Dorothy FarrarSummer savory
Most people only know summer savory as a tasty culinary herb. It has been cultivated in Central Europe since Roman times, as evidenced by seed finds from the Valkenburg fort (Netherlands). The Romans called the summer savory honey flower because it gives honey a special flavor when planted near beehives.
General overview
Summer savory (Satureja hortensis) belongs to the mint family and is also known as garden savory and true savory. The annual, not hardy, herbaceous and bushy plant has a strong main root with many branches. Its stems are square and woody below. The plant can grow up to 60 cm high and has short-stalked, opposite, lanceolate, dark green leaves that are about 3 cm long. There are tiny glandular hairs on the leaf surface.
Summer savory flowers from July to October with spike-like inflorescences. They are white, purple, or pale pink, crown-shaped, with a red-spotted opening. The plant forms a flattened upper lip and a tripartite lower lip. After the flowering period, the dark brown, approximately 1.5 mm large seeds appear. If you want to harvest the herb, it is best to do so just before the flowers appear, as that is when it is at its most aromatic. Then dry it in a shady place. You cook the tart, spicy and slightly hot summer savory as a fresh or dried herb in green bean stew or use it for other stews, salads, omelettes, etc.
Occurrence and cultivation
Summer savory was probably brought across the Alps to Central Europe by monks in the 9th century and then cultivated in monastery gardens. The home of the popular condiment is the eastern Mediterranean and the countries bordering on the Black Sea. Today it occurs in Europe in about 12 species. It often grows wild in the Mediterranean countries, the Balkans and Central Europe. The plant loves dry, permeable, nutrient-rich , stony or calcareous soils and warm locations on fields and on railway embankments.
If you want to grow them in your garden, plant the seeds from April in a wind-protected and sunny spot at a distance of 25 cm. They are planted at a depth of 0.5 cm, covered with soil and always kept moist. Once a year in spring you fertilize the plants with some garden compost and a little lime. In order for the summer savory to grow bushier, its shoots are shortened. If you don’t have a garden, you can grow it in a pot or flower box on the balcony. For the winter, put the summer savory in a cooler room.
Application and effect
Summer savory contains 0.3 to 1.7% essential oils (carvacrol 40%, p-cymene 20% and some others), phenols, thymol and dipentene, 4 to 8% tannins , bitter substances , mucilage, ursolic acid and beta-sitosterol . The herbal books, especially Tabernaemontanus, attribute an aphrodisiac effect to the well-known condiment. In contrast to its relative, the winter savory, which curbs sexual desire, Satureja hortensis is said to have a libido-enhancing and potency-enhancing effect.
It also has antispasmodic, expectorant , antitussive, digestive, appetizing, anti-inflammatory , antibacterial, antifungal, analgesic and sleep-inducing properties. It is usually used medicinally in the form of a summer savory tea or a tea blend. It is used internally and externally. The medicinal herbal tea is brewed from fresh (10 minutes steeping time) or dried (5 minutes steeping time) herbs.
For gargling, for example to treat a cough, the patient uses the cooled summer savory tea. The Middle Ages even knew tea mixtures with the herb and honey water, which helped with indigestion after heavy meals. As a bath additive (100 g of dried summer savory in 1 liter of boiling water), it is used, for example, to alleviate inflammatory skin diseases. Facial steam baths with summer savory can be used to treat impure, oily skin as they regulate sebum production.
What does summer savory help against?
importance to health
Summer savory can help with stomach and intestinal cramps thanks to its spasmolytic properties. It reduces gas formation in the intestines and relieves bloating. In coughs, bronchitis and other diseases of the upper respiratory tract, it loosens stubborn mucus and makes it easier to expectorate. Heavy, greasy meals are better digested thanks to its support, and diarrhea is stopped thanks to its high tannin content.
Its anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties promote the rapid healing of inflammatory skin diseases. Blackheads and excess sebum production are reduced and the complexion improved. Since summer savory also kills harmful fungi , it can also be used to combat Candida albicans .
The intestinal fungi multiply quickly with a diet high in sugar and thus displace the health-promoting bacteria in the intestine .
The ancient medicinal plant can also be used to stimulate appetite, relieve headaches and as a tea to induce sleep. Those who believe the historical sources can try to use summer savory tea as a potency-enhancing agent.
Hello and welcome to my Health Guide & Encyclopedia! My name is Dorothy Farrar, and I'm the founder and main author of this platform.
My passion for health and wellness started at a young age when I became interested in the connection between the food we eat and the way we feel. This fascination led me to study nutrition and dietetics in college, where I learned about the importance of a balanced diet and the impact of various nutrients on the body.