Sage herb

Sage, the herb has been used for cooking for a long time now, if gives flavor to pork sausage, the aroma and slight bitterness must be used precisely to give adequate taste. Correctly applied it complements the flavor of chicken, rabbits and fish. A good cook will know how to get the most out of the special taste. The taste is powerful, and the quantity should be strictly controlled or the whole meal will taste to the sage herb employed.

The plant has long leaves and can reach 3 feet, they can grow looking disorganized, stems should be kept under control, not allowing to grow too tall or the plant will start to tangle up in a few years. You can cut to ground level or leaving a foot or so and have the plant grow anew.

You can simply cut it, wash it well and add to your meal, although it is often collected beforehand. The stems are gathered and let to dry. Do not expect it to become hard and to crumble, it will remain oily and feel like leather. Store in a dry place, when needed you can simply take what you need and chop it to a fine powder. If the leaves grow old, they will take a dull appearance and should be pruned and discarded. The sage plant usually dries up in winter in cold regions, you can cut some stems, plant it in a pot and take it inside the house, if the sage herb does not survive the winter, then you will have a young plant ready to be transplanted into the garden again.

There are several species of the sage herb, each with it's own characteristics that make them have different uses. The Artemisa variety is very bitter, this one is great as an insect repellant, it can be sprayed with alcohol after the plant is boiled to let all it's juices out. This variety is not intended for cooking. All have some medicinal qualities as well, the sage herb can be used as an antiseptic and antifungal. Improves the digestion, and this is why it is sometimes used with heavy meals. If will also help control diarrhea.

The sage herb has a wonderful aroma, the "fruit sage", "pineapple sage" and sage elegans among others give the most beautiful smell, and is sometimes used with sachets, to complement the scented combinations. It can also be used for tea, combined with black tea or by itself, the flowers are collected for this purpose.