Lovage

Levisticum officinale
Family: Umbelliferae

Lovage belongs to the parsley family, and its seeds, leaves, and roots are commonly used in Europe for flavoring foods and beverages and for their medicinal properties. The Romans, who introduced lovage to Europe, used it widely in their cooking as well as to reduce fevers and treat stomach ailments. Germans called it maggikraut because its aroma reminded them of maggi cubes (meaty yeast extracts). Today it is popular in South and Central European cuisines.

Origin and Varieties
True lovage is native to Southern Europe but cultivated in western Asia, Germany, Italy, France, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and the United States. There are two other types of lovage that grow wild. One variety, called sea lovage, Scottish lovage, or shunis, grows in northern Britain and along the north Atlantic coast of the United States. The other type, called black lovage or alexanders, grows in Britain and around the Mediterranean.

Spice Description
Lovage leaves, seeds, stems, and rhizomes are used in foods, but the leaves are the most commonly used flavoring. Lovage has green, serrated leaves and hollow stems that are sold fresh, dried, frozen, or crystallized. The leaves, which resemble celery leaves, can be used whole or chopped. The younger leaves are smaller in size. The seeds (which resemble ajowan seeds) are tiny, ridged, crescent-shaped, brown, and aromatic. The roots are slightly thick and fleshy with a greyish brown color. The fresh leaves have a sharp, yeast-like and musky taste with a lemon and celery-like aroma. The dried leaves have a stronger flavor than the fresh leaf.

Chemical Components
The fresh leaf has 0.5% to 1% essential oil, while the dried leaf has 0.2% to 0.5% essential oil, which is yellow amber to greenish color. It consists mainly of phthalides (ligustilide, butylphthalide, sedanolide) with lesser amounts of α-terpineol, eugenol, and carvacrol.

Culinary Uses
Ancient Greeks and Romans commonly used the seeds, leaves, and roots in their cooking. Today, lovage is a favorite flavoring in Britain and southeastern Europe. It is eaten cooked or raw. The leaves are used in soups, stocks, flavored vinegars, pickles, stews, and salads. In Italy, lovage is used with oregano and garlic for tomato sauces. The seeds are sprinkled over salads and mashed potatoes and are crushed for breads, pastries, biscuits, and cheeses. The stems and stalks are chopped for use in sauces and stews, while the crystallized leaves and stems are used for decorating cakes. The roots are peeled to remove the bitter skin and are then used as a vegetable or are pickled.

Spice Blends: tomato sauce blend, soup blend, stew blend, and stock blend.

Attributed Medicinal Properties
Europeans traditionally use lovage as a digestive stimulant, for stomach upsets, water retention, and skin problems. It was also taken to treat poor circulation and menstrual irregularities.

Other Names
love parsley, garden lovage, Italian lovage, true lovage, maggi herb, and old English lovage. It is also called habak (Arabic), yuhn yih dong gwai, yahn ye dang gui (Cantonese, Mandarin), lovstikke (Danish), lavas, magi plant (Dutch), anjodan romi (Farsi), liveche (French), maggikraut/liebstockl (German), levistiko (Greek), levistico (Italian), robezzi (Japanese), monari (Korean), haulopstikke (Norwegian), levistico (Portuguese), ljubistok (Russian), ligustico (Spanish), and libsticka (Swedish).

Bibliographic References and Further Reading