Sweet Cicely
The roots of this plant smell of anise. If you like licorice and fennel (which I do), they make a nice addition to roasted meats, soups, etc. Sweet Cicely is another herb that, for no apparent reason, has fallen out of common use. Sweet Cicely was once a very common herb both used as food and medicine. Our ancestors’ common fare had much more flavor than our modern domestic cuisine. We tend to think of old fashioned home cooking as simple comfort food, without a lot of spice or strong flavors, and turn to cuisines originating well beyond the borders of the British Isles and America for spice and exotic flavors. In truth, the early American cookbooks included far more herbs and spices than are commonly used today. The old cookbooks of England, Ireland, Scotland, etc. also contained a large variety of foods and flavors. Wars, scarcity, the Great Depression and other economic hardship changed our cooking habits a great deal. Our great grandparents simply did not often have access or the money to buy the more exotic ingredients their great grandparents may have used. Market forces caused farmers and gardeners to stop growing many of the more interesting herbs and vegetables. Consider Sweet Cicely… have you ever even tasted it? Contrast that with the following entry from Gerard, the British herbalist, written in the 1500s - Sweet Cicely is Myrrha Odorata, which was known as garden chervil in Gerard’s time:
Myrrhis is also called Myrrha, taken from his pleasant savour of Myrrh: of some, Conila, as it is
found noted among the bastard names. It is also by reason of the similitude it hath with Hemlock,
called by most late writers, Cicutaria. Of this, Pliny maketh mention lib. 14. cap. 16, where he
reporteth that it is called Smyrrhiza: in English it is called Chervil, Sweet Chervil, or Sweet
Cicely.
The Temperature and Virtues.
A. Chervil is held to be one of the pot-herbs, it is pleasant to the stomach and taste: it is of a
temperate heat and moderate dryness, but nothing so much as the Parsleys.
B. It provoketh urine, especially being boiled in wine, and applied hot to the share or nethermost
part of the belly, and the wine drunk in which it was boiled.
C. It hath in it a certain windiness, by means whereof it procureth lust.
D. It is used very much among the Dutch people in a kind of loblolly or hot-pot which they do
eat, called Warmus.
E. The leaves of sweet Chervil are exceeding good, wholesome, and pleasant, among other salad
herbs, giving the taste of Anise seed unto the rest.
F. The root, saith Galen, is hot in the second degree, having a thinness of substance joined with
it.
G. Dioscorides teacheth, that the root drunk in wine is a remedy against the bitings of the
venomous spiders called in Latin Phalangia; and that it bringeth down the menses and
secondines, and being boiled and drunk it is good for such as have the phthisic or consumption
of the lungs.
H. The seeds eaten as a salad while they are yet green, with oil, vinegar, and pepper, exceed all
other salads by many degrees, both in pleasantness of taste, sweetness of smell, and
wholesomeness for the cold and feeble stomach.
I. The roots are likewise most excellent in a salad, if they be boiled and after served as the
cunning cook knoweth how better than myself: notwithstanding I do use to eat them with oil and
vinegar, being first boiled; which is very good for old people that are dull and without courage;
it rejoiceth and comforteth the heart, and increaseth their lust and strength.
Tansy
This is an herb for which I must advise caution. Used in small amounts, it is a delicious culinary herb – in fact, Tansy and Rue were among the signature flavors of high class ancient Roman cuisine! Both can be very toxic in larger amounts, causing miscarriage and killing the eater. But, it is not an herb that you should fear. In fact most of the mints (Pennyroyal especially), and several other herbs could be dangerous in very large quantities and as essential oils. Well, at least, I don’t fear it. I quite like Tansy. It tastes a bit like Sage, but has its own unique qualities. While I would not eat a salad of Tansy, I do like to use a pinch or two in cooking.
In researching this book, I ran across the following article from Wikipedia. I have not yet had an opportunity to try this recipe. I do have Hannah Glasse's cookbook, but have not acquired The Good Housewife's Handbook or The Compleat Housewife... I will have to try to find a copy before the Tansy comes in flower next spring. I enjoy collecting old cookbooks and trying to figure out the recipes as much as I do foraging, so I am excited to try it! As I write this, it is winter and all I have is memories of all these wonderful spring edibles.
Tansy was a traditional Easter food in medieval English cuisine. Its name came from the Tanacetum vulgare plant. The simplest version of the recipe was made by baking a batter flavored with green tansy juice. Later recipes, like the one from the 16th-century Good Housewife's Handbook added more ingredients like parsley, feverfew and violets to an egg batter that was fried like pancakes, though with a slightly green coloring from the addition of tansy and other herbs. Baked tansy could also be given a green color by adding spinach juice. An 18th-century recipe from The Compleat Housewife added sack to the batter and sweetened the fried tansies with gooseberries and a topping of crushed sugar.
Cakes and wine were a common feature of Easter traditions. Some 19th-century authors believed that the tradition of eating tansy cakes, which had a sweet and bitter flavor, was connected to Jewish traditions of eating cakes made with bitter herbs. Sometimes the tansy was closer to a pudding than a pancake, like Hannah Glasse's 18th-century recipe in the Art of Cookery, an elaborate dish with Naples biscuits, butter, cream, blanched almonds, eggs, grated bread, rose water, orange blossom water and other spices and sweeteners.
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Disclaimer
The information on this site is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease or condition. Nothing on this site has been evaluated or approved by the FDA. I am not a doctor. The US government does not recognize the practice of herbal medicine and their is no governing body regulating herbalists. Therefore, I’m just a guy who studies herbs. I am not offering any advice. I won’t even claim that anything I write is accurate or true! I can tell you what herbs have “traditionally been used for.” I can tell you my own experience and if I believe an herb helped me. I cannot, nor would I tell you to do the same. If you use any herb I, or anyone else, mentions you are treating yourself. You take full responsibility for your health. Humans are individuals and no two are identical. What works for me may not work for you. You may have an allergy, sensitivity or underlying condition that no one else shares and you don’t even know about. Be careful with your health. By continuing to read my blog you agree to be responsible for yourself, do your own research, make your own choices and not to blame me for anything, ever.
