| Sage (including verigated and lemon sage) |
| Salvia |
Herb: Sage (Salvia officinalis) is a genus of plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is one of three genera commonly referred to as sage. When used without modifiers, sage generally refers to common sage. This genus includes approximately 700 to 900 species of shrubs, herbaceous perennials, and annuals with almost world-wide distribution. Genus Salvia is not restricted to the Old World; several sage species from Central America are characterized by a sweet, fruity fragrance very dissimilar to Mediterranean sage, e.g. Pineapple sage (Salvia rutilans), peach sage (Salvia greggii), fruit sage (Salvia dorisiana) and more. |
| Season: You can begin to pick fresh young leaves as early as mid May. |
Silver tipped, gray green leaves; strong, astringent, slightly bitter flavor. Excellent with pork, sausage and poultry, and often found in stuffing's, omelets, chowder and cheese dishes. Dried sage is good in stuffing's but fresh sage is just superior.
Dried sage is good in stuffing's but fresh sage is just superior in every respect. I don’t normally use dried sage, it is worth the small expense to by a small fresh plant at my local market.
The name Salvia derives from the Latin salvere, which means "to heal". Sage is highly regarded for its healing qualities. The ancient Greeks used it to treat consumption, ulcers and snake bites.