Ingredient: Sage
(Garden sage, Kitchen sage, and Dalmatian sage)
Category: Herbs, Spices & Seasoning
Season: All
Common sage (Salvia officinalis) is a small evergreen subshrub, with woody stems, grayish leaves, and blue to purplish flowers.
It is native to the Mediterranean region
Common sage is grown in many parts of Europe , especially the Balkans for distillation of the essential oil, though other species, such as Salvia triloba may also be harvested and distilled with it.
Culinary uses
As a herb, sage is considered to have a slight peppery flavour .
In Western cooking , it is used for flavouring fatty meats (especially as a marinade), cheeses (Sage Derby), and some drinks.
In Britain and Flanders , sage is used with onion for poultry or pork stuffing and also in sauces.
Sage forms the dominant flavouring in the English Lincolnshire sausage
In French cuisine , sage is used for cooking white meat and in vegetable soups.
The Germans often use sage in sausage dishes ..
Sage is also common in Italian cooking .
Sage is sauteed in olive oil and butter until crisp , then plain or stuffed pasta is added (burro e salvia).
In the Balkans and the Middle East , sage is used when roasting mutton |