The market · Herbs and aromatics · Southern Europe

Tarragon

A soft herb with a sweet, clear anise taste — the backbone of béarnaise.

anise · sweet · green

Kinds

French
The one to cook with: aromatic, grown from cuttings.
Russian
Coarser and much milder; grows from seed, so it's what most seed packets are.

Goes with

chickeneggbutterwhite wine vinegar

Knowing it

Where to buy
Supermarkets and greengrocers. Dried tarragon keeps little of it.
Worth knowing
A little goes a long way; it can take over a dish.

Kitchens that keep it in

Georgia — the South Caucasus, between the Black Sea and the CaspianGeorgianWalnuts ground into sauces, fistfuls of fresh herbs, cheese breads and sour plums — cooking made for long tables and long toasts.10 classics

More herbs and aromatics, in season with it

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