Summer savory

Satureja hortensis

Summer savory is among the best known of the satureja genus. It is an annual, but otherwise is similar in use and flavor to the perennial winter savory. It is used more often than winter savory, which has a slightly more bitter flavor.

Summer savory is a popular herb in Atlantic Canada, where it is used in the same way sage is elsewhere. It is the main flavoring in dressing for many fowl, mixed with ground pork and other basic ingredients to create a thick meat dressing known as cretonnade (cretonade) which may be eaten with turkey, goose and duck. It also is used to make stews such as fricot, and meat pies. It is available year-round in local grocery stores in dried form and is used in varying proportions, sometimes added to recipes in large generous heaping spoonfuls (such as in cretonnade), and sometimes more subtly (as in beans, for which savory has a natural affinity). Summer savory is also a characteristic ingredient of herbes de Provence and is widely used as a seasoning for grilled meats and barbecues.

Summer savory is preferred over winter savory for use in sausages because of its sweete aroma. It plays an important role in Bulgarian cuisine, providing a strong flavor to a variety of dishes. Instead of salt and pepper, a Bulgarian table will have three condiments: salt, red sweet pepper and summer savory. When these are mixed it is called sharena sol ('colorful salt'). Summer savory is used in Romanian cuisine, especially in sarmale (stuffed cabbage or grape leaf rolls) and in mititei (grilled ground meat rolls).