What Can You Do With Anise Hyssop Leaves?

How do I use Anise Hyssop?

• Use them in cooking by drying the flowers and sprinkling them over your favorite lettuce as a sweet and surprising topping in salads.
• Garnish your favorite desserts by topping ice cream, fruit, or frosted cakes with some fresh blooms for a treat that appeals to both the eye and taste buds.

What can you do with anise leaves?

Leaves can be used as a seasoning, dried for use in tea, used fresh in salads, or made into jellies. As leaves maintain their scent well when dried, anise hyssop can also be used in potpourri.

What do you do with hyssop leaves?

It’s less common now so quite hard to come by, but the young leaves can be used in cooking – chop and scatter onto salads, meat or oily fish dishes, or use to flavour soups, stews and fruit dishes. Hyssop is said to aid the digestion of fatty or rich foods.

What parts of anise hyssop are medicinal?

leaves
Individual parts of the plant are used for different purposes but leaves are the most useful ones. Indeed, the leaves of hyssop can be used in herbal tea or added fresh in small quantities to a salad with other greens. The dried leaves can be used for medicinal purposes to treat coughs, fevers, wounds, and diarrhea.

Are hyssop leaves edible?

Culinary. Both the flowers and leaves of Anise-Hyssop are edible. The leaves have a pleasant mild licorice/anise flavor while the flowers add a hint of floral sweetness. Harvested fresh, leaves can be added to summer pasta dishes or cold vegetable soups.

Can you eat the leaves of the anise plant?

Anise is an essential ingredient in dishes and recipes the world over, and it imparts a distinctly sweet, black licorice-like flavor to food. While the stems, leaves, flowers, and seeds are all edible, the seeds are the most widely used.

What is the difference between hyssop and anise hyssop?

Despite these names, anise hyssop is neither anise (Pimpinella anisum) nor hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis). Although, like hyssop, it is a member of the mint family (Lamiaceae). Anise hyssop is a perennial plant in the USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 4-8. It prefers well-drained soil in part sun to full sun.

What part of the hyssop plant do you use?

Hyssop is cultivated for the use of its flower-tops, which are steeped in water to make an infusion, which is sometimes employed as an expectorant. There are three varieties, known respectively by their blue, red and white flowers, which are in bloom from June to October, and are sometimes employed as edging plants.

Can you drink hyssop tea?

In general, it is likely safe for most adults to eat or drink one serving of hyssop tea or to consume the amount of hyssop found in seasonings.

What part of hyssop is used for tea?

Hyssop Officinalis leaves
The hyssop plant is a member of the mint family and the leaves offer an intense minty aroma. True hyssop tea —made using Hyssop Officinalis leaves — has hints of minty flavor and a mildly bitter aftertaste.

How do you harvest anise hyssop tea?

How to harvest: Snip leaves as needed, starting from the bottom of the plant. Use a snip or garden scissors. Gather leaves in the morning. To dry leaves for tea, cut whole stems about 4 to 5 inches from the base of the plant and strip the leaves away.

Should I deadhead anise hyssop?

Herbaceous plants do best if trimmed back in early spring just as new growth is about to appear. Anise hyssop can also be deadheaded and shaped lightly from spring until mid-summer. Suspend any trimming thereafter, as it may force tender, new growth that can be damaged when cool weather appears.

Can you dry anise leaves?

Leaves can be dried on a screen in a cool, dry, dark, airy place. How to harvest seeds: Cut the flower stems and seed heads and hang the stalks upside down in a warm, dry, shady place.

Why is hyssop used in the Bible?

Hyssop was mentioned in the Bible for its cleansing effect in connection with plague, leprosy and chest ailments and symbolically in cleansing the soul. In Medieval and Renaissance times hyssop was primarily used for respiratory and digestive ailments.

Does anise hyssop come back every year?

Anise Hyssop blooms in the second year. If you cut it back by 1/3 after bloom, the plant will bush out and bloom again. It easily self seeds.

Is anise hyssop toxic to dogs?

Hyssop oil is toxic to dogs and other animals when ingested. It is used topically to prevent Lyme disease in dogs when applied to tick bites. Consuming the plant in large doses can cause respiratory tract irritation and seizures.

What can I make with anise plant?

Toasted anise seeds (aniseeds) are used to make spicy cookies, cakes, and various types of bread. They also make delicious syrups. The seeds are also incorporated into hot dishes, including cabbage and other cruciferous vegetables, baked or steamed root vegetables, and soups or stews.

Are anise hyssop seeds edible?

The flowers of anise hyssop are edible and can add a unique flavor to salads. The flowers are also fragrant and so are a popular addition to potpourri mixes. The seeds of anise hyssop can be used in baked goods. Sprinkling anise hyssop seeds into batter will add a licorice flavor to breads, cakes, and cookies.

How do you use hyssop?

Some people use hyssop as a gargle; in baths to cause sweating; and on the skin for treating skin irritations, burns, bruises, and frostbite. In foods, hyssop oil and extract are used as a flavoring. In manufacturing, hyssop oil is used as a fragrance in soaps and cosmetics.

Does anise hyssop attract bees?

Anise Hyssop (Agastache Foeniculum)
Not only is anise hyssop rich in nectar, but it also blooms for weeks and keeps several species of bees busy feeding. The honey from bees that forage on anise hyssop is very sweet.

How do you harvest hyssop?

How to Harvest Hyssop

1. When to harvest: Harvest hyssop leaves as needed before the plant flowers. Pick flowers when the blooms are three-quarters open.
2. How to harvest: Snip off portions of the stalk when harvesting a small number of leaves for immediate use then strip the leaves from the stem.