Lovage – The Nearly Forgotten Herb

 Lovage – The Nearly Forgotten Herb
Jackie Johnson BS,ND, Planhigion Herbal Learning Center
The Essential Herbal, Jul/Aug 2016

  

Lovage, Levisticum officinale, can be found grown by some, but it is not near as popular as it was when Charlemagne (742-814 A.D.) had it grown in his famous gardens.

This perennial Zone 3 to 9 is in the Umbelliferae/Apiaceae family (carrot/parsley) and can get six to seven feet tall with a spread of nearly three feet. Due to its height, it makes a wonderful backdrop to a garden.  It has large dark green leaves.  It can grow in full sun to partial shade and loves rich soil. They’re heavy feeders, so if you have one with lighter green leaves you may need to amend the soil with an all-purpose organic fertilizer or good compost.

Lovage is native to the Mediterranean Sea are, the mountains of southern Europe and Central Asia.  It first arrived in North America with the colonists as one of those plants they felt important enough to carry along with them to the new world.

It’s one of the first out the ground in the spring – nearly a foot tall when the dandelions are in bloom.  Nature provides and lovage is loaded with the nutrients we need in the spring – Vitamins C, B-complex and quercetin.

One of the attributes that make this plant special and very useful to have around – it smells and tastes like a strong celery and can be interchanged if you remember that lovage is stronger, and taste test as you go.  You Bloody Mary lovers may want to grow it for its stem, which is perfect in your Bloody Marys – it’s hollow and adds the aroma and taste of celery.

If you find a packet of seeds, plant in early spring, but keeping in mind they only have about a 50% germination rate.  The seeds must be stratified for a couple of weeks prior to planting and require only about a quarter of an inch of covering soil.  It only takes about two weeks to come up, so you’ll know fairly quickly if you have good seed. They take about 90 days from germination to maturity.  Easier to ask a friend who grows it for a clump in the spring.  If your winter has been particularly cold, it’s a good time to get lovage; they seem to grow better and faster after a miserably cold winter!  Fall clumps can also be transplanted but I haven’t had much luck with fall plantings.

This is a pretty versatile plant.  All the parts are used – the leaves, the flowers, the seeds and the roots of two to three year plus old plants.  The younger the leaves the more mild they are.  Keep cutting them back to prevent flowering – the leaves get a more bitter taste once in bloom. 

Aphids like lovage so keep a watch out. If you’re into companion planting, plant lovage with potatoes or other root vegetables as it seems to help with their growth.

The flowers come in our area (Zone 4) from late June to August (depending on how much cutting back is done).  They’re an umbel and yellow to yellow-green.  They attract pollinators for those planting pollinator gardens this year.  Parasitic wasps that eat tent caterpillars like lovage too – always a good thing.

Harvest the leaves of lovage in the morning after the dew has dried.  Try to dry them quickly to retain their color; often they turn yellow during a long drying process.  Washing the leaves will remove some the volatile oils but generally they don’t need it.  Leaves can be frozen – blanch first and then put in very cold water for a couple minutes.  I put them on trays in the freezer and transfer to containers when they’re frozen.  Seeds should be harvested when the yellow flowers turn brown.

Lovage has been around for a long time.  It was found in most Middle Ages kitchen gardens and was used both a culinary and medicinal plant.  It was also believed that if you wore lovage, it would keep your true love in total devotion to you!  A favorite drink was a cordial made with lovage, tansy and yarrow.

The Greeks chewed on the leaves for digestion/gas.

The leaves were also worn by travelers in their shoes to relieve weary feet.

Herbalist John Gerard (Herbal 1597) felt it was one of the best remedies of his time.

The Benedictine monks used it as a medicine.

Even Hildegard of Bingen used it in her cooking.

It was often used in hedgerows in Britain.

Early New Englanders candied the root and chewed on it for bad breath.

The Shakers grew the plant and sold the seed.

It was a common remedy of the era for sore throats, rheumatism, as a diuretic, in bath water, for skin problems, but it was most effective for digestion and gas.  Other benefits worth researching include working on inflammation, supporting the lungs (cousin to osha), possible allergy relief by inhibiting release of histamines, and for stress control.

As a foot soak, I add the leaves to thyme, Rosemary, lavender, and mint (equal parts) and add marbles (with the shooters) to the basin with a quart of as warm a water as you can stand.  (Rubbing your feet on the marbles stimulates the reflexology points in your feet.)

If you have psoriasis or acne, you might want to try a salve using the lovage leaves, or placing the leaves directly on the affected area.

If you harvest the seed, it can be added to your cooking as well, much like fennel.  I’ve even thrown them in bread I was making.

Lovage is one of the oldest salad greens.  Long before celery was common, lovage was used in salads, stews and soups.  I chop the leaves and use them in egg salad, potato and pasta salads, and in frittatas.  They are stronger than the celery, so experiment starting with a little and work up. 

I like to make a vinegar with lovage leaves and chive blossoms, and have also included a couple leaves in my fire cider.

This is one plant you need to experiment with.  There are some recipes out there, but start using the leaves sparingly at first to any recipes you would normally include celery.

Following is one of my favorite spring soups:

Lovage Soup

1oz. butter

2 medium onions, finely chopped

4T lovage leaves, finely chopped

3T all-purpose flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup milk or heavy cream

2 or 3 chopped potatoes

salt and white pepper to taste

Melt butter in a saucepan and gently sauté the onions for 5 minutes or until tender. Add the lovage; whisk in the flour and cook at medium heat for one minute, stirring constantly.    Gradually whisk in the broth, cover and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Add the milk, salt and pepper, bring to a gentle simmer. Do not boil the soup or it will curdle.

You can add carrots or other veggies as you like just increase the liquid amount (either the broth or the milk) until you reach your desired consistency.  If you’re not feeling well, add garlic.

The only precautions I’ve found is lovage should not to be used by pregnant ladies (could cause miscarriages), and it can cause photosensitivity in some folks (due to the furanocoumarins found mostly in the root).  There are also concerns with people with high blood pressure; lovage could possibly increase sodium levels.  On that, don’t use a lot of lovage if you have kidney problems.  This is a diuretic so don’t eat a lot if you are using diuretics, it could double the effects and cause real problems.  Check with your health care professional if you have any of these situations prior to use, and when using in culinary, just use in moderation and common sense.