Hyssop is a hardy, blue-flowered herb of the mint family with a bitter, minty, camphorous flavour. It was once a common kitchen herb and is still used in absinthe and some liqueurs.
What it is¶
Hyssop is a small, woody, semi-evergreen shrub of the mint family, growing to about 50 cm, with narrow, dark green leaves and spikes of intensely blue (or sometimes pink or white) flowers that bees and butterflies love. It is strongly aromatic, with a bitter, minty, camphorous flavour.
It was once a common kitchen herb, but it has largely fallen out of culinary use, surviving mainly in liqueurs and in the herb garden as an ornamental. It is still worth knowing: used sparingly it adds a pleasantly bitter, aromatic note to fatty meats, fruit and game.
Despite the name, the "hyssop" of the Bible is probably not this plant. Most scholars think the Hebrew ezov was a Middle Eastern oregano, usually identified as Origanum syriacum, the plant behind zaatar.
Origins and history¶
Hyssop is native to southern Europe and western Asia and was cultivated in Europe from at least the Middle Ages, when it was grown in physic and monastery gardens for medicinal and culinary use. It was used as a strewing herb and in Tudor and Elizabethan knot gardens, where its compact habit made it an ideal low hedge.
Medieval and early modern cooks added it to stuffings, soups, stews and sausages, and to salads and pottages. The herbalists of the 16th and 17th centuries recommended it for coughs and chest complaints, uses that were traditional rather than proven.
Hyssop is a traditional ingredient in absinthe, alongside wormwood, green anise and Florence fennel, and it is also used in some other herbal liqueurs and bitters, though the recipes of the famous monastic liqueurs are secret.
Flavour and aroma¶
Hyssop tastes strongly bitter, with a sharp, minty, camphorous and slightly medicinal aroma, somewhere between sage, rosemary, mint and thyme. The flowers are milder and slightly sweeter than the leaves.
The bitterness is its defining feature and the reason to use it cautiously: too much and a dish tastes like cough mixture.
In the kitchen¶
Use hyssop as you would a strong, bitter sage: in small amounts, with rich foods, and usually cooked.
- Fatty meats. A few chopped leaves (½–1 tsp per 500 g) with lamb, pork, duck, goose or game helps cut richness. Add a sprig to a slow-cooked stew, or to a stuffing for pork or poultry.
- Sausages and pâtés. A traditional flavouring in some European sausages and terrines.
- Fruit. Hyssop's bitter-minty note is unexpectedly good with stone fruits and berries. Add a small sprig to poached apricots, peaches or plums, or to a cranberry or blackcurrant sauce.
- Salads and garnish. The blue flowers can be scattered over salads and desserts; the young leaf tips can be used very sparingly in green salads.
- Soups and pulses. A little in lentil or bean soup, in the way savory is used.
💡 A little goes a long way
Start with a single sprig or a few leaves, taste, and add more only if needed. Remove sprigs before serving.
Buying and storing¶
Hyssop is almost never sold fresh; grow it or buy the dried herb from specialist suppliers. Fresh sprigs keep for a few days in the fridge, wrapped in damp paper.
It dries well. Cut the stems just as the flowers begin to open, hang in small bunches in a dry, airy place, then strip and store in an airtight jar. Use within a year. See drying herbs.
Substitutes¶
A mixture of sage and mint is the closest approximation. Rosemary or winter savory can stand in for hyssop in meat dishes, though they lack its minty bitterness.
Pairs well with¶
Lamb, pork, duck, goose and game; sausages; lentils and beans; apricots, peaches, plums, cranberries and blackcurrants; sage, thyme, rosemary, mint and parsley.
Growing your own¶
Hyssop is a tough, hardy, drought-tolerant perennial, easy to grow in the right place.
- Position. Full sun and light, well-drained, preferably alkaline soil. It dislikes wet winters and heavy clay.
- Starting. Sow seed indoors in spring, or outdoors once the soil has warmed; take softwood cuttings in late spring or early summer; or buy plants.
- Pruning. Cut back in spring to encourage compact, bushy growth, and trim lightly after flowering. Avoid cutting into old, bare wood. Replace plants every four or five years once they become woody.
- Uses in the garden. Hyssop makes a good low hedge around herb and vegetable beds and in knot gardens, and it is one of the best plants for bees and butterflies. Traditionally it is planted near cabbages to deter cabbage white butterflies, an old gardening belief with limited evidence.
See physic and monastery gardens.
Health and safety¶
The essential oil of hyssop contains pinocamphone and isopinocamphone, compounds that can cause convulsions in large doses. Seizures have been reported in people taking the essential oil.
- The leaf, used in normal culinary amounts, is not considered hazardous for most people.
- Hyssop essential oil should not be taken internally, and people with epilepsy should avoid it altogether.
- Hyssop is traditionally avoided in pregnancy and for young children beyond small food quantities.