Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Cook's Guide entry for Hyssop along with all the Hyssop containing recipes presented on this site, with 10 recipes in total.

This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Hyssop recipes added to this site.

These recipes, all contain Hyssop as a major wild food ingredient.

Hyssop refers to a genus of about 12 species of herbaceous and semi-woody plants in the Lamiaceae (mint) family. The most common and well known is the herb Hyssop (Hyssopus officinais) which is native to the Mediterranean, but widely cultivated today (also see Bissap Hibiscus sabdariffa).



Hyssop leaves have a slightly bitter minty flavour and can be added to soups, salads or meats, although should be used sparingly as the flavour is very strong. The leaves can also be preserved by drying and if stored in an air-tight container will last for over a year.



The flavour of hyssop leaves has been described as similar to rosemary or lavender and during the Middle Ages it was popular as a flavouring for soups and stuffings, but now its main use is in the distillation of liqueurs, such as Chartreuse.



Today, hyssop is relatively difficult to come by, but the young leaves can be used in cooking — chopped and scattered on salads, sprinkled on meat or oily fish dishes or used to flavour soups, stews and fruit dishes. It's said to help aid digestion of fatty or rich food and hyssop tea is said to be good for chesty coughs.



If you are interested in trying hyssop then the best way is to buy seeds and to grow it in your own garden (like many herbs it grows readily and is easy to germinate).