Tarragon Vinegar

Fresh tarragon from the garden

After several failed attempts to grow tarragon, I was not about to waste a single leaf of this herb when it finally began to thrive in our garden beds.  I added it to salmon and chicken, salads, and finally to vinegar at the end of the season.

French tarragon is the variety most used in cooking.  In Asia, this herb is used to flavor sodas and in Europe to scent pastries.

Since this was our first attempt at making tarragon vinegar, we decided to keep it simple.  We sterilized canning jars, packed each jar with fresh tarragon, then added vinegars.  After screwing on the lids, we put them away on the pantry shelf for a few weeks before using.   Some vinegar recipes we looked at suggested heating or cooking the mixture but we decided not to follow that path.


We used three different vinegars, a different one in each jar.  Champagne vinegar
is on the left, rice wine vinegar is in the middle, and white wine
vinegar is on the right.  They have very different outcomes.

The champagne vinegar tarragon mix offered the mildest overall taste.  The champagne vinegar is not very potent and doesn't overpower the tarragon.  Rice wine vinegar and fresh tarragon produced the strongest tarragon flavor and a very pleasant seasoned vinegar taste.  The white wine vinegar mixture had the strongest acid overtones which somewhat masked the lovely fresh tarragon.



Salad vinaigrette (French style) and Bernaise sauce are two
favourite uses of the above vinegars.

To be fair, we eyeballed the amount of tarragon to vinegar ratio.  I used the white wine vinegar tarragon mix to make Bernaise sauce over the holidays and it worked just fine.  Afterwards I replenished the vinegar to the jar.  The smell in these jars is amazing if you are a tarragon fan.

Experiment and Enjoy

- Kim Fielding

Salmon with Tarragon

 

Beautiful salmon with garden herbs.  A quick and easy dinner when served
with steamed broccoli and brown rice.

Our garden tarragon is finally taking off after several rough starts.  Friends have mentioned how easy it is to grow but that hasn't been the case with us.  We finally found a somewhat shady spot with good soil that works for tarragon in our beds.

With that said, not everyone loves tarragon.  I grew up with it and it is an intuitive herb for me.  Bernaise sauce is an amazing, yet indulgent, treat as is tarragon cream over chicken or fish.  Tarragon may be used in teas and soft drinks, and has medicinal and industrial purposes as well.  I hope to make a big batch of tarragon vinegar before the end of the season to use throughout the year.  With a distinctive sweet anise scent and flavor, it is found in cuisines around the world. 

Now that our tarragon plant is thriving, I am excited to use it in our recipes.  This one is super simple!

Serves:  4 - 5
Prep time:  5 minutes

Parchment paper or foil
1 large fillet of salmon, about 1-1/4 pounds
butter or oil, as needed
several sprigs tarragon. about 2 Tbsp chopped leaves
Two lemons, zest the peels then slice fruit into wedges
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.



Zest the lemons, yellow part of the peel only.  The white pith is bitter.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.  Brush fish lightly with oil or butter then top with tarragon and lemon peel.

Season with pepper and a pinch of salt.

Cook salmon about 8 minutes.  Let set for a few minutes before serving.

Squeeze fresh lemon juice over to finish the dish.

Each 4-ounce serving of salmon offers approximately 175 calories, your entire daily need for vitamin B-12, and over half your daily need for niacin, selenium, and phosphorous.  We used Coho salmon for this recipe as it is fresh and in season through October.  It offers an ideal ratio of 3:1 parts omega-3 fatty acids to omega-6 fatty acids.

 

My Buddha lemon

Every late autumn/early winter I look forward to finding Buddha's Hand lemons in the Farmer's Markets.  They don't have pulp, juice, or seeds, but their zest is incredible.  When in season, substitute them for regular lemon zest.  I like to keep them on the counter because they exude an amazing citrusy yet floral aroma and my kitchen smells so good.  The zest and peel may be used in a variety of ways to include candied peel, flavored sugars or salt, baked goods, and infused in vodka.  They may be a little pricey, but they are a special treat.  Explore!

 

- Kim Fielding