Tarragon - Health Benefits, Uses and Important Facts

Tarragon is a flavorful herb that can add a touch of elegance to any dish. Its subtle licorice flavour is perfect for dressing up salads, sauces, and fish or chicken dishes. Tarragon is available fresh or dried, and can be found year-round in most supermarkets. It is often used in French cooking. When cooking with tarragon, be sure not to overdo it - a little goes a long way!

What is Tarragon?

Tarragon is a herb used in cooking that is known for its shiny, thin leaves and strong smell. The French type is the one most often used in cooking. Tarragon is used in a lot of French dishes, like Béarnaise sauce. Its mild flavour goes well with fish, chicken, and eggs. It is called "the king of herbs" in France because it can make a dish taste better. It is one of the four herbs in the French blend fines herbes, which also includes parsley, tarragon, chervil, and chives.

Tarragon is a perennial plant, which means that if you plant it, it will come back every year. It is in the Artemisia genus with other greens that taste like licorice, like the one that is used to make the French aperitif absinthe. The stems are tough and woody, and the long, thin leaves have points at the ends.

Types of Tarragon:

The most common kind of tarragon is French, but there are other kinds, such as Spanish (also called Mexican) tarragon and Russian tarragon. Mint tarragon from Mexico tastes a lot like French tarragon, but it is a little bit richer. It also has small golden flowers. Russian tarragon looks a lot like French tarragon, but its taste is stronger and more bitter, and most of the time it is used to flavour drinks.

Fresh Vs Dried Tarragon:

Like many other herbs, fresh and dried tarragon are very different. This difference is even clearer, though, because tarragon is a delicate herb that becomes more volatile as it dries. Many chefs won't use dried tarragon because it lacks the fine, delicate qualities that make fresh tarragon so appealing. If you want to use dried instead of fresh, you should use 1 teaspoon for 1 tablespoon. You can also dry fresh tarragon at home, either slowly in a warm oven (no more than 200 F) or in a dehydrator.

Taste of Tarragon:

Depending on whether they like the taste of licorice or not, most people either love or hate tarragon. But this herb tastes like more than just anise because it has a complex flavour. It has hints of vanilla, mint, pepper, and eucalyptus, which makes it different from other foods that taste like licorice, such as fennel. The French variety, on the other hand, is mild and brings together these different flavours to make an elegant and delicate herb.

Use of Tarragon in cooking:

In cooking, you use fresh tarragon and dried tarragon in different ways. Before cooking with fresh leaves, you need to rinse them and pat them dry. Then, they are taken off the stem by simply running your fingers along the stem from the top down. You can use the leaves whole or chop them up, but be careful because they are easily damaged. Fresh tarragon should be used raw or added near the end of cooking. If it is cooked for too long, the flavour will become bitter. Dried tarragon is added to recipes early on, but it won't have the same effect as fresh because its flavour has changed.

Fresh tarragon can be used in chicken and potato salads, salad dressings, and sauces. It can be cut into small pieces and added to a green salad, or it can be used as a garnish. Tarragon is also a great herb to use when making vinegar with a flavour.

How to store Tarragon?

You can keep fresh tarragon out on the counter or in the fridge. Put tarragon stems in a small glass of water and leave for about a week on the counter. Keep the herb in the fridge if you want it to last longer. Rinse and dry fresh tarragon, then wrap it in a damp paper towel and put it in an airtight container. It will keep in the refrigerator for about two weeks. Fresh tarragon can also be frozen for up to five months.

Dried tarragon will last up to a year if it is kept in a cool, dark place with no air in it.

Health benefits of tarragon:

1. Improves the quality of hair
 
Many people want to keep their hair looking nice, and tarragon can help them do that. Tarragon has been shown to make hair stronger and better. The extracts of tarragon are in some hair styling products, natural shampoos, and conditioners. It is mostly good for dry hair because it gives dry hair shine. When tarragon products are used regularly, they make hair look healthy and full of life.
 

2. Improves digestion
 
This beautiful herb is full of phytonutrients that are important for good health and are good for your body. Tarragon has been used for a long time as a traditional remedy to make people hungry and relieve the symptoms of anorexia. The herb is a very good source of vitamins and the B-complex group, which acts as an antioxidant and helps enzymes in the metabolism do their jobs.

 
3. Keeps heart healthy
 
The leaves of tarragon can protect your heart from heart disease. Antioxidants protect against damage to blood vessels because they stop inflammation. Tarragon leaves also have a mineral called potassium in them, which helps control the way the gut contracts. It also has chemicals that keep platelets and other parts of the blood from curdling and building up in the blood vessels of the heart.
 

4. Tarragon tea helps in insomnia  
 
Tarragon controls the flow of blood, which makes sure that nutrients and oxygen get to all parts of the body. It also gets rid of toxins from the body and cleanses it. This helps stop cancer cells from forming and growing, so the dangerous disease doesn't happen. Adding tarragon tea to your diet calms your nerves, keeps your heart rate in check, and can even help you sleep.
 

5. Tarragon tea helps in weight loss 

Tarragon has long been used as a way to help the digestive system. Including it in your diet makes the liver make more digestive fluid, which is important for good digestion. If you eat tarragon or drink a cup of tarragon tea, it will settle your stomach and relieve a number of digestive problems. Switching to tarragon tea cuts down on unneeded hunger pangs, makes digestion better, and helps you lose weight.