Crop of the Week: Tarragon

• Tarragon is a very minor crop in the Yuma area. However, Yuma's fresh herb production has increased during the past 10 years into a niche market type of crop. Many of the herbs grown in the area are produced in greenhouses to minimize the temperature extremes in the area.

• There are French and Russian varieties. The Russian variety is the form grown in Yuma. Russian tarragon is a far more hardy and vigorous plant, spreading at the roots and growing over 3 feet tall. This tarragon actually prefers poor soils and happily tolerates drought and neglect. Although it is not as strongly aromatic and flavorsome as its French cousin, it produces many more leaves that are mild and good in salads and cooked food.

• Unlike many other herbs, tarragon was not used by ancient people. It was mentioned briefly in medieval writings as a pharmaceutical, but did not come into common use until the 16th century in England. It was brought to the United States in the early 19th century. Native to northern Europe, Siberia, Russia and parts of Asia, tarragon went from relative obscurity in the cooking world to the forefront of French cuisine in just a few hundred years.

• Tarragon is commonly known as a flavoring for vinegar and is used in pickles, relishes, prepared mustards and sauces. It also goes well with fish, meat, soups and stews, and is often used in tomato and egg dishes. Tarragon adds distinctive flavor to sauces. It is used to flavor a popular carbonated soft drink in the countries of Armenia, Georgia and, by extension, Russia. The drink, named Tarkhun, is made out of sugary tarragon concentrate and colored bright green.

• Dried tarragon is less potent but can be purchased in many fine grocery stores and supermarkets. It is best to use tarragon with a light hand — the herb can easily overpower all other elements in a dish.

• Tarragon is also used in perfumes, soaps and cosmetics.

• Tarragon is a small, attractive herb with slim vertical stems and long, narrow dark green leaves. The herb is native almost exclusively to the Northern hemisphere, and has spread from its cultivation in Europe and Scandinavia to parts of North America as well.

• Tarragon contains a numbing compound, eugenol, that makes it a good natural remedy for minor pain-related symptoms such as toothaches or sore gums. With its long, narrow leaves, tarragon was assumed to treat snake bites and wounds from venomous animals because it looked like fangs. There isn't much information on how successful the treatment was, perhaps because the practitioners of this school of medicine didn't live very long.

Source: Kurt Nolte is an agriculture agent and Yuma County Cooperative Extension director. He can be reached at knolte@cals.arizona.edu or 726-3904.