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| Common Names |
| Tarragon , |
| Botanical Name |
| Artemisia dracunculus |
| Family |
| ASTERACEAE or COMPOSITAE Sunflower family |
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Culinary *
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| Parts Used: leaves |
| Constituents: |
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Tarragon was formerly used in the treatment of toothache, and was alluded to briefly in the 13th century as a seasoning for vegetables, a sleep-inducing drug, and a breath sweetener, but what the herb lacks in repute as a medicinal herb, it makes up as a star culinary herb.In French cuisine, it is an integral part of fines herbes and dijon mustard. |
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Prep Methods :culinary seasoning
 Remedies using Tarragon
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 Fresh Tarragon possesses an essential volatile oil, chemically identical with that of Anise, which becomes lost in the dried herb. |
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| Tarragon vinegar | | To make Tarragon vinegar, fill a widemouthed bottle with the freshly-gathered leaves, picked just before the herb flowers, on a dry day. Pick the leaves off the stalks and dry a little before the fire. Then place in a jar, cover with vinegar, allow to stand some hours, then strain through a flannel jelly bag and cork down in the bottles. The best white vinegar should be used. 482
(Grieve, Maude ) |
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Tarragon is a fairly hardy perennial that is supposed to be a native of southern Russia. It is estimated that tarragon has been cultivated for about five hundred years. It is one of the few herbs that is not known to set seed, and propagation is by cuttings and root division. It is a graceful plant when full grown, and the leaves seem to have a fragrance and flavor about them similar to that of anise.
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 The English word "tarragon" originates from the French word estragon or "little dragon," which is derived from the Arabic tarkhun. Some believe the herb was given this name because of its supposed ability to cure the bites of venomous reptiles, while others believe the plant was so named because of its coiled, serpent-like roots. |
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 The leaves, which are chiefly used, are heating and drying, and good for those who have the flux, or any preternatural discharge. It is a mild martial plant. An infusion of the young tops increases the urinary discharge, and gently promotes the menses Nicholas Culpeper |
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