Tarragon
Artemisia dracunculus.
A perennial spicy and medicinal plant forming bushes, new shoots grow from the kidneys that develop on the rhizome. In the wild it grows on the territory from Eastern Europe to Mongolia. In Russia tarragon was practically not grown, and the first mentions of this culture date back to the 17th century and were found in Georgian written sources. Currently, the vegetable form of tarragon is widely cultivated in Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, where it is called the tarhun.
Description: in the height reaches 1.5 m and more. The leaves are simple, linear, whole-edge and pointed, from light to dark green. Small spherical baskets of
flowers form a paniculate inflorescence. At first, their coloration is whitish-yellowish, later reddish. Blossoms from July to September. Fruit is the seed.
Ingredients: herbs contain essential oil, which gives it a characteristic bitter flavor and consists mainly of tarragon, terpenes, aldehyde, vitamins C and group B, carotene, minerals, potassium, magnesium, iron and a large percentage of phosphorus, as well as tannins,bitterness and resin.
There are not so many varieties of tarragon, derived during selection works. The most popular of them are Gribovsky with delicate leaves, very fragrant and yielding, and Russian - high with stiff cuttings and less fragrant.
Cultivation: tarragon is a light-loving and very cold-resistant plant. Perfectly overwintered even with a slight snow cover at -25-30 ° C.It grows early - as soon as the snow melts and thaws the top layer of the soil, in the middle belt at the end of April. Tarragon can grow on different soils, but prefers vegetable, moderately dressed organic fertilizers. With their excess, a lot of green mass is formed, but not so aromatic. Tarragon is multiplied by fission of rhizomes, root processes and cuttings. When multiplying by the division of rhizomes early in the spring dig an old bush and divide its rhizome so that each part has 1-2 kidneys. Division of bushes can be carried out in August. The excavated plants are cut so that a piece of rhizome has 2-3 stems with kidneys. The upper part of the stem is half-cut, which reduces the evaporation of moisture and improves plant survival. Reproduction by cuttings is carried out in the first half of summer( in June or early July), when the uterine plants grow well, cuttings of length 12-15 cm are cut. The lower cut of the cut is made at an acute angle 2-3 mm below the leaf buds, the upper one - under morestupid angle. Before planting cuttings are kept in a vessel with water, and planted in a greenhouse or on a bed with a film shelter in the form of a tunnel. The temperature in the hotbed and under the film should not be above 18 ° C.Therefore, periodic ventilation is necessary. Landing land should be prepared from compost and sand, taken in equal parts. Cuttings take root in 15-20 days, after another 10 days they grow a few green shoots and form a root system.35 days after planting, rooted cuttings can be transplanted to beds. If there are seeds, then they are sown to get seedlings. It should be borne in mind that the tarragon seeds are very small, they germinate slowly - 10-14 days after sowing. Early in the spring they are sown in greenhouses, hotbeds or in sowing boxes. Seedlings dive to a distance of 5x5 cm. After 60 days, seedlings can be planted in a permanent place. Seeds are sown and in open ground - in late April - early May. In the nursery on low beds make 3-5 rows at a distance of 15-20 cm. The seeds are sown in shallow grooves and sprinkled with 0.5 cm of soil. In the first year after planting, the greens are cut only in autumn, so as not to cause a young plant of oppression. In subsequent years, the greens are cut up to 4 times per season. Tarragon can grow up to 10 years in one place.
Collection: collected greens are bundled and dried in a draft. Dried grass is used as a spice and medicinal plant. Dried greens tarragon entirely preserves aroma and spicy taste.
Medicinal properties: has a strengthening effect, increases appetite and improves digestion. In folk medicine it is also used for sealing the walls of blood vessels, diseases of the cardiovascular system and in the production of medical wine and aperitifs stimulating the digestive tract, enhancing the formation of gastric juice and increasing appetite, and also acting relaxing and soothing on the nervous system. Tarragon is also recommended as a strong antiscorbutic and diuretic, widely used as a preventive and medicinal product for various forms of vitamin deficiency.
Application: in folk medicine, tarragon is used to excite appetite, improve digestion, with beriberi, in pharmaceutics from the greens of tarragon, essential oil is obtained.
Acute vinegar with tarragon
05 l vinegar, 1 sprig of tarragon, hot pepper, 1/2 bulb
Add the sliced tarragon, pepper, chopped onion into the vinegar. After 14 days drain. Vinegar is used for salads and mayonnaise.
Mayonnaise with tarragon
100 g of mayonnaise, 2 tbsp.l.greens - tarragon, parsley, watercress, chabera, hyssop, onion, chives, onions
Greens of spicy plants finely chopped and mixed with mayonnaise. Use for salad dressing with fish, eggs, vegetables.
Mackerel Flemish with tarragon
1 medium mackerel, 2-3 sprigs of tarragon, 5 green onion feathers, 1/4 lemon juice
Scoop clean, wash, dry. Prepare a homogeneous mass of finely chopped green onions and tarragon and stuff mackerel. Sprinkle with lemon juice, wrap each fish separately in well-oiled paper and bake in the oven.
Stew of poultry( in Georgian) with tarragon
1 kg of poultry, 80 g of butter, 400 g of onion, 80 g of tomato paste, lemon juice or a little wine vinegar, 2 tbsp.l.finely chopped greens of tarragon.
Prepared bird( chicken, chicken) divided into portions, salt, put to simmer with butter, onion and tomato paste. Add the lemon juice and the greens of tarragon. Ready to serve ragout with white bread.
In the industry it is used for the production of tarragon vinegar, mustard with tarragon and various mixtures of spices. Tarragon has a weakly fragrant and spicy, spicy and piquant tart taste. It is used as a spice in a small amount for cooking dishes from rice, Chinese dishes, boiled fish, mayonnaise. Vinegar with tarragon is used for canning cucumbers, which is given to the fortress and delicate aroma, pumpkin and vegetables, sauces, champignons, cauliflower and asparagus. In addition, it is used for cooking dishes from tomatoes, beans, veal and lamb, crabs. Some dishes with tarragon, for example fried game, game in sour cream and mutton are also popular. It improves the taste of cooked pork legs of pork brisket and
smoked products. The taste of the tarragon will become clearer if the dish is lightly sprinkled with lemon juice. Finely chopped fresh tarragon leaves are added as a spice to the poultry, eggs, light sauces, meat dishes, and also to all kinds of salads. You can use tarragon and for making green oil.