French Tarragon

French Tarragon smells warm and sweet, grassy with licorice and mint, with an inviting, vanilla-like embrace at the end. At first taste it is pleasantly bitter, not spicy or peppery but mellow, and it almost melts into deep licorice notes. Echoes of mint, anise, and dill flit around the top of the palate, and it finishes in savory, earthy warmth. Our French Tarragon contains between 0.5% and 2.5% essential oil by weight. It should not be confused with Russian tarragon, which is significantly more bitter and lacks the interplay of flavors that French Tarragon delivers.

Taxonomically, tarragon is named Artemisia dracunculus, which reaches back into Greek mythology. In myth, Tarragon is the herb of Artemis. Known primarily as the Goddess of the Hunt, Artemis also administered healing. She gave tarragon—and a vast array of other herbs—to Chiron the centaur, who made medicines from them. The term dracunculus means snake-like or dragon-like. It refers either to the spindly nature of the plants’ stems, or to the way tarragon roots spread far from the stem and wind through loose soil. If not given sufficient room, tarragon plants will strangle themselves with their own roots. Tarragon’s sinuous form led the ancients to believe that it was a good herb for snake bites; this is folklorically entertaining but medically unsound.

Tips From Our Kitchen

Tarragon's earthy taste is often paired with lighter foods like chicken or seafood. French Tarragon should be added near the end of the cooking time. Use it in seasoned crab cakes and poulet a l'estragon, also known as tarragon chicken. It is an important ingredient in béarnaise sauce, and makes standout vinaigrettes. Make a warm potato salad with tarragon and grainy mustard. Spread on top of Brie or Camembert and drizzle with olive oil for a chic appetizer. Steep tarragon in white vinegar for homemade tarragon vinaigrette, which can be used to dress salads zucchini noodles. Culinary craft cocktailers can steep tarragon in vodka for an infused alcohol that makes a great herbal flavor base or can stand in for other liquors, like absinthe.

Tarragon is a light herb—there are 18 cups in each pound so please order accordingly.

Our French Tarragon is grown in France.

This product is certified kosher.

Hungry for more information?

The Ultimate Guide to Chicken, Spices, Herbs and Seasonings
A Guide to Herbs and Cheese
The Best Fruit and Vegetable Seasonings
Cooking With Tarragon