Sage, Rosemary and Thyme:


in cooking and in medicine by Caroline Sheldrick MNIMH


HIGHLIGHTING HERBS


Sage, Rosemary and Thyme are a happy trio, joyfully celebrated in the chorus ‘Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme’ of many an English traditional song, one of which, ‘Scarborough Fair’, was popularised by Simon and Garfunkel in the 1960s.


The first thing to note about these three herbs from a botanical point of view is that they are all of the family Labiatae, one of the most cherished families of medicinal herbs. A quick glance at that family’s section in Keble Martin’s classic Concise British Flora in Colour shows that nearly all of the genera have members with a traditional use in herbal medicine*.


The Labiatae that originate from continental Europe, and particularly the Mediterranean, are aromatics, comprising volatile oils which impart their own individual scent. To arrive by boat or aeroplane at a warm Mediterranean country and to smell the air scented by aromatics is a sensation never to be forgotten; the experience can be recreated in an enclosed, hot garden in this country on a sunny day.


The principal properties of this family are that they are antiseptic and carminative: in other words, they control


Thyme can be dried and stored with very little loss of flavour, unlike other herbs


the spread of micro-organisms and help in the digestion of food. No wonder they were central to our traditional cookery, where they added to the flavour of meat dishes, helped us digest them, and saved the dish from spoiling through bacterial infection. They have also been used in medicine from earliest times.


Salvia officinalis (as usual, the ‘officinalis’ tells us it has been used as medicine) is a sub-shrub, sun-loving, which prefers well-drained soil. Graham Stuart Thomas describes the flowers as ‘beautifully shaped, the upper petal arching forward in the shape of a hood, as in the White Dead Nettle’. These flower shapes are typical of Labiates and are found in members of all the genera.


Sage is known as the ‘herb of immortality’, said by Theophrastus (c. 372–287BC) to drive away ‘the evils of illness and old age’. The botanic name Salvia comes from the Latin salvare, meaning to save or cure. In English sage means wise, and reflects the traditional view that it has the power to enhance inner wisdom.


Rosemary is a ‘head’ herb, used for stuffiness in the head leading to headaches, catarrh or poor memory, and improves the flow of blood to the brain


Sage is highly antiseptic and has antibacterial and antifungal properties. It was used to treat intestinal and chest infections which would have been fatal in the past – reminding us that a herb garden is also a medicine cabinet. It makes a good digestive remedy as it relaxes spasm and relieves colic and griping. It improves digestion and is used in cooking with rich and heavy foods. Sage and onion stuffing goes well with fatty meats such as goose


As individual as you are... The Suffolk Herbs Catalogue


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