Rosemary is an evergreen Mediterranean shrub with needle-like leaves and a strong, piney, camphor-laced scent. It is the classic herb for lamb, roast potatoes and focaccia, and a little goes a long way.
What it is¶
Rosemary is an evergreen, woody shrub with narrow, leathery leaves, dark green above and white beneath, and small pale-blue flowers in late winter and spring. It grows wild on dry, rocky Mediterranean hillsides and near the sea. In 2017 botanists moved it into the genus Salvia, as Salvia rosmarinus, making it formally a sage; the old name Rosmarinus officinalis still appears on plant labels and in many books.
Upright varieties such as 'Miss Jessopp's Upright' and 'Tuscan Blue' give long, straight stems (useful as skewers), while prostrate forms trail over walls. Flavour varies from plant to plant, some sweeter and others strongly camphorous, so taste before you buy.
Origins and history¶
The name comes from the Latin ros marinus, "dew of the sea", for the plant's coastal habitat; the association with the Virgin Mary ("rose of Mary") is a later folk etymology. The Greeks and Romans used it in garlands, and Greek students reputedly wore it to help their memory — a tradition that gave rise to rosemary's long role as the herb of remembrance, at weddings and funerals alike. Ophelia's line in Hamlet, "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance", draws on it, and sprigs are still worn on Anzac Day in Australia and New Zealand.
It was grown in English gardens by the fourteenth century and was used to scent linen, as a strewing herb and as a flavouring for meat and ale.
Flavour and aroma¶
Rosemary is bold and resinous: pine and camphor first, then eucalyptus (1,8-cineole), with a bitter, slightly peppery finish and a faint lemony sweetness in good plants. It is one of the few herbs that holds its character through hours of roasting, and it can easily overwhelm a dish. The flowers are milder and sweet, good scattered over salads.
In the kitchen¶
- Lamb: pushed into slits with slivers of garlic and anchovy for a roast leg; scattered over chops.
- Potatoes: tossed with roast potatoes for the last 20–30 minutes (added earlier, the needles scorch and turn bitter).
- Bread: focaccia topped with rosemary, sea salt and olive oil.
- Italy: porchetta, Tuscan bean soups, pasta e ceci, roast chicken with garlic and lemon.
- Sweet: infused into syrups, shortbread, lemon cakes and poached fruit.
- Grilling: stripped woody stems as skewers, or sprigs thrown on the coals.
Chop the needles very finely — large pieces are tough and unpleasantly spiky — or use whole sprigs and remove them before serving. Infusing oil or cream with a sprig for a few minutes gives the flavour without the texture.
💡 Less than you think
One sprig perfumes a roast chicken or a pan of potatoes for four. A whole handful turns food medicinal.
Buying and storing¶
Fresh rosemary is one of the best-keeping herbs: two weeks or more in the fridge wrapped in paper in a bag. It also dries well, though dried needles are hard and are best crumbled finely or ground. Whole sprigs can be frozen in a bag and used straight from frozen. With a plant in the garden, you rarely need to store it at all.
Substitutes¶
thyme and sage are the usual swaps and share some of rosemary's piney, savoury notes; savory also works. With lamb or game, a few crushed juniper berries give a similar resinous edge. Dried rosemary can replace fresh at about a third of the quantity, finely crumbled.
Pairs well with¶
Lamb, pork, chicken, beans and chickpeas, potatoes, mushrooms, tomatoes, lemon, olive oil, garlic, anchovies, thyme, sage, bay, black pepper, honey and orange.
Growing your own¶
Rosemary needs sun and sharp drainage above all. Most varieties survive British winters to around -10°C in well-drained soil, but they die in waterlogged ground, and pot-grown plants suffer from wet compost and frozen roots. Use a gritty, soil-based compost in pots, water sparingly, and move them against a warm wall in hard winters.
Take semi-ripe cuttings, 10 cm long, in summer; they root readily in gritty compost (see propagating-herbs). Prune after flowering to keep the shrub bushy, but avoid cutting back into bare old wood. Rosemary beetle, a small metallic green-and-purple beetle, can strip plants in southern England; pick the beetles and larvae off by hand.