Tarragon, Spice
Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus) is a perennial herb in family Asteraceae, cultivated for its aromatic leaves. It is native to sunny and dry regions of Northern Hemisphere, especially in the United States, Asia and Siberia. It is also known as Dragon's wort. Tarragon can grow from 1.2 - 1.5 m tall, with slender and branched stems. The slender leaves are 2-8 cm long and 2-10 mm broad, lanceolate, glossy green with an entire margin. The flowers are produced in small capitulae, 2-4 mm diameter, with about 40 yellowish florets made up of one capitulum. Tarragon is one of the four fines herbs of French cooking, The other three are Coriander, Chives, and Chervil. Tarragon is particularly suitable for chicken, lasagna, stews, sauces, soups, pickles, fish and egg dishes. It is also used to flavor carbonated soft drinks in Armenia, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. Tarragon vinegar is made by steeping fresh, lightly bruised sprigs of tarragon in vinegar to impart its flavor, and is suitable for flavoring tartar sauce. Fresh tarragon possesses an essential volatile oil, estragole. which give the aromatic anise flavor. When tarragon is dried, the oils dissipate. Thus fresh tarragon has a more intense flavor than the dried tarragon, and should be used sparingly. Frsh tarragon kept in airtight bag in freezer, can retian the most flavor for 3-5 months, and can be use immediately without defrost. Heat intensifies the flavor of both fresh and dried tarragon. Tarragon posseses enzymes that alleviates digestive problem, and also contain a gentle, non-irritating diuretic property. It improves appetite, alleviate flatulence and colic, relieves pain caused by arthritis, gout, and rheumatism.  Tarragon Author: KENPEI (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported) | ||
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