An Herb To Know: Mexican Mint Marigold (tagetes Lucida) Recipe
Yield: 1 info belowRecipe by luhu.jp
Ingredients:
1: Info below,
Directions:
"Mexican mint marigold has a lot to offer. It thrives in the hot,
humid South, where many herbs languish; its small, bright flowers
blossom in fall when other herbs have played out for the season; its
licorice-anise flavor is a successful stand-in for French tarragon;
and it looks good in the garden.
"This paragon, native to the mountains of Mexico and Guatemala, is a
neat, upright bush some 3 feet tall with narrow, sharply toothed dark
green leaves. Its scent recalls that of tarragon more than it does
the pungent aroma of its familiar bedding-plant cousins, so-called
French and African marigolds. In fall, if the growing season is long
enough, the tips of the stems bear clusters of 3/8-inch golden yellow
flowers.
"Cloud plant, as this herb is known in Mexico, was first documented
there in the sixteenth century by Spanish explorers. According to
legend, the ancient Aztec chieftains used a powder made from the
aromatic leaves of mint marigold to calm the hapless victims of
sacrificial rituals. The leaves have also been used medicinally in
folk remedies for malaria, colic, and colds; a poultice of the leaves
is a traditional treatment for rattlesnake bite."
"Beside cloud plant, Mexican mint marigold has many other aliases,
most alluding to its fragrance: sweet mace, Mexican or winter
tarragon, sweet or mint-scented marigold, root beer plant, Mexican
marigold mint, and yerba anis. Its Latin generic name, Tagetes,
probably comes from Tages, an Etruscan deity said to be the grandson
of Jupiter. A boy with the wisdom of an old man who sprang from the
ground (or perhaps was plowed up), he taught the Etruscans the art of
soothsaying. The specific name, lucida, means bright or shining,
probably referring to the bright yellow-gold flowers.
"T. lucida is closely related to both ordinary garden marigolds and
the citrus-scented signet marigolds (T. tenuifolia). The latter are
prized by herb gardeners as potpourri material as well as for their
ornamental value. They are all native to the New World, unlike pot
marigold (Calendula officinalis), the herb referred to as marigold
by Gerard, Culpeper, and other great herbalists.
- In the Kitchen -
"Chop the fresh leaves and use them to season chicken and tossed green
salads, or brew them into a sweet, anise-flavored tea. The dried
leaves retain their fragrance well if kept in a sealed glass
container and protected from extreme heat and bright light..."
"In the humid South, where French tarragon is difficult to grow, mint
marigold is a fine culinary substitute. The flavor is almost
indistinguishable from that of tarragon, but because mint marigold
breaks down more quickly when heated, its best if added at the end
of cooking. In salads, vinegars, oils, or quick-cooking recipes,
substitute it for tarragon in equal proportions.
- Crafts -
"Mint marigolds dried leaves add fragrance to potpourris and sachets.
Harvest the long stems just before frost when they are tipped with
yellow-gold flowers. While theyre still green and pliable, weave
them together in groups of six or nine as you would braid hair, then
tie the two ends of each group together to form a circle. Dried
leaves can be removed as needed for cooking. If the wreaths are made
small and interwoven with other herbs, they can be tossed whole into
a soup or stew as a bouquet garni.
"The flowers add long-lasting color to dried arrangements and
bouquets. They are attractive combined with sweet Annie, broom, and
goldenrod in harvest centerpieces, or bundle the stems with
natural-colored raffia for fragrant hang-ups that add a warm ambiance
to any room. For a change of pace and scale, clip the stems short and
make miniature bouquets in tiny vases. As with other marigolds,
Mexican mint marigold looks good and lasts well in fresh flower
arrangements as well."
Excerpted from Diane Morey Sittons "An Herb to Know" column in "The
Herb Companion." April/May 1993, Vol. 5, No. 4. Pp. 20-21. Posted
by Cathy Harned.
Source from luhu.jp
humid South, where many herbs languish; its small, bright flowers
blossom in fall when other herbs have played out for the season; its
licorice-anise flavor is a successful stand-in for French tarragon;
and it looks good in the garden.
"This paragon, native to the mountains of Mexico and Guatemala, is a
neat, upright bush some 3 feet tall with narrow, sharply toothed dark
green leaves. Its scent recalls that of tarragon more than it does
the pungent aroma of its familiar bedding-plant cousins, so-called
French and African marigolds. In fall, if the growing season is long
enough, the tips of the stems bear clusters of 3/8-inch golden yellow
flowers.
"Cloud plant, as this herb is known in Mexico, was first documented
there in the sixteenth century by Spanish explorers. According to
legend, the ancient Aztec chieftains used a powder made from the
aromatic leaves of mint marigold to calm the hapless victims of
sacrificial rituals. The leaves have also been used medicinally in
folk remedies for malaria, colic, and colds; a poultice of the leaves
is a traditional treatment for rattlesnake bite."
"Beside cloud plant, Mexican mint marigold has many other aliases,
most alluding to its fragrance: sweet mace, Mexican or winter
tarragon, sweet or mint-scented marigold, root beer plant, Mexican
marigold mint, and yerba anis. Its Latin generic name, Tagetes,
probably comes from Tages, an Etruscan deity said to be the grandson
of Jupiter. A boy with the wisdom of an old man who sprang from the
ground (or perhaps was plowed up), he taught the Etruscans the art of
soothsaying. The specific name, lucida, means bright or shining,
probably referring to the bright yellow-gold flowers.
"T. lucida is closely related to both ordinary garden marigolds and
the citrus-scented signet marigolds (T. tenuifolia). The latter are
prized by herb gardeners as potpourri material as well as for their
ornamental value. They are all native to the New World, unlike pot
marigold (Calendula officinalis), the herb referred to as marigold
by Gerard, Culpeper, and other great herbalists.
- In the Kitchen -
"Chop the fresh leaves and use them to season chicken and tossed green
salads, or brew them into a sweet, anise-flavored tea. The dried
leaves retain their fragrance well if kept in a sealed glass
container and protected from extreme heat and bright light..."
"In the humid South, where French tarragon is difficult to grow, mint
marigold is a fine culinary substitute. The flavor is almost
indistinguishable from that of tarragon, but because mint marigold
breaks down more quickly when heated, its best if added at the end
of cooking. In salads, vinegars, oils, or quick-cooking recipes,
substitute it for tarragon in equal proportions.
- Crafts -
"Mint marigolds dried leaves add fragrance to potpourris and sachets.
Harvest the long stems just before frost when they are tipped with
yellow-gold flowers. While theyre still green and pliable, weave
them together in groups of six or nine as you would braid hair, then
tie the two ends of each group together to form a circle. Dried
leaves can be removed as needed for cooking. If the wreaths are made
small and interwoven with other herbs, they can be tossed whole into
a soup or stew as a bouquet garni.
"The flowers add long-lasting color to dried arrangements and
bouquets. They are attractive combined with sweet Annie, broom, and
goldenrod in harvest centerpieces, or bundle the stems with
natural-colored raffia for fragrant hang-ups that add a warm ambiance
to any room. For a change of pace and scale, clip the stems short and
make miniature bouquets in tiny vases. As with other marigolds,
Mexican mint marigold looks good and lasts well in fresh flower
arrangements as well."
Excerpted from Diane Morey Sittons "An Herb to Know" column in "The
Herb Companion." April/May 1993, Vol. 5, No. 4. Pp. 20-21. Posted
by Cathy Harned.
Source from luhu.jp