Herb and Spice of the Week - Summer Savory

Summer savory (Satureja hortensis) is the better known of the savory species. It is an annual, but otherwise is similar in use and flavor to the perennial winter savory. It is used more often than winter savory, which has a slightly more bitter flavor.

This herb has lilac tubular flowers which bloom in the northern hemisphere from July to September.

Summer savory

It grows to around 30 to 60 cm (0.98 to 1.97 ft) in height and has very slender, bronze-green leaves.

Summer savory is a traditional popular herb in Atlantic Canada, where it is used in the same way sage is elsewhere. It is the main flavoring in dressing for many fowl, mixed with ground pork and other basic ingredients to create a thick meat dressing known as cretonnade (cretonade) which may be eaten with turkey, goose and duck. It also is used to make stews such as fricot, and in meat pies. It is usually available year-round in local grocery stores in dried form and is used in varying proportions, sometimes added to recipes in large generous heaping spoonfuls (such as in cretonnade), and sometimes more subtly (as in beans, for which savory has a natural affinity). Summer savory is a characteristic ingredient of herbes de Provence, a fairly standard mixture of dried herbs sold in most US and Canadian stores which specialise in French foods. It is also widely used as a seasoning for grilled meats and barbecues, as well as in stews and sauces.

Summer savory is preferred over winter savory for use in sausages because of its sweeter, more delicate aroma. It plays an important role in Bulgarian cuisine, providing a strong and pungent flavor to the most simple and the most extravagant of dishes. Instead of salt and pepper, a Bulgarian table will have three condiments: salt, paprika, and savory. When these are mixed it is called "colorful salt" (sharena sol, шарена сол).

Summer savory is used in Romanian cuisine, especially in sarmale (stuffed cabbage or grape leaf rolls).

The plant is called Bohnenkraut in German, bonenkruid in Dutch, sarriette in French, santoreggia in Italian, ajedrea in Spanish, θρούμπι (throúbi) in Greek, cząber ogrodowy in Polish, чубрица (chubritsa) in Bulgarian, cimbru in Romanian, borsikafű in Hungarian and чубар (čubar) in Serbian.

Summer savory is raised from seeds, sown early in April, in shallow drills, 9 inches or a foot apart. Select a sunny situation and thin out the seedlings, when large enough, to 6 inches apart in the rows. It likes a rich, light soil.

The seeds may also be sown broadcast, when they must be thinned out, the thinned out seedlings being planted in another bed at 6 inches distance from each other and well watered. The seeds are very slow in germinating.

The early spring seedlings may be first topped for fresh use in June. When the plants are in flower, they may be pulled up and dried for winter use.


Summer savory