Food

Food Information

Herbs&Spice

SAGE

SAGE (Salvia species)

The most familiar species is the 2 foot tall shrubby perennial Salvia officinalis or garden sage. Its gray green leaves are shaped like elongated ovals, 1-2 inches long-and have a coarse surface covered with small bumps. The flowers appear on tall spikes and are usually violet-blue. The variety 'Tricolor' has leaves variegated with white and purple red; 'Golden sage' has yellow variations on the edges of the leaves; and purple sage
has deep reddish purple foliage.

Two other familiar herb garden species are pineapple sage (S. gracilistyla) and clary sage (S. sclarea). Pineapple sage is a 2-3 foot tender perennial with deliciously fragrant light green leaves and scarlet flowers in the fall. Clary sage-often grown for its pretty flowers, is biennial and has large, 6-7 inch leaves that become smaller as they approach the ends of the stems. It is the tallest of the three species and reaches 3-4 feet.

Garden sage was highly valued for its medicinal qualities and was said to cure ailments ranging from broken bones and wounds to stomach disorders and loss of memory. It was said of this herb, "How can a man die with sage growing in his garden?" Clary sage was thought to cure eye infections and cataracts and was called "clear eye" after the custom of naming plants according to the parts of the body they were supposed to cure. The leaves of clary sage were also fried in batter, like fritters, and eaten with lamb.

Sage likes poor but well drained soil and full sun. It is fairly drought resistant. Over watering-especially from the top-may cause serious mildew problems. Cut back the stems after blooming. If you cut frequently for the leaves, fertilize plants occasionally with a well balanced fertilizer. You can grow new plants of all three species from seeds, and garden and pineapple sages from layers and stem cuttings; renew plants every 3 or 4 years.

Use the fresh or dried leaves with lamb, meat stuffing, sausage, cheese, and roast goose. Sages have been used in making beer and ale, as mouth washes and tooth cleansers, and to stimulate hair growth. Pork and roast goose were not considered well cooked unless sage had been used in preparing them.