the.com/tarragon
the herb that tastes like licorice had a sophisticated French affair with anise
means A slender-leaved aromatic herb with a delicate anise-like flavor, prized in French cooking for dishes like béarnaise sauce and chicken with tarragon.
from The name slithers in from a surprising place: it traces back through Medieval Latin tarchon to the Arabic tarkhun, the herb's name in that language. The deeper root is likely Greek drakon, meaning 'dragon' — which also gives us the plant's old name 'dragonwort' and the French estragon, a cousin of the same family. Why a dragon? The popular story points to the herb's coiled, serpentine roots, though the connection is murky enough that no one can swear to the original reasoning.
- sterile star
- French tarragon can't make seeds, only clones survive
- name origin
- From Arabic for little dragon, named for coiled roots
- numbing trick
- Chewing leaves slightly numbs the tongue
- vinegar soulmate
- Defines béarnaise sauce and classic French cooking
- Russian impostor
- Russian tarragon is hardier but nearly flavorless
french tarragon — artemisia dracunculus var. sativa, the culinary variety prized in french cooking since the 17th century
russian tarragon — artemisia dracunculus var. inodora, hardier but less flavorful clone grown across eastern europe and siberia