Salvia officinalis
Salvia officinalis.
A perennial spicy aromatic half-shrub 50 to 70 cm high. Its native land is Southern Europe and the Mediterranean. In Northern Europe, sage came through the Benedictine monks. In the Middle Ages, it was considered a magical means, stimulating love and sympathy.
Description: stems are numerous, erect, gray. Leaves opposite, petiolate, ovate-spear or narrow elliptical, jagged at the edges. Blue-violet symmetrical flowers are located in the half-mists. Sage blossoms in June and July. Fruits are nuts.
Ingredients: leaves contain from 1 to 2.5 % essential oil, which contains thujone( up to 50%), salviol, cineole, borneol, pinene, salvene, as well as tannins, bitter, resin, organicacids, vitamins, PP, C, provitamin A, alkaloids, phytoncides, terpene-new compounds.
Cultivation: the sage reproduces by sowing seeds in the soil, through seedlings and vegetatively( by dividing shrubs and cuttings).The culture is fairly winter-hardy and, in the case of a good snow cover, hibernates in conditions of the middle belt and more northern areas. Sage is not picky for the soil, but it develops better on fertile medium- and loamy soils with good, but not excessive, moisture. Plants are photophilous and quite decorative, what should be taken into account when choosing a place to grow on the garden. The soil for sage is prepared in the same way as for other perennial crops - lemon balm, mint. Cultivated in seedlings or sowing seeds in the soil. When growing seedlings at home, the seeds can be pre-soaked in a moist cloth on a saucer. Sprouted seeds are sown one by one in prepared paper or peat-and-peptone pots, where plants are grown before planting into the ground. Spring sowing in the soil can be carried out with germinated seeds, ensuring sufficient moisture in the soil in order to avoid the death of sprouts. Subzimnium sowing is carried out only by dry seeds, usually in the middle or end of November - in time, guaranteeing seed germination in the fall. Sow seeds in grooves to a depth of 2-4 cm, providing a distance between plants in a row of 20-25 cm. Care of plants is in weeding, loosening and watering if necessary. Every year in spring, fertilizing with mineral fertilizers is carried out. Sage is grown in one place up to 6 years.
On the medicinal sage, after 2-3 years of age, the rejuvenation of plants, which is carried out at the earliest spring time( before the beginning of the sap movement), has cut off the shoots at an altitude of 10-12 cm from the soil surface. This method increases the bushiness and productivity of plants.
Muscat Sage( S. sclarea) has a spicy, even stronger odor, which is why it is usually planted as a standard of sage smell and for its attractiveness. In addition to perennial forms, the musk sage also has one- and two-year-olds. Annual forms bloom and bear fruit already in the first year of vegetation, after which they perish. Biennial in the first year form a root rosette of leaves, and in the second year they give seeds and then, as a rule, die. Perennial forms of sage can begin to bear fruit both from the first and from the second year of life. Sage muscat has anti-inflammatory and disinfectant effect. It is used for diseases of the musculoskeletal system, peripheral nervous system( sciatica, rheumatism, sciatica), kidneys, stomach, with palpitation.
Muscatine sage varieties are most valued most Voznesensky, Crimean early and Moldavian.
Collection: medicine and cooking use sage leaves, which after collection are dried in the shade, in a draft or artificially at a temperature of no higher than 35 ° C.Sage leaves are stored in a cool dry place.
Medicinal properties: among the main medicinal properties of sage can be called astringents, disinfectants, anti-inflammatory and phytoncidal properties. Anti-inflammatory and bactericidal properties of sage are associated with the content in its composition of tannins, flavonoid compounds and essential oil, as well as the presence in sage of some hemostatic action. Most often in folk medicine, a sage tea broth is used to rinse the mouth and throat with inflammatory processes, colds, tonsillitis, stomach disorders, with excessive sweating, to wash badly healing wounds, with inflammation of the periosteum and to eliminate sputum from the respiratory tract during catarrh. Do not neglect the action of sage and to improve the digestive process. Sage has astringent and anti-inflammatory effect. It is very good as a tonic. Sage can not be used for a long period of time.
Application: infusions and decoctions of sage are used for inflammatory diseases of the oropharynx, nasopharynx and upper respiratory tract, taking into account astringent, anti-inflammatory, disinfecting and phytoncidal properties of the plant. Sage leaves in the form of infusion are used for rinses, inhalations, lotions and moist turundas. Infusions of sage are also used for inflammatory diseases of the skin, for the treatment of festering ulcers and wounds, with light burns and frostbites. With a curative purpose, use gauze wipes moistened with sage infusion, prescribe common or local baths with infusion.
Use sage tinctures for gastritis and peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum. Assign also sage for inflammation of the bladder. Separately, galenic sage preparations are rarely used, usually sage leaves are included in complex collections. Due to the fact that essential oil of sage has a valuable property to fix odors, it is used to make persistent fragrant substances. The leaves have a strong sharp-spicy smell, a spicy, bitter taste. This is an excellent spice, but it should be consumed in small quantities. Sage gives a more delicate and pleasant taste to sauces, omelets with herbs and cheese, herring, ear, grilled meat, especially hare and pork, minced meat, kidneys, game and ham. Chicken liver with sage becomes a delicacy and acquires a different, spicy, taste. Many people like to add sage to soups and to meat fillings, shish kebab, roasted meat in gypsy, to poultry, lamb and meat dishes. Fresh sage leaves can be strung alternately with bacon, meat, onions and tomatoes on a skewer for frying over a fire or in a grill. Sage blends well with rosemary medicinal.
Carp with sage
Peel carp, cut into pieces 1.5 cm wide. Salt, sprinkle with grated garlic, ginger, salt, add a little sage. Roll in flour and bake in oil. Serve with potatoes or salad.
Putanika with
sage 4 pieces of pork( veal), 2 tbsp.l.chopped lard, garlic cloves, 4 sage leaves, salt, black pepper, 1 carrot, a little thyme, bay leaves, 200 g of wine, 100 g of broth or water, 1 tbsp.l.vegetable oil, a piece of butter
Fight off each piece of meat, rub it with bacon and garlic, add 1 sage leaf, wrap and stick with a stick. Bake in vegetable oil with broth( water) and wine. Add the butter to the prepared dish. Serve to the table with boiled rice, potatoes, fresh vegetable salad.