Kitchen Remedies - Tarragon

Tarragon (Artemisia Dracunculus) is mostly known for its use in Bearnaise sauce, vinegar and French cooking. Many modern herbalists do not give much attention to it as a medicinal herb.

Chewing tarragon leaves will numb your mouth and is great for a toothache. Tarragon is eugenol, which is antiseptic and is used in tooth paste is used for temporary fillings.

According to James A. Duke, Ph.D. and an authority on herbal remedies, Tarragon is caffeic acid, which is a cancer-fighting chemical. Tarragon can help cleanse the body from free radicals. This means that the cancer preventive.

Tarragon can also help your heart. Rutin chemical found in oil helps prevent plaque deposits in your arteries. Plaque buildup is a leading cause of heart disease and stroke.

To tarragon tea, use 2 teaspoons in a cup of boiling water and let steep for 15 minutes. Drink up to 3 cups daily. Another way to use tarragon is that lemon balm tea with 1 teaspoon of tarragon added, let steep for 15 minutes. When you make tea in this way, you can put a tea bag directly on the healing of cold sores.

One problem with Tarragon is that when it dries, you can lose the most value, so it should be used fresh, frozen or preserved in vinegar.

Cooking with Tarragon adds flavor eggs, chowders, soups, sauces, vegetables, fish and chicken only for a sample of its uses.

There are two varieties of tarragon, Russian and French, you should go for the French. Divide roots in spring, while plants 1 inch pieces or use the tips of cuttings in summer. You need to thin the plants to 2 foot spacing. Estragon rarely flowers, but if it does not fruits are sterile.

Tarragon bruise easily, so harvest leaves carefully in the summer. Use it fresh, frozen leaves or keep them in vinegar.