Herb of the Week – Savory

Savory is a delicious herb that, to me, smells similar to thyme, but more subtle, and looks similar to rosemary. This was very confusing when I first discovered this in the garden, because I had never heard of savory before. It wasn’t till early last year that I figured out what it was.

What we actually have in the garden is winter savory, a perennial herb, that starts to come back when the weather gets warm (I guess its called ‘winter’ because it technically survives the winter). Its counterpart, summer savory, is an annual, and will die with the first frost.

Winter Savory in the Garden

Last planting season, I decided to grow summer savory, too. It grew well in a container, but since I have winter savory already growing in the garden in abundance, I didn’t think there was enough of a difference in taste to justify growing it again this year (I’ll take any extra space I have!). Winter savory is supposed to be a little bit more bitter, but my palate is not refined enough where I can really tell the difference.

Savory is supposed to be good to add for bean dishes (savory also has been rumored to ease flatulence — I wonder if that paring is based on flavor alone! Ha!), but whatever you add it to, it should be added at the end of cooking, because the longer you cook it, the more flavor it will lose.

May 18, 2012 В· Sheryl В· No Comments
Tags:  В· Posted in: Herbs

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