Our herb spotlight this week is all about sage. It’s fresh, warm, earthy, and ready to be the star of your kitchen. From taste profile to health facts, to decor ideas, to recipes, we’ve assembled our top 4 things you need to know about sage!
1. Taste Profile
Sage’s flavor is often described as astringent, but warm. With a deep earthy taste, sage pairs extremely well with sweet or acidic flavors, making it a great choice alongside fruits like pineapple or infused into simple syrups for cocktails. For a milder taste, cook it! It will soften the flavor.
2. Health Rundown
- Inflammation often gets a bad rap. It’s actually extremely helpful in healing infection and injuries, but if it’s not treated, it can cause huge health issues. Because of sage’s unique volatile compounds, the herb possesses anti-inflammatory qualities that are highly useful—especially in dental health.
- The use of this herb can decrease bad fats in the blood and can help treat high cholesterol and other complications. Recently, a study found that taking sage leaf extract at 500 mg dose every 8 hours for 2 months decreased cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, and increased HDL cholesterol compared to the placebo groups.
- Sharper memory, sharper brain. Alzheimer’s patients who consistently took sage as a treatment showed improvement in brain function when compared to the control group with moderate Alzheimer’s disease. But this herb isn’t just good for the older crowd. Younger focus groups showed an improved immediate word recall capability.
Use of sage is not intended to replace a meaningful relationship with a trusted medical professional.
Fun Facts About Sage
- If you’re looking to deter animals, simply burn sage. The smoke drives away animals. In fact, you don’t always need to burn it — put a dried leaf between linens to drive off insects.
- Sage superstitions: people generally believe sage has the ability to increase a woman’s fertility, ward off all evil, and cure snakebites.
- Sage was initially so revered for its medicinal qualities, it was named for it. The botanical name comes from the Latin word “salvere,” which means “to be saved.”
3. Instant Decor
Sage has such a beautiful texture and color that it can easily become your go-to centerpiece. Instantly add fresh scents to your cut flower arrangement or place it in your favorite vase for decor. A bouquet of this herb makes every tabletop, desktop, and countertop just a little brighter.
4. Get Eating
Sage & Garlic Roasted Vegetables
With its warm, astringent taste, this fresh herb transforms these classic veggies into a restaurant-level dish. We suggest making this recipe a mouth-watering side—it hosts complex flavors that will perfectly complement a juicy cut of steak. Or, if you’d rather, use vegan butter and make it meatless!
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 cups quartered baby potatoes
- 2 cups large broccoli florets
- 1 large carrot cut into sticks—about 1 cup
- 1 cup trimmed & quartered Brussels sprouts
- 3 Tbsp melted butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 large fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
- ½ tsp salt
- Black pepper, to taste
- ½ cup pecan halves
- Fresh sage leaves, for garnish
- Olive oil
HOW-TO:
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine quartered potatoes, broccoli florets, carrot sticks, quartered Brussels sprouts, melted butter, garlic, sage, salt, and pepper. Massage the vegetables (especially the broccoli tops) to infuse the flavors from the seasoning.
- Spread the vegetables on the baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes.
- Using the same bowl you mixed the vegetables in, toss pecans with remaining butter, garlic, and sage. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- After vegetables have baked for 25 minutes, sprinkle sheet with seasoned pecans and bake until vegetables are tender and pecans are toasted — about 5 additional minutes.
Sage is one of our all-time favorite herbs in the kitchen. The more we learn about it, the more love it. If you’re interested in growing your own sage, make sure to herb garden kits!
Psst! Check out our Oregano Herb Spotlight.
