Lovage - how to grow and use the lovage herb

Lovage, ( Levisticum officinale ) is also known as Old English Lovage. Italian Lovage. Cornish Lovage, Sea parsley or Love parsley. -
The "love " part of the name "lovage" may date back to the middle ages, when its seeds were used a part of a love potion.It was grown in old monastery gardens, and its seeds, leaves and stalks were all used for medicial purposes.
In the Middle Ages, the emperor Charlemagne so loved lovage that he ordered it to be grown in all his gardens.
Lovage is widely used in homeopathic remedies and for herbal medicine.

Here is my herb garden at White Moss House, Grasmere , in the Lake District. My lovage is on the left of the picture.

The 17th Century herbalist, Nicholas Culpepper wrote of lovage that an infusion 'being dropped into the eyes taketh away their redness or dimness.... It is highly recommended to drink the decoction of the herb for agues.... The distilled water is good for quinsy if the mouth and throat be gargled and washed therewith.... The decoction drunk three or four times a day is effectual in pleurisy.... The leaves bruised and fried with a little hog's lard and laid hot to any blotch or boil will quickly break "- a wide variety of uses!

Although garden Lovage is one of the old English herbs which was very common in gardens centuries ago, it has recently been out of favor.
In my herb garden , it grows very well, and lovage is a herb that is well suited to the gardener who likes to grow something just a bit unusual to use in recipes and cooking.

Lovage is beginning to get more popular again, and lovage now appears in recipes from vaious top chefs.

At White Moss House we certainly love lovage!

You need quite a good sized space to grow lovage. Once it gets established the lovage plant will grow as high as 6 foot.
When we used to make lovage soup regularly in our restuarant at White Moss House, we needed two or three plants, but now that we mostly just cook for ourselves one plant would be ample.

Lovage is a perrenial. In the winter it vanishes, so I leave a few of last year's stalks as markers. In the spring, it shows as a purple- green leaf, then quickly grows to full height in April and May.

Lovage can take partial shade and does better in soil that is fairly fertile and not too dry. If you have a longer growing season, simply direct seed it outside. In the north, start seeds indoors about 6 weeks ahead for transplanting, or buy a plant from a garden center.

Lovage seed needs to be fairly fresh, and to make sure you get one good plant, sow at least 4 seeds in a pot. When you move the plant to the garden keep it well watered for the first couple weeks, and feed with a natural fertilizer. The first year you won't see it's full growth-it will only reach about 2 foot, but you can begin to harvest at a foot. Cut stems from the side, and chop to use in recipes.

The seed heads, shown above, need to be cut back to keep the plant growing strongly.

Towards the end of the summer, your lovage plant will become rather stringy , and I find that if I cut it down firmly, it will sometimes produce a good showing of fresh leaves.
In the autumn, cut all the plant down, leaving just a few marker stalks to show you where the lovage plant will appear next year.

If you like the idea of using lovage, I think you might also like lovage and sorrel- 2 unusual herbs .
I've also written a very interesting article about sorrel that you'll love!

Lovage is closely related to celery. and the leaves look similar. The flavor is also very similar to that of celery, but the leaves tend to be used with lovage, rather than the stalks with celery.
The stalks can be used like angelica, for candying, and the seeds can be used infusions, but in most lovage receipes it is the leaves that are used.

My favorite uses for the lovage herb are-

Add the chopped leaves to casseroles for an really interesting flavor. The anise, celery flavor of the lovage works really well.

Lovage is great when cooking lentils- sweat a few leaves with onions , then let the lentils cook slowly with the lovage.

Thanks to Iban and flickr creative commons for the photo

Chop the leaves and add to cream cheese- this can then be used as a stuffing - lovely in a chicken breast.

Pesto is traditionally made with basil, but can be made with most herbs. I use sorrel and lovage.
Lovage can be used oon a pizza topping, and it is excellent with fish, such as salmon.

Salmon and lovage photo thanks to ulterior epicure and flickr creative commons

Chop the leaves in a fresh leaf and herb salad- dress with your favorite dressing.

Lovage soup is delicious. We love leek and lovage soup- it sounds good and tastes fantastic- the leeks and lovage really work well together.

Sprinkle lovage on your pizza topping for a little extra special flavor.

A handful of chopped lovage on pasta looks and tastes great.

Chop the lovage leaves and add to a paste of soft butter- use as a topping for vegetable ( it is really good on carrots)

Here are lots more of my herb garden favorites. I'd love you to visit them.

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The roots, stems, and leaves of lovage have long been used for medicinal purposes, especially as a diuretic. As Culpepper mentioned, you can make a lovage tea by either using the seeds or the leaves, to flush out the digestion.
Lovage was thought to be of value for treating kidney stones, jaundice, malaria, sore throat, pleurisy, and boils.

Like many sweet , highly flavored herbs, lovage can be simply chewed as a breath freshener- very useful in the days before toothpaste!

A paste of lovage has been also been used by ladies used to help clear up spots and rashes.

In homes many years ago, lovage was placed in bowls around the house to sweeten and freshen the air.

Lovage cordial has been made for centuries- and is still made and sold today.It is thought to have healthy, cleansing properties.

Thanks to 46137 and flickr creative commons for the photo.
Lovage root was used in folk medicine, primarily for its diuretic and carminative properties. Besides increasing the flow of urine and expelling gas, lovage was thought to be of value for treating kidney stones, jaundice, malaria, sore throat, pleurisy, and boils. Today, herbalists primarily recommend Lovage for urinary tract infections, kidney and bladder stones, to relieve flatulence, to regulate menstruation.

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See my top 10 reasons to grow herbs. Lots of info and tips.

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