Summer savory facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Summer savory |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Satureja
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| Species: |
hortensis
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Summer savory (Satureja hortensis) is a well-known herb. It is famous for its sweet and peppery taste. This plant is used in many dishes around the world. It is an annual, which means it grows for one season and then dies. It is similar to winter savory in how it's used and how it tastes. However, summer savory is used more often because it has a milder flavor. Winter savory can be a bit more bitter.
This herb has pretty lilac-colored flowers. They look like small tubes. In the northern parts of the world, these flowers bloom from July to September. The plant usually grows to be about 30 to 60 centimeters (about 1 to 2 feet) tall. It has very thin, bronze-green leaves.
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Cooking with Summer Savory
Summer savory is a very popular herb in Atlantic Canada. People there use it a lot, similar to how sage is used in other places.
In Canadian Dishes
It is the main flavor in stuffing for many birds like turkey, goose, and duck. It is mixed with ground pork and other basic ingredients. This creates a thick meat dressing called cretonnade. People also use summer savory to make stews, like fricot. It is also found in meat pies. You can usually buy dried summer savory all year round in grocery stores. Sometimes, a lot is added to recipes, like in cretonnade. Other times, it's used more subtly, like in beans. Savory and beans go very well together!
In European Cooking
Summer savory is a key ingredient in a famous French herb mix called herbes de Provence. It is also widely used to season grilled meats and barbecues. You can find it in stews and sauces too.
People often prefer summer savory over winter savory for making sausages. This is because summer savory has a sweeter and more delicate smell.
It is very important in Bulgarian cuisine. It gives a strong flavor to many different dishes. In Bulgaria, instead of just salt and pepper, a table will often have three things: salt, red sweet pepper, and summer savory. When these are mixed together, it is called sharena sol. This means 'speckled salt'.
Summer savory is known as cimbru in Romanian cuisine. It is used a lot in dishes like sarmale. These are rolls made with stuffed cabbage or grape leaves. It is also used in mititei, which are grilled rolls of ground meat.
Other Names for Summer Savory
This plant has many different names around the world. Here are some of them:
- In German, it's Bohnenkraut.
- In Dutch, it's bonenkruid.
- In French, it's sarriette.
- In Italian, it's santoreggia.
- In Portuguese, it's segurelha.
- In Spanish, it's ajedrea.
- In Greek, it's θρούμπι (throúbi).
- In Polish, it's cząber.
- In Bulgarian, it's чубрица (chubritsa).
- In Romanian, it's cimbru.
- In Hungarian, it's borsikafű.
- In Serbian, it's чубар (čubar).
- In Ukrainian, it's чабер (chaber).
- In Uzbek, it's жамбил (jambil).
How Summer Savory Grows
Summer savory grows from seeds. These seeds are planted in soil that is rich and light. The seeds can take a little while to sprout.
Young plants that sprout in early spring can be picked in June for fresh use. When the plants are flowering, they can be pulled up. Then, they are dried to be used during the winter months.
See also
In Spanish: Ajedrea de jardín para niños
