Sage (Salvia officinalis)

Sage is a very attractive perennial herb with large grey green leaves with an interesting velvet like texture, growing to about 80cm tall. It is a small perennial evergreen shrub, with woody stems, grayish leaves, and blue to purplish flowers. It is a member of the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is commonly grown as a kitchen and medicinal herb or as an ornamental garden plant. Spikes of purple flowers are borne usually in autumn and are attractive to bees.

Keep in mind that sage is a Mediterranean alpine plant, growing in stoney ground where water comes more often from mists than rainfall and will quickly evaporate in the strong sunlight, so do not over water or over fertilise sage. Sage is also available as a purple leafed cultivar that makes a striking show im the garden.

Best known as an ingredient in poultry stuffing, Sage (edible sage or garden sage) has been used medicinally for thousands of years. Sage is a strong medicinal herb and should be used with caution, especially as an essential oil. It is a uterine stimulant and must not be administered to pregnant women.

For thousands of years sage has been used for a variety of culinary and medicinal purposes. It has been used in connection with sprains, swelling, ulcers, and bleeding. As a tea, sage has been administered for sore throats and coughs. Herbalists have also used this herb for rheumatism, menstrual bleeding, strengthening the nervous system, improving memory, and sharpening the senses.

Cleary Sage is considered the most useful herb in the naturopathy arsenal, for it's stimulating and fortifying properties and is usually administered as either an aromatic oil or as an essence.

Medicinal
Because of its antiseptic qualities, sage tea is used as a gargle for a sore throat and is excellent for treating colds, mouth ulcers and sore gums. In Germany, sage is commonly used for upset stomach and excessive sweating. In England, sage is used for some symptoms of menopause. Sage is a potent source of anti-oxidants.

To make a tea to ease a sore throat, pour a cup of boiling water over two teaspoons of fresh chopped sage leaves. Allow to steep for ten minutes and add honey to taste. When using tea as a gargle for sore throats, allow it to cool till just warm.

Herbal medicine is always better with fresh herbs and sage is available from the bush all year round However, should this not be possible you gan freeze fresh leaves. To freeze fresh sage leaves, wash and pat dry, remove leaves from the stems, and pack loosely in freezer bags to freeze up to 1 year.

For colds, add the juce of half a lemon to the sage tea as well and sip the tea slowly.

Sage oil contains the chemical substances alpha- and beta-thujone, camphor, and cineole as well as other constituents including rosmarinic acid, tannins, and flavonoids. Even today, in many European countries sage is used medicinally as a gargle for sore throat and inflammation of the mouth and gums. Clinical studies also indicate that the substance found in sage oil may also offer antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral effects, explaining much of its medicinal activity. Sage contains relatively high levels of thujone but heating sage to make an infusion (or tea) eliminates much of the chemical, so the risk from medicinal amounts is negligible.

Do not take sage if you are pregnant, lactating or have a fever.

Growing
Sage prefers a sunny location with a dry, alkaline soil.  It grows best in a warm climate but will withstand English winters if protected from the frosts.You can propagate sage from summer cuttings taken with a heel or by layering established branches in spring and autumn.

To grow from seed, plant seeds in a container and place in a sunny window sill.  Place the seeds 5mm deep in the soil, and water.  Be sure to keep the soil moist, but not too wet, while you wait for the seeds to germinate.  You should see seedlings in about 14 to 21 days.  After several weeks, thin out the seedlings and select the strongest ones for planting out in the garden or in containers.  You should have large enough leaves to pick and use some in cooking a few weeks after that.

Medicinal
Because of its antiseptic qualities, sage tea is used as a gargle for a sore throat and is excellent for treating colds, mouth ulcers and sore gums. In Germany, sage is commonly used for upset stomach and excessive sweating. In England, sage is used for some symptoms of menopause. Sage is a potent source of anti-oxidants.

To make a tea to ease a sore throat, pour a cup of boiling water over two teaspoons of fresh chopped sage leaves. Allow to steep for ten minutes and add honey to taste. When using tea as a gargle for sore throats, allow it to cool till just warm.

Herbal medicine is always better with fresh herbs and sage is available from the bush all year round However, should this not be possible you gan freeze fresh leaves. To freeze fresh sage leaves, wash and pat dry, remove leaves from the stems, and pack loosely in freezer bags to freeze up to 1 year.

For colds, add the juce of half a lemon to the sage tea as well and sip the tea slowly.

Sage oil contains the chemical substances alpha- and beta-thujone, camphor, and cineole as well as other constituents including rosmarinic acid, tannins, and flavonoids. Even today, in many European countries sage is used medicinally as a gargle for sore throat and inflammation of the mouth and gums. Clinical studies also indicate that the substance found in sage oil may also offer antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral effects, explaining much of its medicinal activity. Sage contains relatively high levels of thujone but heating sage to make an infusion (or tea) eliminates much of the chemical, so the risk from medicinal amounts is negligible.

Do not take sage if you are pregnant, lactating or have a fever.

Growing
Sage prefers a sunny location with a dry, alkaline soil.  It grows best in a warm climate but will withstand English winters if protected from the frosts.You can propagate sage from summer cuttings taken with a heel or by layering established branches in spring and autumn.

To grow from seed, plant seeds in a container and place in a sunny window sill.  Place the seeds 5mm deep in the soil, and water.  Be sure to keep the soil moist, but not too wet, while you wait for the seeds to germinate.  You should see seedlings in about 14 to 21 days.  After several weeks, thin out the seedlings and select the strongest ones for planting out in the garden or in containers.  You should have large enough leaves to pick and use some in cooking a few weeks after that.

Keep the plant well pruned to encourage young shoots with a strong flavour.  Pruning also keeps the plants from becoming leggy and twiggy.  If you are growing for culinary uses, be sure to pinch out any flowers in order to encourage the tasty leaves.

Sage plants can grow in height from 15cm to 1.5 metres with a spread of 45cm or more. They can be anything from compact little plants to large specimen shrubs, dependant on the variety.

Golden Sage leaves Salvia Officinalis 'Aurea'

Sages have many possible aromas to match their colours and leaves.  These vary from the traditional strong camphor scent, through to fruity scents such as pineapple, tangerine and blackcurrant. There is even a sage that smells like eucalyptus (salvia blancoana).

Preserving
Many cooks prefer to use dried rather than fresh sage.  Dried sage comes in whole leaf, rubbed or ground form.  Rubbed sage has a light, velvety texture, whereas ground sage is more of a free-flowing powder.  As with all dried herbs, store closed containers in a cool, dry place away from sunlight and use within 6 months for the best flavour.

Pick sage early in the day

To dry sage yourself, put in a paper bag, with holes for air circulation.  Protect from dust and other pollutants and hang up in a warm dry place to dry.  Once dry crumble the leaves into a dark glass jar and store in a cool dry place out of direct light.  Unlike many other herbs, the flavour of sage increases with storage.

Culinary Uses
Sage has a strong flavour and should be used judiciously. It is traditionally used in stuffings for meats, especially pork and poultry, but is also used in a range of vegetable, fish and cheese dishes. It gives bread that country bake flavour and complements onion well (see the recipes section for Creamy Mushrooms with Shallots and Sage). Below are some plowmans buns decorated with sage leaves. A little ground sage was added to the dough.

These are an amazing breakfast treat served hot, buttered and with Manuka honey.

Because of it's strong flavour, sage is an ideal herb for roasts. Try covering a pork roast with sage leaves before roasting. Sage, fresh milled black pepper and salt added to pork mince makes a great sausage roll filling.  When roasting chicken or turkey, use your fingers to gently separate the skin from the breast meat.  Then rub a little butter on the breast and under the skin and push a small sprig or two of sage.  Pat down the skin, then roast and enjoy. 

'Sage Derby' cheese, is marvelous with beer, pickles, crusty bread and salad for a herbey ploughman's lunch and if you are looking for that one cheese to stand out from the rest on a chees platter, try Sage Derby.

Other Uses
Sage can be used for dyeing wool and fabrics by using the tops of the plant only.  Using different mordents gives a variety of colours.  You get a yellow-buff colour when an alum mordent is added, yellow when a chrome mordent is added and greeny-grey when an iron mordent is added.

As well as its culinary and medicinal uses detailed below, sage can be used in cosmetics for fragrance, as an insect repellant and makes an excellent hair rinse for dark hair.  Sage was also one of the herbs used for strewing in medieval times.

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