CON TEN TS
Acknowledgements Preface: Eleni Psychouli Introduction The world of aromatic-pharmaceutical plants Aromatic and pharmaceutical plants Pluralism and imperialism in aromas and flavours
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PART I. Uses of aromatic-pharmaceutical plants
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Nutritional value, health issues, dangers, recommendations and precautions “Herbs” and contemporary therapy through the use of plants: from existing myths to proven facts The Mediterranean plants selected in this book Bioactive compounds Volatile components: Essential oils Non-volatile components: Flavonoids Non-volatile components: Terpenic derivatives Basic advice on tasting Edible parts of plants: should I use fresh or dried ones? Foraging plants from nature? Endangered species, regulations and plant conservation-protection Harvesting, shredding, breaking up and drying the edible parts of plants Storing plant parts: various examples Beverage preparation (tea, infusions and decoctions)
PART II. 15 Mediterranean aromatic-pharmaceutical plants (history, biology, aroma-taste, components, properties, secrets, overview of use, beverages) 45 1. Capers 46 2. Carob 50 3. Dittany of Crete, Greece 52 4. Dog-rose or Wild rose 54 5. Dogwood 56 6. Fennel 58 7. Lemon balm 60 8. Marjoram 62 9. Mastic from the island of Chios, Greece 64 10. Mountain teas 66 11. Rock samphire or Sea fennel 70 12. Saffron Crocus 74 13. Sages 76 14. Sumac 80 15. Winter savoury 82 PART ΙΙΙ. Beneficial blends of herbal teas
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PART ΙV. Creative Mediterranean cooking: 75 basic recipes, many variations, hints, suggested drinks & menus
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Group 1: New tasting suggestions 92 1. Capers 95 6
2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Fennel 105 Marjoram 115 Mastic from the island of Chios, Greece 125 Saffron Crocus 135 Sage 145 Sumac 155
Group 2: New gastronomic horizons 164 1. Carob 167 2. Cornelian Cherries 177 3. Dittany of Crete, Greece 187 4. Dog-rose or Wild rose 197 5. Greek mountain tea 207 6. Lemon balm 217 7. Rock Samphire or Sea Fennel 227 8. Winter savoury 237 Plate combinations in menus 246
PART V. Cultivating 15 Mediterranean aromatic-pharmaceutical plants
(sowing & transplanting instructions, cultivation guidelines& propagation) 255 1. Bulbous plants 256 2. Perennial herbaceous plants 258 3. Bushes-Trees 278
PART VI. Useful advice of landscape architecture (for your house, your balcony or the garden) 289 Space design, light, watering 291 Relative moisture, fertilising, pruning, replanting 293 Soil-ground 295 Selection of plants, what should I be aware of when buying plants? 297 Categorising plants and their characteristics 299 Brief instructions to help cultivate successfully, plant and transplant in the right season 301 Good quality of soil, and good watering leads to less watering demands 303 Thermo protection equals economy: cover the ground and water less 303 Plants in pots and planting boxes 305 Plant size and container, how and when to use plant containers in an apartment 307 Harvest, preserving and preparing seeds for planting 309 Annex: Grouping of the presented plants according to their properties and main compounds 310 Bibliography
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Indexes Index of common names of plants 320 Index of scientific names of plants 321 Index of recipes per category 322 Index of recipes per plant 326 Brief Curricula Vitaes 329 7
Essential oil in laboratory hydrodistillation apparatus
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“Herbs” & contemporary therapy through the use of plants: from existing myths to proven facts In recent years, the tendency to revive the therapeutic use of plants has grown considerably. Therapy through the use of plants is the science of utilizing plants in order to treat diseases. Under the umbrella of plant therapy all drugs produced by aromatic-pharmaceutical plants can be included whether those with powerful effects (e.g. various species of the genus Digitalis) or others with milder ones (e.g. chamomile). Applying them with caution, mild health problems can be cured without any contraindications or side effects. One thing we should keep in mind is that even though “herbs” are useful or beneficial, not following specific recommendations on their use could cause serious problems. Today’s science uses aromatic-pharmaceutical plants for pharmaceutical reasons after checking and confirming that specific plants have properties that can be exploited. To date, the recommended plants for plant therapy have been thoroughly assessed and are completely safe for use. The Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products (HMPC), on behalf of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), issues scientific opinions on herbal substances and preparations, along with information on recommended uses and safe conditions.
According to the HMPC (http://www.ema.europa.eu/ema/) aromatic-pharmaceutical plants, as well as their preparations, are categorised either under the label of “Traditional Use” or as “Well-established Use”. This is done when a satisfying number of surveys which indicate their properties exist. A European Union (EU) herbal monograph (formerly known as Community herbal monograph) contains the HMPC's scientific opinion on safety and efficacy data about any specific herbal substance and its preparations intended for medicinal use. The HMPC evaluates all available information, including non-clinical and clinical data, but also documented long-standing use and experience in the EU. Herbal Medicinal Products are defined as "any medicinal product, exclusively containing as active ingredients one or more herbal substances, or one or more herbal preparations, or one or more such herbal substances in combination with one or more such herbal preparations". Traditional herbal medicinal products for human use are those that fulfil the following conditions: 1. They have indications exclusively appropriate to traditional herbal medicinal products which, by virtue of their composition
Essential oils of aromatic-pharmaceutical plants
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Dog-rose Rosa canina L. (Rosaceae family) 54
Common names: Dog-rose, wild rose. Historical information: Since ancient times, many narrations are related to the rose. According to the myth, it was tinted by the blood of Adonis, or derived from the crater of Pothos who turned it upside-down and poured down the nectar of the Gods of Mt Olympus. It is also said that it was the symbol of the goddess of Silence (Harpocrates), or the emblem of mystical symposia. The rose has been known since Homeric times (rose essence) as well as the Minoan Era; it was known also to the ancient Greeks and the Romans (Hippocrates, Pliny, Dioscorides), as well as to the Byzantines (who cultivated different varieties of roses, symbol of Mary’s virginity) and the Arabs according to whom roses were born from the perspiration of the prophet Muhammad (Holy Prophet of Islam) as it was dripped on the ground. M o r p h o l o g y: Wild roses are bushy deciduous shrubs reaching up to 5 m in height, with climbing shoots which bear sharp hocked thorns. The compound leaves have 5-7 leaflets with serrate margins. The white or pale pink flowers are conspicuous and develope in a lax corymboid inflorescence. The red fruit (hips with achenes) are 1.5-2 cm long. Native range: Rosa canina is native to Europe and the Mediterranean Region. Flowering: R. canina usually blossoms from June to August (depending on region, altitude and exposure) and its fruits ripen in autumn.
syrup or as decoction. Also, they are used in bakery and pastry making (tarts and jams). tips: When preparing a decoction of non-chopped dog-rose hips, boil them for at least 10 minutes. For chopped dog-rose hips, boiling them for 5-7 minutes would be enough. Dog-rose hips may be desiccated or frozen, although this might lead to quality reduction of some of their compounds. Flavour: Warm, sweet-and-sour, fruity, with a tart aftertaste. ΆROμα: Dog-rose flowers have a similar, yet weaker scent than that of cultivated roses. Components: Essential oil (mainly citronellol), tannins, gallic acid, flavonoids (quercetin, trans- and cis-tiliroside), vitamines A, C and E, riboflavin, nicotinic acid, citric acid, sugars, carotenes, galactolipids, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, copper, zinc, manganese. Beverage: The dog-rose hips should be boiled to yield the vitamin C (decoction), otherwise the time of preparation of the infusion should be prolonged (30 minutes). The dog-rose hips possess antibacterial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties. They are used as an astringent, anti-diarrhoeal, for respiratory tracts in bronchitis, for the prevention and treatment of colds, in hemoptysis, as a source of vitamin C and in eye washes. They can also be used in osteoarthritis as their use reduces pain and stiffness, thus improving the performance of daily activities such as walking, entering and exiting from the car, without side effects.
Edible part: Ripen fruit (hips), petals and remnants of flowers. P r o p e r t i e s : Astringent, antidiarrhoeal, anti-inflammatory (reduces pain and stiffness, improves functionality in people with osteoarthritis), for the prevention and treatment of colds, for hemoptysis, for respiratory tracts to bronchitis. Overview of use: Dog-rose hips are often used for making
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PART ΙII
Beneficial blends of herbal teas
Five beneficial blends of aromatic-medicinal plants are presented in this part based on the identity and the properties of the different plants selected. Because of the many different biological activities that a class of plant chemical compounds may possess, one herbal substance has been selected to be included in more than one mixture. Below the profile of each of the mixtures is presented, with the basic ingredients contained and the percentage of herbal substance therein. In all beverages, honey, sugar, carob decoction or carob molasses can be added as a sweetener. To prepare the herbal tea for one person, soak 3 grams of the herbal mixture in 200 ml of hot water (or 12 grams of the herbal mixture in 800 ml of hot water for 4 people) and leave it for 3 to 30 minutes, depending on the mixture. 85
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Capers
Fennel
Saffron Crocus
Sage
Mastic
Marjoram
Sumac (Rhus)
Group 1 New tasting suggestions
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Main dish, for 5 people • Degree of difficulty: 3 Preparation time: 1 hour and 10 minutes
INGREDIENTS 1 large tight cabbage ½ kg of cod fillets (salted or frozen) 1 onion 1 cup of Carolina (medium round grain) rice 1-2 teaspoons of cornflour for the sauce ½ bunch of parsley 2 spoonfuls of marjoram leaves DIRECTIONS If the cod fish you picked is salted, you must desalt it in water for 2 days in a row. Discard the main shoot (stalk) of the cabbage and boil it in a pan with plenty of water. While it is boiling, peel the outside leaves off one by one until there aren’t any left to remove. Once the leaves turn cold, cut off the hard stalks and chop them in equal pieces. Filling: Cut the cod fish in small pieces. Finely cut the onion and wilt it in two spoonfuls of olive oil. Leave it to cool off and add the cod fish, the rice, the parsley, the marjoram, the salt, the lemon juice and the spices. Spread the hard stalks on the bottom of the pan and any of the leaves that seem to be a bit unsuitable for wrapping. Use the good-looking leaves to wrap the cod tightly and place the rolls in the pan in horizontal lines. Cover them with another layer of cabbage leaves, pour the juice of the second lemon and the rest of the olive oil over them, sprinkle a bit of salt, a couple of glasses with water and place gently a shallow plate on top of them. The water should not cover the rolls.
MARJORAM
Stuffed cabbage wraps with cod fish & marjoram Zest of one lemon 6 spoonfuls of Greek extra virgin olive oil Juice of 2 lemons Salt ½ teaspoon of red hot pepper Black pepper
Boil the rolls at a low temperature for 40-50 minutes. Sauce For the sauce, mix 1 cup of broth and 1 teaspoon of cornflour. You can adjust it according to your taste. Once the cod rolls are cooked drain them carefully from their broth. Mix the broth with the cornflour (after dissolving it in 1 spoonful of water), lemon zest and a bit of salt. Boil everything together in a small pan over a low heat. When the sauce is thick enough, pour it over the rolls and shake the pan in order to blend the ingredients well together. VARIATION To save time, use the same ingredients to make an unusual cabbage risotto. In this case cut the cabbage in fine pieces instead of whole leaves. ACCOMPANYING DRINK Mantinia, dry white wine of the Moshofilero variety or Sauvignon Blanc. 121
Group 2 New gastronomic horizons
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Carob
Cornelian Cherries
Greek mountain tea
Lemon balm
Dittany of Crete
Dog-rose or Wild rose
Rock Samphire or Sea Fennel
Winter savoury
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Salad, for 4 people • Degree of difficulty: 1 Preparation time: 35 minutes (including the time needed to clean the green beans)
INGREDIENTS 400 grams of green beans 2 spoonfuls of dittany of Crete Yoghurt dip 200 ml of cow yoghurt 3 spoonfuls of Greek extra virgin olive oil
DITTANY OF CRETE
Salad with green beans, dittany of Crete & sunflower seeds 1 spoonful of vinegar 1 spoonful of lemon juice Salt Black pepper Topping 3 spoonfuls of sunflower seeds
DIRECTIONS Mix the ingredients for the dip well together and preserve the mixture covered in the fridge. Trim and rinse the green beans thoroughly. Boil them on medium heat for 15 minutes in a litre of water, adding the dittany leaves as well. Avoid over boiling them in order to keep them crunchy. Strain, keep the dittany leaves and serve them cold with the yoghurt spread. Sprinkle the sunflower seeds over them and optionally serve with smoked trout or apaki (smoked pork meat). VARIATION To prepare it as a main dish, add sun dried tomatoes, onions and feta cheese, accompanying it with whole grain bread. ACCOMPANYING DRINK Dry white wine from Maschato variety of the the island of Samos or Malvasia variety. 189
Plate combinations for a menu
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SUNDAY MENUS CELEBRATION MENUS FOR HOME INVITATIONS MENUS FOR EVERY DAY VEGETERIAN MENU (OR FOR FASTING)
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S. Marcogiannis, Photo Spheres 254
PART V
Cultivating 15 aromaticpharmaceutical Mediterranean plants Guidelines for sowing, transplanting, growing and propagating the selected plants
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Crithmum maritimum L. (Apiaceae family)
Rock samphire
Perennial herbaceous plants 2
Sowing: October or November (indoors or outdoors), or alternatively early in spring time. Sowing conditions: Seeds should be cleaned and placed on the surface of a wet and light mixture of pearlite: peat in ratio of 1:3 placed in small containers or planting crates. Do not cover the seeds with soil but only with vermiculite, as they need sunlight to germinate and temperatures of 20-22οC. Time to germination: 30-90 days. Transplanting of seedlings: Towards the end of spring in plant containers of 7.5 cm diameter.
Care: Partial fertilization (liquid fertilizer for general use), every one or two months (optionally). Cover the ground with stones if needed. Prune at the end of fall (15 cm above ground). Remove any dry inflorescences-seeds. Renew the soil annually. Add salt to the water for fully developed plants. Proliferation: By dividing the rootstocks in spring or with softwood cuttings of 15 cm height. Immerse the cuttings in hormone powder for rooting (IBA). Use a mixture of pearlite and peat in ratio of 1:3. Keep the substrate relatively wet to achieve rooting in 40 days. Harvest: April to June or all year around (depending on the region).
Hardening in outdoor space: 10-15 days without frost. Replanting: Beginning of spring (after the frost has passed) or in the middle of fall (with the first rainfalls), every 2-3 years in a pot of a larger diameter. Type of pot: Clay or wooden of 20 cm diameter. Soil requirements: It needs types of soil which drain well (sandy, gravelly, stony and limestone ones), preferably with salinity. A layer of limestone, gravel or clay beads is needed to help it drain well and allow air circulation around the roots. Exposure needed: Full sunlight, southern or eastern orientation. Resilience: To cold (down to –12οC), to high temperatures (up to 40+οC). It can withstand drought, lack of nutrients, high salinity, air currents and wind. Watering demands: Rock samphire needs regular watering in small quantities during replanting and establishment. Partial watering when in a pot (summer: 1-2 times a week, winter: 0-1 times) and a little bit or not any at all when cultivating in the ground (depending on the local frequency of rainfalls). Water them with slightly saline water when the plants are in full growth.
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Plant size and container The most important thing you have to take under consideration when choosing a pot is the analogy between the size of the pot and the plant itself. It is best when the pot’s shape match the shape of the plant (e.g. tall plants fit better in deep pots, while wide plants go in wide pots as well). At the bottom, of course, the choice of your pot is a form of art and not science. Therefore it is basically a matter of personal taste.
How and when to use plant containers in an apartment Choosing the plants and the right pots for them to go in your apartment depends first of all on the available space you have. Nevertheless you can always find a place to put them, even when your space is small. A small aromatic-pharmaceutical plant will add some sparkle to your place and give it a sense of nature. Placing aromatic plants in a bright corner of your house (preferably close to a glass partition or a window), not only will highlight your space but also offer a sense of well-being as well as the opportunity to use fresh material. A beautiful composition of aromatic-pharmaceutical plants can be made with plants either of the same family or of the same genus. Some stones and graves will add a sense of nature to your composition and will help the plants adjust easier to your space. The choice of the plants you will get depends on the available space in your house, balcony, terrace or even roof or little garden. For outdoor spaces you can use a large planting box or plastic sacks for growing plants.
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