Product Description
PURPOSE
WHAT IS IT?
Tarragon is an herb from the sunflower family. It’s a signature flavorant in French cuisine, that behaves more like a spice blend.
EXPERIENCE
Their soft, and aromatic, leaves have a fragrant scent that suggests slightly sweet notes, although it’s not sweet.
The flavor and aroma of tarragon is complex, almost like a spice blend, perfumed with notes of basil, licorice, anise, finishing with a touch of pine and grass.
It is best used as the primary flavorant, with simple supporting role players that provide depth, like an umami onion powder, or piquant white pepper, and, of course, salt, or sugar.
If you are going to use it for vinegars, or oils, the fresh is a must! The fresher the better. When tarragon gets a bad name from chefs, it is usually used when it is getting too old, and the compounds in the leaves have degraded, and become a bit bitter. Some people, especially in France, will dump it into vinegar, thinking that the acid will cure it. Quite the opposite, it will accelerate those negative flavors!
CULINARY GEOGRAPHY
While widely considered a European herb due to the raging popularity and major presence in French cuisine, it was actually brought to Europe during the Arab rule over Spain in the 8th century. However, credit does belong to the French who brought tarragon into its culinary status.
TRADITIONAL USES
- Pickling spice
- Used in cream sauces
- Used to flavor liquors and spirits
- Blended with butter for breads, or to top steamed vegetables;
- Used in condiments like oils, vinegars, and mustards;
- A staple of French cream sauces;
- Applies well to meats, poultry, fish, breads, eggs, and pretty much any protein.
- Season and garnish cooked vegetables
IMPROVISATIONAL ‘RIFFS’
- Great in American corn bread, as a side to a stew;
- Add to melted white chocolate, then dip a strawberry;
- Aromatic alternative for Jamaican spinners and peas;
- Add to almond oil, with a touch of salt for a great pasta side.
THE BACKSTORY
Native to a range from France to Russia, into western Asia, the majority of tarragon is grown in France. While it’s thought of as a quintessentially French herb these days, the French were late pour la fête to using it for culinary purposes. It is thought that the Mongols, in Western Asia, used it first as a breath freshener, and a seasoning. Italy introduced it into their cuisine in the 10th century, when the invading Mongols brought it there. The tarragon-mad French can thank St. Catherine, we understand, who, while visiting Pope Clement VI, delighted in the taste, and brought it to France during her lifetime, in the 14th century.
AKA
Afrikaans: dragonkruid
Albanian: tarragon / dragoni
Amharic: ታራጎን
Arabic: الطرخون (al-ṭarkhūn)
Armenian: թարխուն
Azerbaijani: tərxun
Basque: estragoi
Belarusian: эстрагон
Bengali: ট্যারাগন
Bosnian: estragon
Bulgarian: естрагон
Catalan: estragó
Chinese (Simplified): 龙蒿
Chinese (Traditional): 龍蒿
Croatian: estragon
Czech: estragon
Danish: estragon
Dutch: dragon
English: tarragon
Estonian: estragon
Finnish: rakuuna
French: estragon
Galician: estragón
Georgian: ტარხუნა
German: Estragon
Greek: εστραγκόν
Hebrew: טרגון
Hindi: तारागोन
Hungarian: tárkony
Icelandic: estragon
Indonesian: tarragon
Irish: tarragon
Italian: dragoncello
Japanese: タラゴン
Kazakh: эстрагон
Khmer: តារ៉ាហ្គុន
Korean: 타라곤
Lao: ທາຣາກອນ
Latvian: estragons
Lithuanian: peletrūnas
Macedonian: естрагон
Malay: tarragon
Maltese: tarragon
Mongolian: эстрагон
Nepali: ट्यारागन
Norwegian: estragon
Pashto: تارګون
Persian (Farsi): ترخون
Polish: estragon
Portuguese: estragão
Romanian: tarhon
Russian: эстрагон
Serbian: естрагон
Sinhala: ටැරගොන්
Slovak: estragón
Slovenian: pehtran
Spanish: estragón
Swahili: tarragon
Swedish: dragon
Tagalog / Filipino: tarragon
Tamil: டாரகான்
Telugu: టారగాన్
Thai: ทาร์รากอน
Turkish: tarhun
Ukrainian: естрагон
Urdu: ٹیرگون
Uzbek: estragon
Vietnamese: ngải tây
Welsh: tarragon
Yiddish: טאַראַגאָן
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