Winter Savory and Thyme: What's the Difference?

 SPICE IT UP   

 SAVORY VS THYME

Often there’s a couple of herbs that look alike and even have similar flavour profiles.

If you had them growing together in the herb garden, you may even confuse the two because of how closely they look to each other.

Thyme is the better known herb in Australia, which from the 1950's was commonly used in soups, stews, scones and casseroles.

For some reason, savory is not very well known in Australia, but it’s commonly used America and England.

In England, and America, it's quite popular and in the US, winter savory is a key ingredient in the stuffing for the 'Thanksgiving Turkey.'

If you rubbed both herbs without knowing which was which, you would most likely think they both were the same herb.

• Winter savory, unlike thyme, is not sold as a cut herb in the produce aisle of your supermarket.
• Confusingly there is a 'summer savory' which tends to die off in winter and usually not come back.

Looking after both herbs

With their tiny leaves, both herbs are adapted to the dry regions of the mediterranean. 

Both herbs are in the mint (Lamiaceae) family, but unlike mint, don't  feel you need to give either thyme or winter savory heaps of water with the exception of the hottest days in Australia's summers.

• I've never seen the seeds of savory being sold however if you have a pot of winter savory that's overgrown and become leggy, follow these tips to refresh it.
• Dividing the roots  in spring, will rejuvenate the plant.
• Start off by trimming about a third of any wrapped or circling roots.
• Divide the root ball into thirds or quarters, making sure that each section has a healthy piece of root and stems with green leaves attached.
• Remove one-third of the top growth, and trim away any dead or damaged stems and leaves.
• Re-pot into new containers and gift some to your friends.

But can you substitute one for the other?

Thyme has the volatile oil: thymol which is a strong natural antiseptic.  

Wild thyme growing amongst a rocky outcrop

You only need to use a small amount to get the flavour, and is a key ingredient in mixed herbs.

• Did you know there are over 100 varieties of thyme?
• The wild thyme of Provence is known for its strength of flavour. Think 'herbs de Provence' is a blend with this wild thyme.
  

The answer is yes, both herbs are interchangeable, but savoury is less pungent than thyme.

• You will find winter savory, Satureja (sat-you-rea) montana, as a plant sold in most garden centres.
• So time to get some of your own.

Let’s find out more by listening to the podcast.

I'm talking with Ian Hemphill from www.herbies.com.au


If you have any feedback email realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

Old Fashioned Shrubs Plus Spices to Entice

Starting with the vanilla bean story with herb and spice guru Ian Hemphill, growing winter savory and why you should in vegetable heroes, a new series on old fashioned shrubs for every region in Australia in Design Elements and groundcovers that suit in Plant of the week.

SPICE IT UP 

Vanilla planifolia and cvs

Have you ever wondered how and when the spice trade started?
Maybe not but did you know that nutmeg was once worth more by weight than gold?
Also that in the 16th century, London dockworkers were paid their bonuses in cloves?
There was so much to tell with the story of this spice that I had to split it up into two parts.
Here's part 1.

To produce the green bean, each vanilla flower needs to be hand pollinated.

I'm talking with Ian Hemphill from www.herbies.com.au

The vanilla bean is  a long green bean. When it's mature the beans are put on curing racks during the day, then wrapped up in woollen blankets at night. 

this is done everyday for 15 - 28 days.

It's up to the head curer to judge the readiness of this stage.

After the 28 days have been reached, the beans are then wrapped for a further 2 months. 

Vanilla bean curing is very labour intensive and so far hasn't been mechanised successfully enough to give the complexity of aromas reached by the manual method.

Thanks to Ian’s encylopeadic knowledge of the spice trade we can look forward to part 2 of the vanilla bean story next week.
There’ll be plenty of tips on how best to use vanilla in cooking plus a surprise tip that will just delight you. We’ll also re-cap a little tiny bit of the story.
If you have any questions either for me or for Ian, drop us a line to realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

VEGETABLE HEROES

Winter Savoury

Did you know that Savory, is the Herb of Love!

• How many times have you heard the phrase "a savory stew?"
• Or, it’s got a savoury flavour or taste?
• Now you know that savory is actuallyherb, in fact an annual or perennial herb, Satureja hortenis, for Summer Savory, or Saturejo montana being for Winter Savory
• Did you know that Savory is used in herb combinations, such as Herbes de Provence, a French combination of herbs used for seasoning.

If you’ve heard of Savory before, you might already know that it’s best known for its use in dishes made with beans.

• So where does savory come from?

All Savory’s belong to the mint or Lamiaceae family. They have dark-green, very narrow little leaves for winter savory and light green narrow leaves for summer savory.

The savories can be used fresh or  dried and crushed.

I can’t say that it’s a well know herb but the history of savory goes back about 2000 years and it’s one of the oldest culinary herbs.

Satureja montana: Winter Savory

• Interestingly, the botanical name Satureja was named by the Roman scholar Pliny and is derived from the word satyr, the half-man, half-goat creature in mythology who owned the savories.
• Would you’ve guessed it was used in a love potion? Of course.
• Weren’t they all back then? Sure seems like it.
• Apparently it’s been associated with love potions for centuries.
• Romans also used savory as a medicinal (for example for treating bee stings) and culinary herb long before they discovered pepper.
• When the Romans brought savory to England, it was used there as an herb for chicken stuffing instead of a medicinal.

There are two distinct varieties of savory - summer and winter. Summer savory is most often used for healing.

• There is a myth or old wives tale that Summer savory increases your sex drive, while winter savory decreases it.
• Make sure you get your savories right.

Savory has active ingredients called  carvacrol, p-cymene and tannins.

Because it’s an astringent and mild antiseptic if you made a tea from summer savory,  it was said to control diarrhea, stomach-ache and mild sore throat.

Rubbing a sprig of savory on an insect bite will bring instant relief.

How To Grow Savory:What does winter Savory like?

• It’s an evergreen perennial plant, with dark green narrow leaves that are aromatic.
• The tiny 5mm flowers are white and pink and appear in the middle of summer on terminal spikes. The plant itself only grows 30cm high with a small spread of 20cm.
• If you do manage to get savory seeds, they’re very tiny, so it’s probably best to start them in punnets –and they need light to germinate usually
• also, it's a bit like Coriander, these tiny plants resent being transplanted.
• The better method of getting new plants is either by cuttings in spring or by root division, also in spring time.

Winter Savory flowers

• If you know of someone with this plant, put a note in your dairy to ask them for cuttings later on in the year-the cuttings should be soft-stem cuttings of about 2-3 cm long.
• Put them in some seed raising or propagating mix.
• You probably don’t even need to cover it, because, just like the herb Thyme, it strikes very easily.                 
• As for grow ing you winter savory, well, it’s no different than growing Thyme, it likes full sun with well-drained soil.

Savory prefers to be planted in soil that's slightly alkaline.

• Give it a side-dressing of compost or worm castings whenever possible.
• All savories are a bit bushy and low-growing so it makes an excellent edging plant for a kitchen garden, herb bed, or vegetable garden.
• Trim your savory plant from time to time, to promote new growth and keep it looking good.
• Savory doesn’t like wet feet or clay soils, or cold wet winters.

If some of those conditions sound like something you have, you need to put your savour in a pot in a sheltered position.

Harvesting and Storage

You can begin to take the leaves from your savory plant as soon as it reaches 13cm or about 6 inches in height. Keeping the plant pruned means you’ll always have some. When they insist on flowering, cut the whole plant and put on a some paper in a warm shady place. When dry, strip the leaves and store in airtight jars or tins. When the seed begins to turn brown, harvest them for next years planting. My plant dies down a bit in winter, but always regrows, so that’s a good reason to get some summer savory for your herb garden.

Tips For The Chef

• Winter savory, Satureja montana, is a nice herb to use when you are cutting back on salt-it's flavour is mild, a little bit similar to thyme, but with it's own unique flavour.
• Both summer and winter savory are used in cooking. Summer savory has a peppery taste much like thyme, while winter savory has a more piney taste. To me, it has a slightly peppery flavour, but a piney fragrance when you crush it in your hand.
• Savory blends well with other herbs such as basil, bay leaf, marjoram, thyme and rosemary. It is said that the taste of savory brings all these herbs together in a unique taste.
• Savory is popular in teas, herbed butters, and flavoured vinegars. It complements beef soup and stews, chicken soup, eggs, green beans, peas, rutabagas, asparagus, onions, cabbage, and lentils. Use savory when cooking liver, fish and game. Winter savory, which has a stronger presence, works well with game that has a strong flavor.
• You can chop up winter savory finely and combine it with bread crumbs for coating fish or add some leaves to vegetables such as squash before sautéing or steaming.
• Of course there’s that famous bean, garlic and savory dish.

Why is it good for you?

The Savory herb has many minerals and vitamins which make it an excellent herb to use for medicinal purposes.

The shoots and leaves of this herb are a rich source of zinc, magnesium, calcium, iron, potassium, manganese, and selenium. The vitamins that this herb contains include Vitamin A, Vitamin B-complex group vitamins, Vitamin C, pyridoxine, niacin and thiamine. You would need to eat about 100g of savory leaves which is a bit too much, but making a tea of the leaves would have health benefits as well.

Make baked mozzarella sticks by cutting the cheese into squares, dip in eggs and dredge in bread crumbs with minced savory leaves. Bake in a 180 Degrees C until the cheese just begins to melt.

AND THAT WAS OUR VEGETABLE HERO SEGMENT FOR TODAY!

DESIGN ELEMENTS

 Old Fashioned Shrubs: Introduction of 5 part series.

Gone are the days when you had lots of variety in garden centres to choose from.
Now you only get the familiar plants like Murrayas, lilly pillies, star jasmine, viburnum odoratissium, with a spattering of smaller sub-shrubs like Osteospermum with a kaleidoscope of colour.
Thanks for that. Gardeners need colour.

Lilac: Syringia vulgaris

But what happened to the shrubs of old?
Have they just disappeared or can we still get them and which ones suit where?
Let’s find out with this new series on old fashioned shrubs
I'm talking with Peter Nixon, garden Designer and project Manager from Paradisus Garden design.

What could be nicer than a lilac bush ( for colder climates), May bush (most climates) or even a Daphne or two?

May Bush

You can visit Peter’s garden Sea-Changer’ which is opening Sat 4th May no gate, 10am to 2pm at 21 Lavinia Street Forresters Beach 1 hr from Wahroonga Pacific Motorway on ramp.
For a day out of the city, lunch at Bamboo Buddha Holgate and BURSTING with freshness & flowers. WHAT could be nicer?

PLANT OF THE WEEK

Carpet Bugle:Ajuga reptans

Do you want a ground cover that suits shade, still flowers and provides plenty of colour?
William Turner, a 16th century physician and naturalist described it as ‘It is a blacke herbe and it groweth in shaddowy places and moyst groundes.’-

I'm talking with Jeremy Critchley owner of www.thegreengallery.com.au and Karen Smith editor of www.hortjournal.com.au





Let’s find out. more.




Spoiler alert, there’s a new variety out now called Ajuga Princess Nadia. Lookout for it in your nearest garden centre.
Not only does Carpet Bugle cope with shade but it copes with sun as long as it gets sufficient watering.
Nobody knows why it’s really called Bugle flower , it’s one of botany’s mysteries.

Trumpets of Angels and Herbs of Love

PLANT DOCTOR

Tomatoes are almost the number one plant to grow in the vegetable garden.
Shall we say, botanically a fruit, but we call it a vegetable?

Home grown tomatoes. photo M. Cannon

Last week Plant Doctor looked at the pests that are attracted to your tomatoes, but today we’re looking at the diseases that your tomatoes can succumb to.
Not that you can’t grow healthy plants but in case you’ve had problems and are on the point of giving up, here’s how to deal with some of these diseases.
I'm talking with Steve Falcioni, General Manager of www.ecoorganicgarden.com.au

Some of the disease problems we talked about are the wilts:-Verticillium wilt which prefers cooler conditions and has a dark brown centre if you cut the stem; Fusarium wilt which occurs more in warmer conditions and has a pinky brown centre when you cut through the stem.
Basically you have to pull out and destroy the plants and not put them into the compost because they will the disease will spread.
Then there's the spotty problems like Septoria or Target Spot which are a combination of fungal and bacterial disease. This can cause spotting on both the leaves and the fruit.
You might be starting to think that there’s too many pests and diseases that go for your tomatoes, but don’t let that stop you from growing them, because they are enjoyable to grow.
Prevention where possible is always best and fortnightly sprays of seaweed solution strengthens the cell walls of the plant. 
Blossom end rot is not a disease but a calcium deficiency. Sometimes caused by lack of sufficient water or irregular watering during dry times.
Adding a sprinkle of Dolomite around the plant when first putting them in will help solve this problem.

Blossom end rot. photo M Cannon

Another tip is to not have the plants flopping around but staked up and remove the lower leaves.
The biggest tip is to rotate where you grow your tomato plants rather than planting them in the same spot year after year.
If you’ve only got one dedicated spot for your veggie bed, then you may have to rethink where you put these tomatoes, say in the front garden amongst your perennial flowers.
If you have any questions about pests of tomatoes or have some information to share, drop us a line to realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

VEGETABLE HEROES

Well it’s TIME FOR VEGETABLE HERO a herb today, and it’s Savory, The Herb of Love.

Winter savory (Satureja montana) is a perennial herb in the mint family (Lamiaceae,) and it’s native to warm temperate regions of southern Europe.
How many times have you heard the phrase "a savory stew?"
Savory is used in herb combinations, such as Herbes de Provence, a French combination of herbs used for seasoning.
Savory is an annual or perennial herb, Satureja hortenis, for Summer Savory, or Saturejo montana being for Winter Savory.
Winter savory is now little used

Winter Savory

in Australia, but for hundreds of years both winter and summer savory have been grown and used, virtually side by side.
Both have strong spicy flavour.
What do they look like?
They have dark-green, narrow leaves for winter savory and light green narrow leaves for summer savory.
The savories can be used fresh or dried and crushed.
The history of savory goes back about 2000 years and it’s one of the oldest culinary herbs.
Here’s a surprising fact, the genus or first part of the latin name Satureja is derived from the word satyr, the half-man, half-goat creature in mythology who owned the savories.
It has been associated with love potions for centuries.
Romans used savory as a medicinal and culinary herb long before they discovered pepper.
In medicine they used it for bee stings, and as an aphrodisiac.
When the Romans brought savory to England, it was used there as an herb for chicken stuffing instead of a medicinal herb.
I have an English friend who says she grew this herb back in England and used it often in her cooking, especially with chicken.
As previously mentioned there are two distinct varieties of savory - summer and winter.

Summer Savory

Summer Savory

Summer savory is most often used for healing.
Summer savory is said to increase sex drive, while winter savory decreases it.
Make sure you get your savories right.
The active ingredients of savory are carvacrol, p-cymene and tannins. It’s an astringent and mild antiseptic. A tea made from summer savory is said to control a mild sore throat.
Rubbing a sprig of savory on an insect bite will bring instant relief.
What does Summer or Winter Savory like?
Well, it’s no different than growing Thyme, it likes full sun with well-draining soil.
Savory prefers to be planted in soil that's slightly alkaline.
Give it a side-dressing of compost or worm castings whenever possible. Summer savory is bushy and low-growing so it makes an excellent edging plant for a kitchen garden, herb bed, or vegetable garden.
Summer savory likes regular water. I have some growing in a strawberry pot so that it cascades out of one of the holes. It seems to like that spot better than the strawberries. As far as the soil in my container goes, well it’s just potting mix with soil wetter crystals added to it. So you see it's well-suited to container gardening, as well.
Summer Savory can be grown from seed sown in spring, but that’s if you can get the seed. Some say these tiny plants resent being transplanted, but I’ve taken pieces from my stock plant and transplanted it into other containers no problems at all/
If you know of someone with this plant, now’s the time to take soft-stem cuttings of about 2-3 cm long and put them in some seed raising or propagating mix. You probably don’t even need to cover it, because, just like the herb Thyme, it strikes very easily.
Savory flowers in mid-January with white or pale pink 5mm flowers grouped in terminal spikes.
You can begin to take the leaves from your savory plant as soon as it reaches 13cm or about 6 inches in height.

Savory Herb

Keeping the plant pruned means you’ll always have some.
My plant dies down a bit in winter, but always regrows, so that’s a good reason to get some summer savory for your herb garden.
Tips For The Chef
Summer savory, Satureja hortensis, is a nice herb to use when you are cutting back on salt-it's flavour is mild, a little bit similar to thyme, but with it's own unique flavour.
To me, it has a slightly peppery flavour, but a piney fragrance when you crush it in your hand.
You can mince summer savory and combine with bread crumbs for coating fish or vegetables such as squash before sauteing. Use it in potato dishes, tomato sauces, meatballs or vegetable juices. It's also great in egg dishes such as omelets and frittatas.
Savory is popular in teas, herbed butters, and flavoored vinegars. It complements beef soup and stews, chicken soup, eggs, green beans, peas, rutabagas, asparagus, onions, cabbage, and lentils.
Use savory when cooking liver, fish and game.
Mince fresh summer savory leaves and combine with garlic, bay and lemon for a good marinade for fish.
Savory blends well with other herbs such as basil, bay leaf, marjoram, thyme and rosemary.
Chefs and cooks say that the taste of savory brings all these herbs together in a unique taste that makes savory an Amalgamating herb.
Why is it good for you?
Savory herb is an excellent source of minerals and vitamins -.
Its leaves and tender shoots are one of the richest sources of potasium, iron, calcium, magnesium, manganese, zinc and selenium.
This herb also has dietary fibre. Who would believe?
Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure.
AND THAT WAS YOUR VEGETABLE HERO FOR TODAY

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Living Fences and Garden Loopers
This garden series with Garden Designer Peter Nixon, is all about garden challenges thrown at us mostly by nature but also due to a situation in your garden that you might need to fix.Today’s garden challenge is twofold.

Living Fence with Murraya paniculata

 Firstly white cabbage moths can lead to big troubles not just in your veggie patch and secondly; you may have inherited a few things that you don’t necessarily like, in particular that front boundary fence. 
You can change that without it costing too much. 
What about a front living fence:Let’s find out. I'm talking with Peter Nixon, garden designer. 

Living fence-Muehlenbeckia and Plumbago. photo M Cannon

For a living fence some of the plant suggestions were Solanum longiflora, Plumbago and Muehlenbeckia, Hibbertia scandens, 

PLANT OF THE WEEK

Brugmansia sp. Angel Trumpets.
Want to grow a showstopper that stops people in their tracks and even gets them out of their cars taking photos?Well this tree is one of those, because when it’s in full flower, it’s spectacular. Plus in the evening there’s a sweetly scented perfume that wafts through your bedroom window.Let’s find out more.

Angel Trumpet. Brugmansia versicolour photo M Cannon

I'm talking with the plant panel:-Karen Smith editor of Hort Journal, www.hortjournal.com.au  and Jeremy Critchley, the owner of the Green Gallery Nursery www.thegreengallery.com.au

Most Brugmansia are fragrant in the evenings which is an adaptation to attract pollinating moths in the country of origin being the tropical regions of South America.

Brugmansia are mostly woody trees or shrubs growing to 3-5 metres, with pendulous, trumpet like, flowers.

They come in shades of white, yellow, pink, orange, green, or red.

Flowers may be single, double, or more.

Brugmansia are easily grown in a moist, fertile, well-drained soil, in sun to part shade, in frost-free climates. 

Morning sun is an ideal position for your Angel Trumpet. 

Fertilise with an organic fertiliser during the warm months.

Until recently only a few pale coloured common varieties were available in Australia.
Now plant breeders have dreamed up a whole new range. 
Here’s some to get you started; Aztec Gold with strong lemon yellow flowers and Hot Pink with deep lolly or hot pink flowers and My Clementine with deep golden yellow frilly double flowers. Mmmm, must get that one.
For lovers of gardening books, Alistair Hay's book "Huanduj" has all the new cultivars.