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Summer savory (dried)

Aromatic leaves

Summer savory (dried)

Satureja hortensis

Peppery, thyme-like herb used dried in Bulgarian stews, bean dishes and German and Luxembourg cooking.

Also called: savory, dried savory, chubritsa, bohnenkraut, bounekraut, sarriette, cimbru

Around the world: чубрица, chubritsa (bg) · Bohnenkraut (de) · Bounekraut (lb) · sarriette (fr) · cimbru (ro)

  • Herbal & green
  • Pungent & sulphurous
  • No heat
Buying & storing2 recipes

Photo: Bogdan, via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-3.0)

Flavour and aroma

peppery, thyme-like, minty, savoury. Peppery, warm and herbal.

Heat
No heat
Forms
dried, fresh

How to use it

  • use raw

    Add early to bean, lentil and meat stews so the flavour spreads; 1–2 teaspoons per pot.

  • crush · Dry grinding technique

    Crumble finely and mix with salt and paprika to make sharena sol.

  • Seasoning Bulgarian kavarma and bean stews
  • Added to broad beans in judd mat gaardebounen
  • Mixed with salt and paprika for sharena sol

Identifying good quality

Narrow, grey-green dried leaves, sometimes with small stems and flowers. Smells peppery, like a cross of thyme and mint.

  • Not to be confused with Dried thyme: Thyme is earthier; savory is more peppery.

Origin and history

Origin: Southeastern Europe and the eastern Mediterranean (Satureja hortensis).. Grown and used: Grown in Bulgaria, Romania, Germany and elsewhere; used most in Bulgarian, Romanian, German, Georgian and Atlantic Canadian cooking..

Summer savory has been grown in European gardens since Roman times. In Germany it is called Bohnenkraut ('bean herb') because it is cooked with beans; in Bulgaria, as chubritsa, it is the main herb of sharena sol, a table seasoning of salt, savory and paprika. It is also traditional in Acadian and Newfoundland stuffings.

Commonly told; not firmly documented

Recipes with summer savory (dried)