Sage is usually used as an herb in cooking. Whole aromatic leaves should be used sparingly for just the right amount of flavor. You can also buy sage dried and ground to use in the dishes you prepare.
Is garden sage the same as cooking sage?
Garden Sage
Also called common sage or culinary sage. This is one of the most common types of sage, is deliciously edible (including the flowers), and has dozens of cultivars that range wildly in color.
What can I do with fresh garden sage?
Sprinkle them on salads, whip up a batch of herb and blossom tempura, or make sage blossom jelly or syrup, the latter of which can be put to good use in cocktails and lemonade. More: If you have more fresh sage than you know what to do with, try drying it. Begin your day with sage. Snack on some sage.
What happens if you eat raw sage?
Some species of sage, including common sage (Salvia officinalis), contain a chemical called thujone. Too much thujone can cause seizures and damage the liver and nervous system.
Can you cook with garden sage?
Some gardeners believe that leaves harvested in the spring are more pungent than those harvested in autumn. Add whole sage leaves, along with fresh or dried chiles, to a pot of beans. Use four finely chopped fresh sage leaves per pound of meat in any pork dish involving a gravy or sauce.
Which sage is not edible?
Ornamental salvias, like ‘May Night’, tricolor salvia and annual salvia, are not edible. They’re not poisonous, but they’re nothing you’d want to put in soup. The edible salvias are usually referred to as sage, like the Salvia officinalis you use to flavor roasted chicken and turkey.
How can you tell if sage is edible?
Salvia officinalis
Come closer to the herb and observe its leaves and stems for the following characteristics found in sage: purple or green woody, square stems covered in a fine down. Leaves have a leathery texture also covered with soft hair and are stalked and opposite.
What kind of sage is garden sage?
Salvia officinalis
sage, (Salvia officinalis), also called common sage or garden sage, aromatic herb of the mint family (Lamiaceae) cultivated for its pungent edible leaves. Sage is native to the Mediterranean region and is used fresh or dried as a flavouring in many foods, particularly in stuffings for poultry and pork and in sausages.
Can you burn garden sage?
You can also light and burn sage to improve odor, fragrance, and mood. Simply waft sage smoke in and around your home. You can place the bundle in a fireproof bowl or burner and allow it to smoke for a while.
How do you preserve garden sage?
To store, simply wrap the sage leaves in paper towels and put them in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. Make sure to use the leaves within four to five days. Fresh leaves that are covered in olive oil can be stored for much longer in the refrigerator, about three weeks.
How do you dry fresh garden sage?
In the open air: Bundle your sage leaves together in groups of five or ten using twine or a rubber band. Cover the bundles with a perforated paper bag and hang them until dry. Depending on the humidity, this could take several days.
When should I harvest sage?
Harvest sage in spring and summer when plants are actively growing and before they begin to flower. Sage leaves tend to lose some of their aroma after flowering, so it is best to harvest before this time. As summer closes and temperatures fall, sage leaf production slows down, stopping almost completely in winter.
How much fresh sage can you eat?
Considering that the LD50(mice) of thujone is 45mg/kg and that 30mg/kg gives a 0% mortality, a healthy 75kg “average person” could probably eat 2g of thujone or 400g sage leaves and be fine – but it wouldn’t be a good idea nevertheless, taste-wise. Excessive, especially habitual/long term use is sometimes discouraged.
Can you eat fresh sage in salad?
However, most of the sage that you eat consists of silvery green, elliptical leaves with a minute layer of down on the underside. You can buy it either dried or fresh, though it is never actually eaten raw. Flavor: Sage is extremely fragrant and has a savory, peppery taste that perfectly accents creamy or meaty dishes.
Can you chew sage leaves?
Sage can be eaten whole or ground. Adding sage to a dish is a great way to enhance flavor without adding extra calories or salt. The herb often pairs well with poultry and pork. Sage is often used as a fragrance in soaps and cosmetics due to its pleasant aroma.
Can you eat sage after it flowers?
Sage is also one of the few herbs that, even as its leaves grow larger, the flavor intensifies. Unlike many herbs, sage leaves are still delicious after the plant flowers.
Is boiling sage safe?
To avoid any health risks, you should limit yourself to 3 to 6 cups of sage tea per day. The amount of sage in tea and other foods is considered safe. However, sage contains a constituent called thujone, which can cause seizures and other adverse effects.
How do you prepare fresh sage?
To cook with fresh sage, remove the leaves from the stems, rinse with cold water, and dry well. Cut according to the recipe instructions; sage leaves are often sliced into chiffonade, chopped, or minced. Dried rubbed sage and powdered sage can be measured out and simply added to the recipe.
Is any sage poisonous?
Sage is considered safe with no reported side effects ( 46 ). However, some people are concerned about thujone, a compound found in common sage. Animal research has found that high doses of thujone may be toxic to the brain ( 47 ). That said, there is no good evidence that thujone is toxic to humans ( 48 ).
How do I identify garden sage?
Sage (Salvia officinalis)
The 2 to 3-inch long leaves are thick, opposite, oblong, and pointed. The stems are semi-woody and square. Color varies by cultivar, from grayish green, to variegated green and yellow, or green with purple and white. Spikes of purple flowers are produced on mature plants.
Are there different types of garden sage?
There are many different types of sage or salvia plants available. They may be either perennial or annual, blooming to non-blooming, but pretty much each of these different types of sage is fairly hardy.