Tangerine sage is a variety of sage with long, striking red flowers at the tips. This sage is used like other sage varieties with a subtle accent of citrus aroma. Sage has a strong flavor in general and is used in pasta sauces or meat marinades. Because of its strength, sage should be used to accentuate other strong flavors such as garlic and pepper, but overpowers delicate herbs such as fennel, lemongrass or paprika.
Adding to Dishes
Step 1
Pick two leaves of fresh tangerine sage. Remove the red flowers from the ends and discard or save as garnish. Wash the sage, cleaning any dirt away.
Step 2
Chop the tangerine sage up into thin slices. Two leaves is approximately 1 tbsp. when looking at recipes requiring sage.
Step 3
Add to pasta sauce, stews, soups or curries just before serving to maximize the sage's flavor. Tangerine sage substitutes other sage or is used as a added flavor dimension.
Herbal Infusion
Step 1
Gather three sprigs of tangerine sage. Remove the red flowers and discard. Wash the sage sprigs and pat them dry with a paper towel.
Step 2
Boil water in a coffee cup in the microwave for 1 1/2 minutes. Insert sage into water, blanching it for 2 seconds. Pull out and dry with paper towel.
Step 3
Insert the sage sprigs into a bottle of extra virgin olive oil. Another method heats the oil prior to inserting the herb or purees the sage in 3 tsp. of olive oil before adding it to the entire bottle. Pureed sage provides the fasted infusion, within minutes, whereas placing the blanched sprigs in without any other steps takes one to two days to infuse the oil with tangerine sage.
Step 4
Use the infused olive oil when making meat marinades or drizzle it into a pan before cooking food. The infusion provides a subtle, less dramatic tangerine sage flavor.
Tips and Warnings
- Sage flowers are edible but don't posses the same level of sage flavor as the leaves. Dried sage has stronger flavor than fresh sage leaves. Substitute one dried sage leaf for four fresh sage leaves. Sage is commonly mixed with oregano, thyme and rosemary when cooking veal, chicken or turkey.
- Longer cooking times reduce the strength of the sage flavoring.
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