HerbFresh or dried leaf
Sage
Salvia officinalis
A few velvety leaves in the pan, or a brief gargle tea you do not swallow.
Garden sage is for butter, beans, and squash. A short infusion is traditional as a mouth rinse — spit it out. It is a strong leaf; a little is enough.
Traditional uses
- Brown-butter sage on pasta or gnocchi
- Beans, onions, and winter squash
- A cooled infusion as a brief mouth rinse
How to prepare
- 1
Cooking: fry whole leaves in butter until crisp, 30–60 seconds.
- 2
Rinse tea: 1 tsp dried leaf, 5 minutes, cool, use as a rinse, do not make a daily drinking habit of it.
- 3
Dry extra leaves in the shade.
Kitchen & home
- A small plant in a pot is plenty for a household.
- Pair with lemon and black pepper more often than with cream.
- Purple or pineapple sage are milder cousins for tea.
Go gently
- Culinary amounts. Avoid strong daily sage tea, especially in pregnancy.
- Essential oil is not a cooking ingredient.
