I don't use it that often but as I have it growing I decided to look for a recipe to use it. It surprised me to see so many people either not personally liking it or knowing other people who didn't like it which made me feel unsure about offering a tarragon dish to dinner guests. Maybe some cooks add too much of it. Anyway, I ended up making a simple Chicken breasts in dijon mustard, tarragon and cream sauce. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/dijon-tarragon-cream-chicken/ although I cut back on both the dijon and the tarragon because I wasn't sure I would like so much of either in the sauce and I'm glad I did. A dessertspoon of dijon and a teaspoon of tarragon really is enough. So easy and so delicious.

paora-tm - 2015-03-13 18:57:00

One of the few things I haven't really warmed to either... Whenever I have had it when eating out, I haven't enjoyed the sauce at all.

socram - 2015-03-13 19:02:00

I agree.
Nigella, Nigel et al, all said tarragon was the herb to use with chicken,but I dislike it and feel the same way about fennel, and five spice for that matter. I do like pastis,ouzo and aniseed, and other similar strong tastes.
Maybe it's just the alcoholic version that appeals.

eastie3 - 2015-03-13 19:20:00

I love tarragon and use it almost every day in the season. It's one of my favourite herbs.

If anyone would like some recipes that use it let me know.

davidt4 - 2015-03-13 19:49:00

Russian Tarragon is the poor relation of the French Tarragon & I've never seen French Tarragon for sale, only the Russian one.
I do have some French Tarragon, only because I nicked if from a restaurant herb garden. I recognised it as the real 'McCoy' & got caught by the chef in the act of getting a rooted piece, (very embarrassing) but he was only too happy because he knew that I would value it & yes, I use it when a recipe states, but wouldn't bother with it's poor relative as a substitute.
Signed Ms thief. ;o)

samanya - 2015-03-13 19:52:00

samanya wrote:

Russian Tarragon is the poor relation of the French Tarragon & I've never seen French Tarragon for sale

We have French - from Kings Plant Barn.

paora-tm - 2015-03-13 22:40:00

davidt4 wrote:

If anyone would like some recipes that use it let me know.

Heck, why not. Please. Thank you. :)

Edited by paora-tm at 10:41 pm, Fri 13 Mar

paora-tm - 2015-03-13 22:40:00

Chicken, tomatoes, tarragon (Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall)

serves 6

1 large free range chicken, jointed
2 tab olive oil
125 ml white wine
juice of ½ lemon
500g tomatoes, halved or quartered
large bunch of tarragon, leaves only, coarsely chopped
salt and pepper

Heat oven to 190 C. Heat large frying pan. Season chicken, brown in olive oil, transfer to baking pan.

Deglaze frying pan with wine, add to pan with lemon juice and more seasoning. Cover and bake 30 min.

Add tomatoes, nestling them cut side up among the chicken pieces. Bake uncovered 20 - 30 min until chicken is tender and tomatoes soft and blistered.

Scatter most of the tarragon over, toss to mix, leave to stand a few minutes. Sprinkle remaining tarragon over to serve.

Parsley works well instead of tarragon - three times the quantity.

davidt4 - 2015-03-14 09:46:00

Roasted Mushrooms with Tarragon & Crème Fraîche

serves 4

12 large flat mushrooms

80 ml olive oil
2 tab lemon juice
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tab parsley, finely chopped
60 ml crème fraîche
2 tsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tsp tarragon, chopped

Heat oven to 200C.

In large roasting tin combine oil, lemon juice and garlic. Add mushrooms and turn to coat well. Season to taste and arrange in a single layer, Roast 30 min, turning occasionally.

Combine crème fraiche, lemon juice, garlic and tarragon.

Serve mushrooms hot in a flat dish with cooking juices spooned over, parsley and crème fraiche drizzled over just before serving.

davidt4 - 2015-03-14 09:46:00

paora-tm wrote:

We have French - from Kings Plant Barn.

Gosh, I have never seen it for sale down here & I looked for a long time before I 'acquired' mine. I have a feeling the it has to be propagated by root division as it doesn't grow too well from seed ...not 100% sure though.

samanya - 2015-03-14 11:48:00

Yes, French tarragon does not set seed and is propagated by root division only.

davidt4 - 2015-03-14 11:51:00

Perfect, thank you. Easy preparation and not too many ingredients suits me. Cheers.

paora-tm - 2015-03-14 11:56:00

I dislike all the aniseed flavoured herbs.
And garlic.

lythande1 - 2015-03-14 16:20:00

This message was deleted.

gearbox1 - 2015-03-14 16:55:00

paora-tm wrote:

We have French - from Kings Plant Barn.

Ahhhhh, but do you? I have been growing Tarragon for decades and many people think they have French when they actually have Russian. It is a Russian herb so it all gets very confusing lol this is an interesting article:

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/newsletters/hortupdate/20
09/jan09/Tarragon.html

awoftam - 2015-03-14 20:38:00

Tarragon is good in vinegars stir into cream sauce and serve with chicken.

fifie - 2015-03-14 21:47:00

awoftam wrote:

Ahhhhh, but do you? I have been growing Tarragon for decades and many people think they have French when they actually have Russian.

I just have to take King's word for that - they do label it as French Tarragon. How do you tell the difference?

paora-tm - 2015-03-15 11:48:00

Russian tarragon is a bigger, more vigorous plant and has no particular flavour - it tastes like any green weed. French tarragon is a more delicate plant and has a strong aniseed taste and scent.

davidt4 - 2015-03-15 12:19:00

I always sprinkle a small amount of tarragon into a mushroom based dish, or when cooking fish. The trick I think, is not to overdo it. It certainly does enhance these two flavours though.

strebor1 - 2015-03-15 14:02:00

My business sells french tarragon. We stock most bunnings in the north island Under the herb Herbert brand. We only do french tarragon and is always done by cuttings

luvmykicks - 2015-03-15 14:58:00

Until I saw the debate in here and looked at pictures of Russian tarragon, I'd never heard of it. I have never, ever seen Russian Tarragon being sold as 'French Tarragon' in Auckland. In fact, I've only seen tarragon on sale once in my life so I snapped it up. My own plant is definitely French but it was only labelled 'tarragon' when I bought it. The vendor obviously either hadn't heard of Russian tarragon or he is more ethical than plant sellers south of Auckland.

Edited by buzzy110 at 4:54 pm, Sun 15 Mar

buzzy110 - 2015-03-15 16:53:00

I like it, but find that it tastes a bit tobacco-y if there's too much in a dish.

drommy - 2015-03-15 17:29:00

I have a little Tarragon plant growing happily in a pot. Last night I made a super fast dinner; sautéed onions, red peppers, zucchini in a pan with a little salt, then shredded some leftover poached chicken, added some crème fraiche, garnished with a tablespoon of tarragon and served it on some mung bean fettucine- it all took about 8 or 9 minutes and tasted delicious!

mazzy1 - 2015-03-15 17:35:00

buzzy110 wrote:

Until I saw the debate in here and looked at pictures of Russian tarragon, I'd never heard of it. I have never, ever seen Russian Tarragon being sold as 'French Tarragon' in Auckland. In fact, I've only seen tarragon on sale once in my life so I snapped it up. My own plant is definitely French but it was only labelled 'tarragon' when I bought it. The vendor obviously either hadn't heard of Russian tarragon or he is more ethical than plant sellers south of Auckland.

I don't think anyone said that retailers were selling the inferior Russian Tarragon as French Tarragon.
The point is... many people wanting to add to their herb garden, might not know that Russian is not what recipes require & are disappointed in the flavour if they use the Russian type..
I'd be wary of buying any plant labelled just 'Tarragon' thinking it was the real French variety. One has to be experienced in the use to recognise the genuine thing.
How did you ascertain that you did buy the genuine French herb?

samanya - 2015-03-15 17:36:00

davidt4 wrote:

Russian tarragon is a bigger, more vigorous plant and has no particular flavour - it tastes like any green weed. French tarragon is a more delicate plant and has a strong aniseed taste and scent.

You are so right. The Russian leaves are darker green, bigger, courser etc & the plant is way more robust, in my experience

samanya - 2015-03-15 17:38:00

samanya wrote:

I don't think anyone said that retailers were selling the inferior Russian Tarragon as French Tarragon.
The point is... many people wanting to add to their herb garden, might not know that Russian is not what recipes require & are disappointed in the flavour if they use the Russian type..
I'd be wary of buying any plant labelled just 'Tarragon' thinking it was the real French variety. One has to be experienced in the use to recognise the genuine thing.

Yes.

Edited by awoftam at 7:36 pm, Sun 15 Mar

awoftam - 2015-03-15 19:36:00

luvmykicks wrote:

My business sells french tarragon. We stock most bunnings in the north island Under the herb Herbert brand. We only do french tarragon and is always done by cuttings

That's great ...I've seen the Herbert brand.
Do you supply Mega10 in the SI?
It would be good if Bunnings in the SI would stock it.

samanya - 2015-03-16 10:07:00

davidt4 wrote:

Russian tarragon is a bigger, more vigorous plant and has no particular flavour - it tastes like any green weed. French tarragon is a more delicate plant and has a strong aniseed taste and scent.

I'm 99.9% sure I have French. "Robust" & Vigorous" are definitely not words I would use to describe my plants and there certainly is good aniseed flavour in the leaves. Cheers

paora-tm - 2015-03-16 14:31:00

samanya wrote:

I don't think anyone said that retailers were selling the inferior Russian Tarragon as French Tarragon.
The point is... many people wanting to add to their herb garden, might not know that Russian is not what recipes require & are disappointed in the flavour if they use the Russian type..
I'd be wary of buying any plant labelled just 'Tarragon' thinking it was the real French variety. One has to be experienced in the use to recognise the genuine thing.
How did you ascertain that you did buy the genuine French herb?

Oh fgs. So now you are the self-proclaimed expert with experience to correctly identify a plant for me. I am quite capable of doing that for myself with no experience at all. Distinguishing between French, Russian and Mexican tarragon is not rocket science.

buzzy110 - 2015-03-16 16:27:00

paora-tm wrote:

I'm 99.9% sure I have French. "Robust" & Vigorous" are definitely not words I would use to describe my plants and there certainly is good aniseed flavour in the leaves. Cheers

Yep. Same here. I also was able to use photographs. How clever is that?

buzzy110 - 2015-03-16 16:29:00

buzzy110 wrote:

Oh fgs. So now you are the self-proclaimed expert with experience to correctly identify a plant for me. I am quite capable of doing that for myself with no experience at all. Distinguishing between French, Russian and Mexican tarragon is not rocket science.

Settle petal.
You are reading far more into my post than was actually there!

Edited by samanya at 5:03 pm, Mon 16 Mar

samanya - 2015-03-16 17:02:00

buzzy110 wrote:

Yep. Same here. I also was able to use photographs. How clever is that?

Very clever indeed ...you get the taste & flavour well that way.

samanya - 2015-03-16 17:03:00

I have a Cuisine magazine from years ago that has a page "What to do with tarragon" & I've been making a salsa verde with tarragon in it, serving with chicken breast that I slice down the middle & put a sprig of tarragon in, for years. One of my fav chicken dishes. I really should check out some more recipes to use the herb in though. It grows well in my garden in Auckland.

morrello1 - 2015-03-27 14:56:00

It's really not that hard to tell the difference by sight, and if in doubt a quick rub of a leaf soon makes it clear.

flancrest - 2015-03-27 15:40:00

samanya wrote:

Very clever indeed ...you get the taste & flavour well that way.

Well that is stupid. The taste and flavour come from the actual plant. Surely even and 'expert' can work that out.

buzzy110 - 2015-03-27 16:07:00

What's with the 'expert' stuff.
It's rather infantile.
Do I call you that when you regularly expound your knowledge about your particular interests?
We all have subjects that we may know a little more than others, but only certain types would proclaim themselves to be an expert & I'm not one of them ...OK?

Edited by samanya at 11:25 am, Sat 28 Mar

samanya - 2015-03-28 11:23:00

Yay ,just googled the photos of French Tarragon and it is identical to my plant.
I chop it up and add it to beef mince patties, always get heaps of compliments on how yummy mine are.
Must copy some of these recipes and try them.

mercury14 - 2015-03-28 11:44:00

an enlightening thread ..

bev00 - 2016-03-26 23:28:00

Not keen on any of the aniseed flavoured herbs.

lythande1 - 2016-03-27 07:57:00

Does anyone use pineapple sage? My neighbour's plant grows profusely on my side of the fence but I've never tried it.

kaddiew - 2016-03-27 10:43:00

It's quite nice in a bath and the flowers are pretty in a salad, but it doesn't really have much flavour when cooked. You could probably make a tea with the leaves.

davidt4 - 2016-03-27 10:50:00

davidt4 wrote:

It's quite nice in a bath and the flowers are pretty in a salad, but it doesn't really have much flavour when cooked. You could probably make a tea with the leaves.

Thanks davidt4. : )

kaddiew - 2016-03-27 11:07:00

bump ....

bev00 - 2017-03-28 01:18:00

paora-tm wrote:

We have French - from Kings Plant Barn.

I have never managed to grow it successfully. I used the dried stuff for cooking all the time, sprinkle it on a roast chicken and stuff with lemons and onions, sprinkle over fish. You can't make a Bernaise of Hollandaise with out either tarragon or tarragon vinegar.

It is only slightly aniseed flavoured so if you aren't keen on aniseed use sparingly but do use.

arielbooks - 2017-03-28 07:22:00

I don't like aniseed flavour at all, so that eliminates those aniseed type herbs

lythande1 - 2017-03-28 08:23:00

kaddiew wrote:

Does anyone use pineapple sage? My neighbour's plant grows profusely on my side of the fence but I've never tried it.

I have the lovely pineapple sage growing, it certainly has a strong smell of pineapple, and I crush a leaf and smell it every time I walk past. I've never cooked with it though. It would be nice used in a dessert I'm guessing.

rainrain1 - 2017-03-28 08:47:00

oh lordy lord... glad I'm not the only person with a distinct disliking for tarragon... lol

biscuitd - 2017-03-28 10:42:00

rainrain1 wrote:

I have the lovely pineapple sage growing, it certainly has a strong smell of pineapple, and I crush a leaf and smell it every time I walk past. I've never cooked with it though. It would be nice used in a dessert I'm guessing.

Same here ...it's worth growing in the herb garden for it's lovely smell & red flowers.

samanya - 2017-03-28 11:10:00

Love Tarragon. The herb I don't like is coriander - most of the tv chefs throw it in everything.

jan2242 - 2017-03-28 11:47:00

for tarragon lovers ..

bev00 - 2018-03-28 23:10:00