Application
Medieval monastic medicine used the pounded roots of tarragon to apply to the body for many ailments. The juice from the root was used as a cure for headaches, toothaches and hard stools.
As a herbal remedy, tarragon has been used to promote digestion, as a fever-reducing herb, and as a diuretic. It has also been used against worms and colic.
Chewing fresh leaves is said to help with toothaches and hiccups. It also suppresses the feeling of hunger. In this way, tarragon has a certain slimming effect.
The plant is used today especially because of its delicate flavor and is included in sauces and spice mixtures, best known as a flavoring in bearnaise sauce and spiced vinegar.
Ingredients
The tarragon plant contains essential oil, including eugenol, as well as resin, bitter substances and tannins, as well as vitamins A and C, iodine and minerals.
French Tarragon
Artemisia Dracunculus L.
Photo of page in Joachim Burser's herbarium.
