tarragon

One of the classic French culinary herbs, tarragon has a long and illustrious pedigree. Its very name, Artemisia dracunculus, evokes ancient, even mythical times: Continue reading →

With a name like Artemisia dracunculus, you would think that it was referring to Count Dracula. But on the contrary, it is the botanical name for a sweet little gem called tarragon.

Tarragon is a perennial herb with an interesting story. As early as 500 BC, tarragon was used by the Greeks as well as the Arabs, and it was alleged at that time, that tarragon was called little Dragon Mugwort, either because of its exceptionally potent flavor or because of the strange shape of its serpentine roots. It was touted as curing nasty little bug bites and stings, as well as, venomous bites from much larger and beastlier animals. The French have since then continued calling tarragon, estragon meaning, "little dragon". Continue reading →