Mugwort is a tall, hardy perennial of the daisy family with a bitter, sage-like aroma. It is the traditional herb for German roast goose, and related Artemisia species colour Korean and Japanese rice cakes green.
What it is¶
Mugwort is a tall, bushy perennial, 1–2 m high, of roadsides, riverbanks and waste ground across Britain and Europe. Its deeply cut leaves are dark green above and silvery-white and felty below, and in late summer the reddish stems bear long, branched spikes of tiny, yellowish or reddish-brown flower heads. Crushed, it smells bitter, aromatic and slightly medicinal, like a rougher sage.
It belongs to Artemisia, a genus that also includes tarragon, wormwood (Artemisia absinthium, the bitter herb of absinthe) and southernwood. In German it is Beifuß, and in central European cooking it is used as a digestive seasoning for fatty meat. In East Asia several closely related species are eaten as spring greens and used to colour and flavour rice cakes: Korean ssuk and Japanese yomogi are mainly Artemisia princeps (often treated as a variety of A. indica), and Chinese ai (ai cao) is mainly Artemisia argyi. These are not the same species as European mugwort, but they are close relatives with a similar aroma, and they are often sold as "mugwort".
Origins and history¶
Mugwort is one of the most folklore-laden plants in Europe. It is the first of the herbs named in the Old English "Nine Herbs Charm", and was hung over doors and worn in garlands on St John's Eve, at midsummer, to ward off evil — hence the old name St John's plant. Pliny recorded that travellers tucked artemisia into their shoes against weariness, a belief repeated for centuries. The origin of the English name is uncertain: the popular link with drinking mugs is probably folk etymology, and Old English mucgwyrt may be related to words for "midge".
Before hops became standard, mugwort was one of the bitter herbs used to flavour and preserve ale, alongside bog myrtle and yarrow in medieval gruit. In Germany it became the classic herb for goose and duck, a use recorded in cookery books for centuries and still standard today.
In Korea and Japan, related Artemisia species have long been part of spring foraging, food and ritual. In China, ai is hung on doors at the Dragon Boat Festival, and across East Asia dried leaf is the source of moxa for moxibustion. See herbals-and-herbalists.
Flavour and aroma¶
Mugwort is bitter and aromatic: camphor and eucalyptus-like 1,8-cineole at the front, then notes of sage, juniper, mint and a faint sweetness, with a lingering bitter finish from sesquiterpene lactones. The flowering tops, gathered while still in tight bud, are the most aromatic; once the flowers open they become harsher and more bitter. The composition varies a great deal between plants and places.
The Asian species are generally milder and grassier when young. Korean ssuk and Japanese yomogi taste green, herbal and gently bitter, with a scent some compare to fresh-cut grass and chrysanthemum.
In the kitchen¶
Europe¶
- German roast goose (Gänsebraten): the essential herb. A few sprigs of dried mugwort (roughly 1–2 tsp crumbled flowering tops) go into the stuffing of apples, onions and sometimes chestnuts or prunes, and into the roasting juices, for the St Martin's goose (Martinsgans, 11 November) and at Christmas. It is said to help digest the fatty meat — a traditional claim, but its bitterness certainly cuts the richness.
- Duck and pork: used the same way with roast duck and pork belly in Germany, Austria and Poland.
- With marjoram and thyme: in stuffings, sausages and dumplings.
Use mugwort sparingly — a pinch in a stuffing, a sprig in a roasting tin. Too much and it tastes like medicine.
East Asia (related species)¶
- Korea: ssuk-tteok, pounded rice cakes coloured green with ssuk; ssuk-guk, a spring soup of young mugwort with doenjang (soybean paste) and clams or anchovy stock; ssuk-jeon, fritters. See korean-cuisine.
- Japan: yomogi mochi or kusa mochi, green rice cakes, often filled with sweet bean paste, and the green layer of the diamond-shaped hishi mochi made for Hinamatsuri in March. Young leaves are also fried as tempura. See japanese-cuisine.
- China: qingtuan, green rice dumplings eaten around Qingming in spring in the Jiangnan region, often coloured with mugwort. See chinese-cuisine.
💡 Young leaves for Asian recipes
For rice cakes and soups, use only very young shoots and leaves, blanched to reduce bitterness. Frozen and powdered yomogi or ssuk from Asian grocers are the easiest option outside East Asia.
Buying and storing¶
For German cookery mugwort is almost always used dried. Cut the flowering tops in late summer while the buds are still closed, hang them in small bunches to dry, then strip and store in an airtight jar; they keep well for a year. Commercial Beifuß is sold in German supermarkets in the run-up to St Martin's and Christmas. Fresh young leaves for Asian dishes keep a few days in the fridge, and blanched leaves freeze well. See drying-herbs.
Substitutes¶
sage is the natural substitute for goose and duck, with a little juniper or marjoram to round it out. thyme and rosemary also work with fatty meat but are less bitter. For Asian rice cakes, there is no real substitute; spinach or matcha give colour but not flavour.
Pairs well with¶
Goose, duck, pork, apples, onions, chestnuts, prunes, rice, sweet red bean paste, soybean paste, sage, marjoram, thyme, juniper, caraway and black pepper.
Growing your own¶
Mugwort needs no encouragement: it grows wild on almost any disturbed ground in sun, and in the garden it is closer to a weed than a herb. It tolerates poor, dry soil and is fully hardy. It spreads by creeping rhizomes and self-seeds, and in North America it is an invasive weed, so grow it in a large container or a contained corner. One plant is plenty.
Harvest young leaves in spring and cut the flowering tops for drying in late summer, before the buds open. Cut the plant back hard after harvest to limit seeding. Foragers should gather it away from busy roads and sprayed verges. See foraging-wild-herbs.
Health and safety¶
⚠️ Pregnancy
Mugwort has traditionally been used to bring on menstruation, and it should be avoided in pregnancy, beyond perhaps a pinch in a cooked dish. It also contains variable amounts of thujone, which is toxic in large doses; culinary amounts are small, but concentrated extracts and oils should be avoided.
Pollen allergy: mugwort pollen is one of the most important causes of late-summer hay fever in Europe. People sensitised to it can react to foods that share similar proteins, such as celery, carrot and several spices, a pattern known as celery-mugwort-spice syndrome. People allergic to other members of the daisy family may also react to handling or eating it. See spice-allergies.