How often do you use Sage – April Featured Ingredient? Most often, it’s the herb known for seasoning turkey and dressing at Thanksgiving. But did you know sage is so much more. Sage can be used as a dry herb yet a little goes a long way. Fresh sage leaves can be chopped and mixed with butter to make sauces for pasta or gnocchi. This is a popular combination loved throughout Italy. Sage also goes well with fattier cuts of meats like pork and lamb and poultry like whole chicken. Read on, as I guarantee this delectable minty, citrus herb could just become your new favorite. Wanting to add a different flavor profile to your next roast chicken dinner or homemade breakfast sausage? Try Sage – April Featured Ingredient for a fresh savory infusion of flavor to your next dinner meal plan.
Sage – April Featured Ingredient
Nine hundred species of sage can be found today. Sage is a velvety, gray-green leaf plant which can be grown in your own herb garden and sold in small packages at your local market and soon, farmers markets. Leaves are picked from the plant, washed, and dried before use. Garlic, rosemary, and bay leaf are other herbs sage works extremely well with. Commonly used in English cuisine, Italian cuisine, and of course American cuisine, Sage – April Featured Ingredient elicits a warm fuzzy feeling best known around the holidays. But let’s think outside traditional holiday fare as this herb has so much to offer any meal.
So where did sage originate? Sage is a member of the mint family and native to the Mediterranean. More than 50 percent of all sage is grown and cultivated in the United States, Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia. This culinary herb maybe referred to as common sage, kitchen sage, or garden sage. One of the main ingredients in fresh poultry seasoning is sage, however dry poultry seasoning can be made, too.
Sage – April Featured Ingredient
Growing sage is easy and fun. Having fresh herbs available for cooking when you need them is one reason why I grow them. Plus I love the smell of fresh herbs. Depending on where you live, sage can be considered a perennial, meaning it will grow year around. Tiny blue flowers will bloom once the plant matures, ranging from 12 to 24 inches tall. Sage enjoys a well-drained, full sun environment. I suggest placing small rocks on top of soil in your planter to keep bottom leaves dry otherwise they will rot. Sage is susceptible to mold and mildew which will eventually kill the plant if not controlled. These plants are great combined with other herbs to create your very own herb garden.
Sage – April Featured Ingredient
To store sage, wrap fresh plant leaves in a barely damp paper towel and loosely place in a Ziploc bag under refrigeration up to five days. If you have more than you’ll use in that amount of time, dry your leaves then crumble and store in air tight spice bottles.
If you haven’t grown your own herbs, I highly recommend you do starting with sage. So click here to read more or stop at your local garden center for more info on sage. Whether you’re not use to cooking with fresh herbs or a novice, growing your own allows you to explore the flavors of both fresh and dry. The flavors are more potent when dry while fresh is earthy and warm. Some are better used fresh as a finishing touch or better used dry for long cooking recipes. In addition, sage is a pretty herb plant as well as pleasant smelling. I love just love multipurpose anything. Enjoy your adventure in growing and cooking with Sage – April Featured Ingredient.
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