Mugwort is a wild factor that loves our edges, from paths and concrete riverbanks to feral car-park corners and wastelands. Its leaves, with their silvery undersides and feathery plumes of flowers, thrive in these seemingly inhospitable circumstances: I’m unsure I’d advocate you plant it in your backyard, however for those who stay close to such locations, chances are you'll discover it seems anyway.
Mugwort, Artemisia vulgaris, has an extended historical past of being a strong, protecting herb, used to deal with all the things from malaise to irregular intervals, and to flavour many a brewing experiment (it was one of the widespread flavourings for beer till hops took over within the sixteenth century).
One of many joys of mugwort is you possibly can decide it from very early spring proper into autumn. Within the early a part of the 12 months, you should utilize all elements of the comfortable development, however by later summer season, when the stem has toughened and it's in flower, decide solely the leaves. You may also dangle entire stems of mugwort the other way up to dry and use over winter.
In Marie Viljoen’s guide, Forage, Harvest, Feast: A Wild-Impressed Delicacies, she makes a powerful case for mugwort as a chief ingredient for selfmade vermouth, made by infusing vodka with mulberries and raspberries, mugwort, lemon peel and foraged spices, then utilizing this to fortify white wine to create a neighborhood seasonal drink – actually next-level foraging.
For a neater introduction to the rosemary and sage notes of mugwort, strive making herb salt, the place you wash and dry the leaves and blend with sea salt, roughly one half chopped leaf to 6 elements salt. Dry for an extra day earlier than storing in an hermetic container.
You may also make savoury crackers, shortbread or cheese scones with mugwort. Use recent leaves, chopped flowers and, for added depth, mugwort salt. They're very moreish.
It’s additionally good in egg dishes, as flavouring for baked tomatoes, in roasted garlic paste, and with pork, lamb and beef. There are quite a few Asian dishes too, from mugwort-flavoured rice balls and mochi in Japan to soups, stews, salads and dumplings in Korea, China and Taiwan. The genus Artemisia has many helpful species: tarragon (A. dracunculus), wormwood (A. absinthium), white sage (A. ludoviciana) and Yomogi (A. princeps) to call a couple of.
If you wish to develop your personal mugwort, strive the variegated type of A. vulgaris ‘Oriental Limelight’. It’s a fairly questionable variegation – white, lime-yellow and inexperienced in giant splashes – however its robust nature means it's a type of issues that can fortunately develop within the dry, dappled shade of a deciduous tree – proper the place many others issues received’t.
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