a long time is freezing. Tarragon stays fresh in the refrigerator for about 7 days. Placed in a plastic bag and stored in the freezer, tarragon will look and smell fresh for over 60 days.Whole frozen tarragon can be used in the same way as freshly picked tarragon.
Tarragon wormwood can be frozen with oil. To do this, the shoots are finely chopped, placed in small portions in ice trays and filled with olive oil. After 24 hours, the frozen cubes can be shaken out of the molds and placed in plastic bags for compact storage. This preparation is convenient to add to soups, sauces, and defrost in portions for dressing salads.
For further use in cocktails or seasoning meat dishes, tarragon is frozen differently:
- Tarragon is crushed and placed in a cooking vessel.
- Pour dry white wine into a container and place on fire.
- Having evaporated about half of the liquid, remove the dishes from the heat.
- After the mixture has completely cooled, it is poured into molds and sent to the freezer.
To add the refreshing taste of tarragon to any drink, just add a few cubes of aromatic ice to your glass. Wine cubes are added when stewing, marinating or boiling meat, game, and fish.
Conclusion
Herb Tarragon (Tarragon) is one of the most versatile seasonings. It complements both sweet and savory dishes well. The popularity of the herb is also explained by the absence of contraindications to its use. You should be careful when using Tarragon only during pregnancy and if you are prone to allergic reactions.
