Did you know?

Part of the mint family (along with oregano, thyme, basil, and lavender, rosemary is native to the Mediterranean but grows all over the world. On my August trip to Israel, we found it growing wild by the sides of many roads. My most robust reference point, though, is the enormous and overgrown rosemary bush in my parents garden. It is a fragrant wonderland, appreciated on a botanical, culinary and medicinal level.

Rosemary is simple to add to your diet: it goes well in homemade bread, crackers, pasta sauce, fish and meat. It tastes delicious roasted with root vegetables such as kohlrabi, sweet potatoes, carrots and parsnips.

It can also be used as a preservative and an antioxidant, in the form of rosemary extract, due to the presence of polyphenol substances. You will often see this nowadays at the bottom of the ingredients list on artisan health food brands (see photo at right, from Simple Mills almond flour crackers).

Medicinally, rosemary has been used since ancient times to relieve muscle pain, improve memory and boost the immune and circulatory system, among other healing benefits. It is the memory-strengthening effect that I find intriguing:

This quote was famously uttered in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” by a psychologically unbalanced Ophelia upon her father’s death, as she hands out herbs known to ease emotional pain. In the literature of pre-Industrial Revolution England, rosemary was often tied to references to memory, particularly past loves lost.

And there are recent scientific studies suggesting that infusions of rosemary essential oil herb “stimulates memory and may preserve some cognitive function” (quoted from Wisegeek). It is also a very pungent herb that clings to clothing and hence indirectly triggers memories tied to whatever experience occurred while around rosemary.

I’m not implying that rosemary will cure short-term memory issues. More scientific studies are needed to support the anecdotal outcomes. But I continue to be fascinated by the potential medicinal benefits of herbs like rosemary, not to mention its culinary and botanical significance.