French tarragon has a bitter-sweet, peppery, warm, herby, sharp and slightly anise like scent. It is stimulating and has a unique, delicious and piquant flavour that is indispensable to the classic cuisine of France.

Tarragon description and cultivation
The French variety is a selected form of exceptional flavour. It rarely sets seed, especially in cool climates. Although it may produce tiny, greenish, ball shaped inflorescences. Its slender, linear leaves are warmly aromatic, with a complex fragrance and taste that blends sweet anise, basil and resinous undertones. It is a hardy perennial herb with narrow green aromatic leaves and small yellowish flowers. It is cold-hardy and drought-resistant, and can grow in high summer temperatures. In warm climates it will grow all year round, but in colder regions it will die back after the first frosts. You can cover the roots with mulch before winter sets in. It is, however, very susceptible to high humidity. Avoid overhead watering and plant in free-draining soil, or in pots with ;plenty of crocks for drainage. Propagate by tip cuttings in spring and early autumn, or by root division. Harvest foliage until mid-autumn. The Russian variety regularly flowers and sets viable seeds. It often improves the flavour the longer it is grown, but seed-grown Russian plants have an earthy balsamic scent.
Which one to buy and how to grow
If you live in a cold climate it would be best to buy the Russian variety, Artemisia dracunculoides rather than Artemisia dracunculus. Russian tarragon is a taller, more straggly plant with thinner, paler leaves and a milder, less refined flavour. French tarragon will grow to 1m tall in a single season. For culinary use, the flowers should be pinched out to encourage leafy growth. Replace the plants every three to four years as the flavour gradually deteriorates.
How to use
French tarragon flavour diffuses rapidly through cooked dishes, so use it carefully. Use it fresh with fish and shellfish, turkey, chicken, game, veal and egg dishes as well as in rice. Use chopped leaves in salad dressings, fines herbes, mustard, ravigote and béchamel sauces, sauce verte and mayonnaise. You can also use it in sauces together with summer savory. Oil of tarragon is used in commercial salad dressings, beverages, confections and mustards. And you can make your own tarragon vinegar by infusing the leaves, or add them when making your own mayonnaise.
Information sourced from The Complete Book of Herbs and The Essential Aromatherapy Garden. Make sure you take a look at these caveats before using an essential oil, and if possible, buy organic.
What I blogged:
- one year ago – Biryani Chicken
- two years ago – Farfalle With Broccoli And Anchovies
- three years ago – Cook With 7de Laan
Tarragon is a wonderful spice, thanks for sharing more about it 😀
Cheers
CCU
My pleasure!
Tarragon is not something I use very often – need to rectify that.
Have a fabulous weekend Tandy.
🙂 Mandy xo
Thank you Mandy, I hope you had a great weekend as well xxx
How interesting Tandy. I didn’t know there were two kinds of tarragon. Next time I’ll pay more attention 😉
I want to try and get both varieties to grow in my garden 🙂
It is a spice that I do not use often. Perhaps I just don’t know how.
Last night Dave chopped some up and added it to a cray fish bisque – it was delicious 🙂
Love the flavour of tarragon – I find I can’t over winter French Tarragon which is a shame as I prefer it to the Russian.
Mine does not last over the entire winter either Claire 🙂
i absolutely love tarragon – i have a recipe for leek & tarragon risotto which is one of my all time favourite foods. great post! 🙂
the hobbit kitchen x
Holly, I am so going to try that!
I love tarragon, but it’s certainly one herb that I don’t use nearly enough!
I also don’t use enough of it 🙂
Although I’m not a huge fan of anything resembling licorice, I did make a tarragon roast chicken once, and it was delicious!
I love using it for roast chicken, with a bit of rosemary and thyme to balance the flavours out 🙂
Tarragon is a favourite in my kitchen too, Tandy… I’m growing it too… I was surprised when it bounced back after winter frosts!
It surprised me the first year as well Lizzy 🙂
Where would I find tarragon if I wanted to grow it? Does it tend to spread, or can it be kept in a garden without too much worry about it taking over?
You don’t need to worry about it and it will not spread. Mine has grown back every year for the past 7 years and I really do nothing more than water it. I got mine from a local nursery 🙂
oh we miss tarragon after looking at all those delicious dishes….here it is hard to get it fresh…a very unique spice,love it 🙂
I have some dried and it stays quite strong for some time, so it is worth looking for it in the stores if you can find some 🙂
Interesting post, Tandy. I’ve never bought fresh tarragon.
PS: I bought a tin of Chick Peas today to try out your last recipe. 🙂
Please let me know what you thought of the chickpeas. I have grown tarragon for years as I love using it for my roast chicken 🙂
I love the taste of fresh tarragon in recipes. It grows well in our Maine garden…each year when the snow melts, it is one of the first green sprouts peaking up out of the ground.
it must be wonderful to see growth peeking out of the snow Karen 🙂
I love the smell of tarragon so I was happy to see this post! 🙂
It is one of my favourite herbs and I have some in a jar of water in my kitchen at the moment 🙂