Tarragon

Tarragon
"Dragon's wort" redirects here. For other uses, see Dragonwort (disambiguation).
This article is about the perennial herb. For the 1999 power metal album, see Taragon. For the Canadian theatre company, see Tarragon Theatre.
Tarragon
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Tribe: Anthemideae
Genus: Artemisia
Species: A. dracunculus
Binomial name
Artemisia dracunculus
L.

Tarragon or dragon's-wort (Artemisia dracunculus) is a perennial herb in the family Asteraceae related to wormwood. Corresponding to its species name, a common term for the plant is "dragon herb". It is native to a wide area of the Northern Hemisphere from easternmost Europe across central and eastern Asia to India, western North America, and south to northern Mexico. The North American populations may, however, be naturalised from early human introduction.

Tarragon grows to 120–150 cm tall, with slender branched stems. The leaves are lanceolate, 2–8 cm long and 2–10 mm broad, glossy green, with an entire margin. The flowers are produced in small capitulae 2–4 mm diameter, each capitulum containing up to 40 yellow or greenish-yellow florets. (French tarragon, however, seldom produces flowers.[1])

Contents

Cultivation

Dried tarragon leaves

French tarragon is the variety generally considered best for the kitchen, but is difficult to grow from seed. It is best to cultivate by root division. It is normally purchased as a plant, and some care must be taken to ensure that true French tarragon is purchased. A perennial, it normally goes dormant in winter.[1] It likes a hot, sunny spot, without excessive watering.[1]

Russian tarragon (A. dracunculoides L.) can be grown from seed but is much weaker in flavor when compared to the French variety.[1] However, Russian tarragon is a far more hardy and vigorous plant, spreading at the roots and growing over a meter tall. This tarragon actually prefers poor soils and happily tolerates drought and neglect. It is not as strongly aromatic and flavorsome as its French cousin, but it produces many more leaves from early spring onwards that are mild and good in salads and cooked food. The young stems in early spring can be cooked as an asparagus substitute. Grow indoors from seed and plant out in the summer. Spreading plant can be divided easily.

Health

Tarragon has an aromatic property reminiscent of anise, due to the presence of estragole, a known carcinogen and teratogen in mice. The European Union investigation revealed that the danger of estragole is minimal even at 100-1,000 times the typical consumption seen in humans.[2]

Usage

Culinary use

Tarragon is one of the four fines herbes of French cooking, and particularly suitable for chicken, lasagna, fish and egg dishes. Tarragon is one of the main components of Béarnaise sauce. Fresh, lightly bruised sprigs of tarragon may be steeped in vinegar to impart their flavor.

Tarragon is used to flavor a popular carbonated soft drink in the countries of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and, by extension, Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. The drink, named Tarhun, pronounced [tarˈxuːn]; Тархун), is made out of sugary tarragon concentrate and colored bright green.

Cis-Pellitorin, an isobutylamide eliciting a pungent taste, has been isolated from Tarragon plant.[3]

In Slovenia, tarragon is used as a spice for sweet pastry called potica.

Companion plant

The scent and taste of tarragon is disliked by many garden pests, making it useful for intercropping as a companion plant, to protect its gardenmates. It is also reputed to be a nurse plant, enhancing growth and flavor of companion crops [1].

Etymology

The plant's common name and Latin name originate from the belief in the Doctrine of Signatures which suggested that a plant's appearance reflected its possible uses. The serpentine shape of Tarragon's root made herbalists believe it could cure snake bites. From this came the Greek name drakon (dragon), the Arabic tarkhum (little dragon), and the Latin name dracunculus (little dragon).[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d McGee, Rose Marie Nichols; Stuckey, Maggie (2002). The Bountiful Container. Workman Publishing. 
  2. ^ Surburg, Horst; Johannes Panten (2006). Common Fragrance and Flavor Materials: Preparation, Properties and Uses. Wiley-VCH. pp. 233. ISBN 9783527607891. 
  3. ^ Gatfield IL, Ley JP, Foerstner J, Krammer G, Machinek A. Production of cis-pellitorin and use as a flavouring. World Patent WO2004000787 A2
  4. ^ Tarragon at Sally's Place

External links


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Tarragon — Tar ra*gon, n. [Sp. taragona, Ar. tarkh?n; perhaps fr. Gr. ? a dragon, or L. draco; cf. L. dracunculus tarragon. Cf. {Dragon}.] (Bot.) A plant of the genus {Artemisa} ({Artemisa dracunculus}), much used in France for flavoring vinegar. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • tarragon — 1530s, from M.L. tragonia, from Byzantine Gk. tarchon, from Arabic tarkhon, from a non Arabic source, perhaps Gk. drakon (from drakontion dragonwort ). Eastern European plant of the wormwood genus (Artemisia Dracunculus), whose aromatic leaves… …   Etymology dictionary

  • tarragon — ► NOUN ▪ a plant with narrow aromatic leaves, used as a herb in cooking. ORIGIN from Latin tragonia and tarchon, perhaps ultimately from Greek drak n dragon …   English terms dictionary

  • tarragon — [tar′ə gän΄] n. [Sp taragona < Ar ṭarkhūn < ? Gr drakōn, DRAGON] 1. an Old World wormwood (Artemisia dracunculus) whose fragrant leaves are used for seasoning, esp. in vinegar 2. the leaves of this plant …   English World dictionary

  • tarragon — /tar euh gon , geuhn/, n. 1. an Old World plant, Artemisia dracunculus, having aromatic leaves used for seasoning. 2. the leaves themselves. Also called estragon. [1530 40; earlier taragon < MF targon, var. of tarc(h)on < ML < MGk tarchón < Ar… …   Universalium

  • tarragon — vaistinis kietis statusas T sritis vardynas apibrėžtis Astrinių šeimos prieskoninis, vaistinis augalas (Artemisia dracunculus), paplitęs Europos rytuose, Azijoje, Šiaurės Amerikoje. Naudojamas maisto priedams (kvėpikliams) gaminti. atitikmenys:… …   Lithuanian dictionary (lietuvių žodynas)

  • tarragon — tar|ra|gon [ˈtærəgən] n [U] [Date: 1500 1600; : Old French; Origin: targon, from Arabic tarkhun] the leaves of a small European plant, used in cooking to give food a special taste ▪ chicken with tarragon …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • tarragon — tar|ra|gon [ terəgən ] noun uncount the leaves of a small plant that are added to food to give it a special flavor. Tarragon is an herb …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • tarragon — [[t]tæ̱rəgɒn[/t]] N UNCOUNT Tarragon is a small European herb with narrow leaves which are used to add flavour to food …   English dictionary

  • tarragon — noun (U) the leaves of a small European plant used as a herb: chicken with tarragon …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

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