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All about herbs: Succumb to Savory!
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Posted by editor Mon Jun 25, 2007 10:47:22 PDT
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0 responses 0 comments There are more than thirty varieties of savories. We will explore the two plants most commonly used, satureja montana (winter savory), and satureja hortensis (summer savory). Both have a peppery- thyme flavor, but the winter savory is somewhat stronger. 

The word “satura” is derived from the Latin meaning, “satiated”. The flavor of this herb punched up the high starch Roman diet long before trade brought tropical spices like pepper to their tables. Savory was one of the strongest cooking herbs for two thousand years satisfying palates, and adding zest to food.

It is called the “beanherb” because it enhances the flavor, and decreases the gas associated with beans. Savory provides pungency when added to pre-cooking water as well as the bean dish itself. It marries flavors well in combination dishes such as soups, casseroles, meatloaves, sausages and sauces. Start with one tablespoon of fresh or one teaspoon of dried to serve four adding more to please your own taste. It is often grown near beehives because of the outstanding honey it produces, and the crushed leaves are said to alleviate the pain of a bee sting.

A tea made from the leaves can be gargled to assuage sore throats. The active ingredients include tannin, p-cymene, and carvacrol. These impart a mild antiseptic and astingent property to the herb, which clarifies its uses.

Both of these savories grow well in Tehachapi.The summer variety is generally an annual, but I have had it winter over by protecting it during cold snaps. It quickly goes to seed and becomes leggy in our hot summers, so the tips should be cut back to prevent flowering. Growing to about two feet tall with red branched stems, green leaves and pinkish flowers it does well in pots if cut back regularly to prevent it from flopping over. I suggest morning sun, average soil and good drainage.

Winter savory is a shrubby perennial and provides fresh leaves much of the year and grows six to twelve inches tall with slender green leaves and white flowers.
The young, tender leaves are mild like summer savory while the mature leaves are more robust. Two flavors in one plant! It does well in average well-drained soil with up to eight hours of sun and requires less water than summer savory.  

Savory is an excellent companion plant for beans, cabbage, leeks, and garlic because it repels blackflies and other insects. Dried sachets can be hung in your clothes closet to prevent moth infestation.

Webster defines the word savory as pleasant or agreeable to taste and smell. Interestingly enough, that also describes the herb! I hope you will succumb to savory in your kitchen and as an aromatic addition to your landscape. You will be glad you did.

Sauces
Add one tablespoon chopped fresh savory leaves to:
• One cup of tartar sauce for fish
• One cup of mayonnaise for meat sandwich dressing
• One cup of sour cream for potato topper 

Cheesy appetizer
Coat sheep or goat cheese with finely chopped savory. Spread on slices of toasted baguette.

Savory green beans
One quarter of a cup of diced onion
One tablespoon each of butter; and flour
One tablespoon chopped fresh savory or one teaspoon of dried
Salt and pepper to taste
One pound of cooked and drained green beans (save one half cup of the liquid)
Sauté the onion in butter. Mix in the flour, savory, salt and pepper. Slowly stir in one half cup of the bean liquid and bring to a boil. Add to beans and serve.

Broccoli-cauliflower casserole
Sixteen ounces of frozen broccoli or cauliflower flowerets (or half of each)
Ten ounce can of cream of mushroom or celery soup
Four ounces of shredded cheddar cheese
Two tablespoons of diced fresh savory or one teaspoon of dried
One quarter cup of mayonnaise
Mix all ingredients. Bake covered at three hundred and fifty degrees for thirty minutes or until cooked.

Savory baked apples
One half cup chopped nuts
Three tablespoons soft unsalted butter
Three tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar
Two teaspoons minced savory
Four medium cooking apples
One quarter cup fresh lemon juice
Stir together nuts, butter, sugar and savory.
Wash and remove core to one half inch of the bottom of apples. Brush inside with lemon juice. Stuff each apple with one quarter of the nut mix. Place apples in pan with three-quarters of a cup of boiling water. Bake in three hundred and fifty-degree oven until desired tenderness.

Contact me at herbbasket.net or tehachapinews.com with your suggestions or questions. Enjoy an herbalicious month!  

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