Spice Pages: Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus)

French Tarragon with flowers

French tarragon, sterile sprig

It is indeed amazing why tarragon is so little used in con­tempo­rary European cuisine — tarragon’s subtle yet spicy anise fragrance can improve many different kinds of dishes, and is particular suited for lightly flavoured food as is popular in Western and Central Europe. Maybe the low popularity of tarragon can be explained by the fact that tarragon should always be used as a fresh herb, yet gardeners more frequently sell Russian tarragon, an almost flavourless variety. For whatever reason, tarragon is today almost a quiet tip for expert chefs; those less interested in culinary matters will find it almost exclusively in the form of tarragon-flavoured mustard paste (see white mustard). In the USA, tarragon is largely replaced by the similar yet sweeter Mexican tarragon.

Yet, in Southern Europe, particularly in France, tarragon is more popular; it is a component of the herbes de Provence (see lavender), of the fines herbes (see chives) and of French bouquet garni (see parsley). In French cuisine, tarragon is preferred as a fresh herb whenever possible.

Most Near Eastern cuisines make only sporadic use of tarragon, but Georgia (pretty much addicted to fresh herbs) is an exception. Georgian cooking uses a local variety of tarragon that has similar (but weaker) flavour as French tarragon, and it is often employed as a green garnish, and in some dishes as the main flavouring. An example is chakapuli [ჩაქაფული], a rather liquid stew of lamb chops with white wine and water, flavoured with ample chopped fresh tarragon that is simmered for some time with the meat. Usually, the dish acquires a fruity note by addition of unripe t’q’emali plums [ტყემალი], or the tkemali sauce made therefrom. In Georgia, there is also a carbonated softdrink with tarragon flavour (and an artificially green colour).

The rich and pleasant fra­grance of German (or French) tar­ragon makes it a great ad­dition to delicate European poultry dishes, herb sauces based on sour cream or mayon­naise or mush­rooms. Tar­ragon is, however, most popular for salads; fre­quently, it is used to fla­vour vinegar (see dill) or olive oil used for salad dres­sings. For such purposes, tarragon can be combined with capers.

Tarragon is the characteristic flavouring for sauce béarnaise, a famous and justly praised recipe of classic French cuisine. For its preparation, molten butter is mixed with egg yolk and whisked over moderate heat until the sauce thickens. Sauce béarnaise owes its taste to white wine vinegar reduced to about one fifth of its original volume together with shallots (see onion), black pepper corns, tarragon and parsley leaves. The delicately flavoured sauce is mostly suggested to be served with fried, roasted or broiled meat, but it also goes well with boiled vegetables.

Sauce béarnaise may be considered as a more spicy variant of sauce hollandaise; the latter is made only from lemon juice, white wine, yolk and butter. Sauce hollandaise is typically served with boiled asparagus or artichokes. Sauces of this kind are called emulgated sauces, because they consist of fat drops finely dispersed in a water-like fluid (vinegar or lemon juice); such systems are referred to as emulsions by chemists. Another emulgated sauce is mayonnaise, made of vegetable oil, egg yolk and lemon juice (or another slightly acidic liquid).

For their high fat content, emulgated sauces can be flavoured by herbs and spices efficiently, according to the cook’s phantasy. Obvious choices for a herbed hollandaise (or a variant béarnaise) are chervil, dill and basil; less obvious but very effective is lemon myrtle in combination with some black pepper. A great, yet not so well-known recipe is sauce maltaise (Maltese sauce, named after the Mediterranean island of Malta), which has a distinct fruity note from both orange juice and freshly grated orange peel; a hint of nutmeg enhances the aroma. Maltese sauce goes very well with fish and shellfish, but it is also traditional for asparagus. An example for a flavoured mayonnaise is aïoli (see garlic). Italian tuna sauce (salsa tonnata, see capers) is another example of an emulgated sauce, though much varied from the basic mayonnaise recipe.