Hello my dear readers,
October already…in most of the world the cold weather started already and in some parts, spring is bringing up to life everything. What a beautiful world we have.
Today I would like to take you with me and discover a very used fragrant herb…Today let’s discover the rosemary and everything you need to know about this aromatic herb.
I believe most of you already know this woody, evergreen, with its needle-like leaves aromatic plant.
Rosemary, derives from the Latin name ros marinus, which literally means “dew of the sea.”, a member of the mint family, native to the Mediterranean region, has been hailed since ancient times as early as 5000 BC and after that was lost trace of it until Egyptians started to use it in their burial rituals. Then no other further mention of rosemary until the ancient Greeks and Romans, when the Greek botanist Pedanius Dioscorides, talked about rosemary in his most famous writing, De Materia Medica, one of the most influential herbal books in history.
Then the rosemary started its journey from Greece to China, from China to England and then to America, to South America and all around the world.
Rosemary is a low maintenance herb, pest-resistant and it can survive also a severe lack of water for lengthy periods, which sometimes happens when I’m travelling. If you try to grow it from seeds it will start very slowly but it can last even for 30 years.
My rosemary has 5 years and the beauty of this plant is that I keep cutting it and it keeps growing and become more and more like a little bush. The plant will naturally branch off from wherever I cut it, as long as I don’t cut the entire stem all the way back to the base of the plant.
The plant can also flower with white, pink, purple or deep blue flowers. Is gorgeous when is in bloom.
Rosemary it doesn’t deserve too much attention, I water it once per day and I don’t keep it in the direct sunlight. It thrive in warm, humid environments, so Singapore is the perfect place for it.
I only changed the pot one time, because I want to keep it this size, but it can grow quite large. I’m changing the soil maybe once per year. If you grow it in the garden, it will become a beautiful bushes and you can use it also as a landscape 😉
The rosemary has a warm, bitter, and astringent taste but yet it gives a flavorful finishing touch to many savoury dishes, like focaccia, chicken, lamb and it goes very well with barbecued meat and according to USDA, fresh rosemary has a very high reserve of vitamins such as vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B6, thiamin, folate, as well as minerals like magnesium, calcium, copper, iron, and manganese. It also has high dietary fiber and it is low in cholesterol and sodium but high in saturated fats.
A few of my delicious dishes were I’ve used rosemary:
Beside the fact that it is used as a versatile culinary seasoning and has a wonderful perfume, is also commonly used as ornamental plantings in the landscape.
Laboratory studies have shown rosemary to be rich in antioxidants and may also be good for our brain and might improve recovery. It was approved also for the treatment of indigestion and the aroma from rosemary can improve a person’s concentration, performance, speed, and accuracy and, last but not least improve our mood.
There are several legend around this lovely aromatic herb. It is said that rosemary will grow particularly well in gardens tended by strong-willed women. The fragrant herb was exchanged between friends as a symbol of loyalty and was believed to have magical powers to banish evil spirits.
Do you use rosemary in your kitchen?
Thank you all for reading.
Join me next time and let’s discover Athens, the place where all started in Europe: philosophy, art, history, politics and democracy.
And if you would like to discover more about our food, you may enjoy my previous posts
- Discovering our food: Beans
- Discovering our food: Cauliflower
- Discovering our food: Grapes
- Discovering our food: Eggplants
- Discovering our food: Parsley
- Discovering our food: Zucchini
- Discovering our food: Watermelon
- Discovering our food: Tomatoes
- Discovering our food: Basil
Photo credit: Pixabay, Popsicle Society edited by Popsicle Society