Herbs for Cooking by Roger Phillips

Author:Roger Phillips
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Reference, Nature, Cooking, Plants, Herbs, Recipe
Publisher: Roger Phillips

Angelica

Archangel Angelica archangelica A vigorous, but short-lived perennial, originating from Central and N Europe, as far north as the Arctic, and is naturalized in Britain and elsewhere. It makes a large plant, about 7 ft (2m) or so tall, with branching stems and large, light green, divided leaves. The tiny creamy or greenish white flowers are borne in rounded clusters up to 6 inches (15cm) across.

The crystallized stalks are used for flavouring and decorating cakes and pastries. Elizabeth David says that in the Nivernais district of France it is used in powdered form for flavouring a cream cheese tart. The young leaves can be used fresh in salads, or cooked with fruits such as rhubarb or gooseberry to alleviate the sourness. The stalks can be cut and peeled and used fresh as a vegetable; although strongly scented, they have little taste. The seeds are used commercially in the making of liqueurs, such as Benedictine and Chartreuse. Harvest the stems in spring and the leaves during the early summer, prior to flowering.

PLANTING HELP Angelica makes an attractive large plant so give it plenty of room and place it in a shady corner, in moist but well-drained soil, where it can remain undisturbed. Be prepared to water in dry weather. Once it has flowered and seeded it will die, so you should either remove the flowers before seeding or collect the ripe seed (which soon loses its viability) and sow it immediately (in good conditions, the plant will seed itself freely). Angelica is extremely hardy (as can be seen from its distribution in the wild) and can withstand temperatures as low as 30°F (-2°C), US zones 4–8.

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