In traditional medicine, borage is used as a sedative and a diuretic, and as a treatment for seizures and kidney disease. The leaves are often used as dried herbs or tea. Today, fresh borage is eaten and used as a garnish or in drinks. The seeds are also pressed to make borage seed oil, which is used as a supplement.
What part of borage is medicinal?
Borage is a plant. Its flowers and leaves, as well as the oil from its seeds are used as medicine.
How do I use fresh borage?
Both the leaves and flower are edible and can be used in delicious sweet and savoury recipes. It can be eaten raw in delicious mixed green salads, chopped into yoghurts, cheese and even added to stocks, soups and stews or simply added for garnish.
What parts of borage is edible?
Both the leaves and flowers of the plant are edible and commonly used as a garnish, dried herb, or vegetable in a variety of drinks and dishes. The leaves are sometimes also ground up and steeped in hot water to brew herbal tea.
How do you take borage?
Borage seed oil 1 to 3 g/day has been given in clinical trials (1 g/day has been used in children, and up to 3 g/day has been used in adults). The content of gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) is between 20% and 26% of the oil. A 2 g dose of dried herb brewed in 1 cup of boiling water taken 3 times daily has been suggested.
How do you prepare borage to eat?
Wash young borage leaves and remove stalks. Chop finely and cook in a little butter in a covered saucepan over a very low heat. Season to taste. The dampness of the washed leaves should be enough to keep them from sticking to the bottom; they should soon be tender and their hairy texture disappears when cooked.
Can you eat fresh borage?
Borage is a plant with blue flowers that was introduced to Britain by the Romans and grows wild in some areas. Its leaves, flowers and stalks are edible and taste a little like cucumber. Borage leaves are good in salads, yoghurt or cream cheese mixtures, or served with shellfish.
Can you eat borage stems?
The stems of borage are used to flavour a number of alcoholic beverages, including Pimms No. 1. In Spain the stems are parboiled and fried in batter. Chopped up, they make a great addition to soups and can also be eaten raw; giving a hearty crunch to salads.
How do you use borage in tea?
If using fresh flowers or leaves, measure out 1/4 cup of the borage, and add to the water. If using dried flowers or leaves, use 1 tbsp of borage per cup of water. Place the dried borage into a tea ball for steeping, and place into the hot water. Allow the tea to steep for approximately 15 minutes.
How do you drink borage tea?
Instructions
- To make borage tea, boil 2 cups of hot water in a saucepan. Steep a 1/4 cup of fresh or freshly dried leaves of the borage plant in hot water.
- Allow the leaves to steep for 5-10 minutes before straining and serving warm.
- You can add honey if desired.
What do farmers do with borage?
Whenever we mention growing borage, people are always curious to know the end product of such an unusual crop. The answer is that it is used in the health supplements sector as starflower oil.
Are borage plants poisonous?
Borage poisoning is caused by the ingestion of any type of borage plants, which contain the polyphenol tannin in the leaves, buds, roots, and stems. Tannins bind to proteins and can cause intestinal symptoms and kidney damage.
Are the leaves or the flowers of borage better to use?
Borage Herb Harvest
Dried leaves have little of the characteristic flavor so the plant is best consumed after harvest. Leave the flowers alone if you are hosting a honeybee colony. The blooms produce an excellent flavored honey.
Is borage a laxative?
The flower of borage is used as a medicinal herb in various countries as an antifebrile and antidepressant, for treatment of stress, circulatory heart diseases and pulmonary complaints, as a poultice for inflammatory swellings, as a diuretic, laxative, emollient and demulcent, and recently as a possible cancer
Does borage raise blood pressure?
Dietary borage oil rich in gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) has been shown to lower blood pressure in Wistar Kyoto (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). A potential mechanism for this effect may be attributed to changes in metabolism of GLA to dihomogamma-linolenic (DGLA) and arachidonic acids (AA).
What is borage seed side effects?
Reported side-effects of borage seed oil include:
- nausea.
- indigestion.
- headaches.
- rashes.
What does borage herb taste like?
Also known as starflower or bee bush, borage is an herb that flowers with delicate, pretty blue flowers. The stems, leaves, and flowers are all edible, and they add an unusual note to your food. They taste a little bit crisp and briney, somewhere between a cucumber and an oyster.
What does borage taste like?
Blue borage flowers are star-shaped, vibrant blooms that add beauty to the plate, along with a mild cucumber flavor that some describe as a sweet honey taste. It’s also mildly salty. The texture of these gorgeous edible flowers is delicate with very small hairs. The entire flower is deliciously edible.
What does borage tea taste like?
Borage is not only pretty to look at, but tastes wonderful. Borage has a light, subtly sweet flavor that tastes herbal at the same time. It also has a crisp freshness which some people compare to cucumber or cucumber-infused water.
Does borage come back year after year?
It is an annual, but readily self-seeds and thrives in full sun. It is so proficient in self-seeding, in fact, that once a borage plant has established itself in your garden, you will likely never have to reseed again! The bloom period is different for various climates and growing zones.
What should not be planted with borage?
Borage is deer-proof. Brassicas (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, kale, kohlrabi, turnip) – All benefit from chamomile, dill, mint, rosemary, and sage. Avoid planting near eggplants, peppers, potatoes, or tomatoes.