Borágó - Borago officinalis

Borágó. A borágó (Borago officinalis L.) a borágófélék (Boraginaceae) családjába tartozó fűszernövény; a magyar népnyelv uborkaszagú fűnek is nevezi. További népies nevei: borrach, borrágó, borvirág, báránynyelv, hegyes útifű, kerti ökörnyelv, pirítófű, ürömfű, ökörnyelv, tetűvirág. Afrikában, Kis-Ázsiában és Dél-Európában őshonos. https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bor%C3%A1g%C3%B3

goo.gl/55yVEa

Borage. Borage (/ˈbʌrᵻdʒ/,[1] Borago officinalis), also known as a starflower, is an annual herb in the flowering plant family Boraginaceae. It is native to the Mediterranean region and has naturalized in many other locales.[2] It grows satisfactorily in gardens in the UK climate, remaining in the garden from year to year by self-seeding. The leaves are edible and the plant is grown in gardens for that purpose in some parts of Europe. The plant is also commercially cultivated for borage seed oil extracted from its seeds. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borage

Borage (A Modern Herbal). The Common Borage is a hardy annual plant coming originally from Aleppo but now naturalized in most parts of Europe and frequently found in this country, though mostly only on rubbish heaps and near dwellings, and may be regarded as a garden escape. It has long been grown freely in kitchen gardens, both for its uses as a herb and for the sake of its flowers, which yield excellent honey. http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/b/borage66.html

Borage (pfaf.org). Borago officinalis is a ANNUAL growing to 0.6 m (2ft) by 0.3 m (1ft in) at a medium rate. It is hardy to zone (UK) 7 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from Jun to October, and the seeds ripen from Jul to October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees.It is noted for attracting wildlife.  http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Borago+officinalis

Borage seed oil. Borage seed oil is the plant rich in the gamma-linolenic acid (26%-38%) which is used as dietary or food supplement. Other than seed oil it contains a lot of fatty acids such as linoleic acid (35%-38%), oleic acid (16%-20%), palmitic acid (10%-11%), stearic acid (3.5%-4.5%), eicosenoic acid (3.5%-5.5%) and erucic acid (1.5%-3.5%). It is used for the treatment of various diseases such as multiple sclerosis, diabetes, heart diseases, arthritis and eczema. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1995764514601991

Borage wine and vinegar. Steep dried borage and rosemary in white wine for two weeks: "To drinketh wine imbued with the floures of borage is to increase his countenance and bringeth courage to the weak." You can also make a beautiful vinegar from white wine vinegar and borage flowers (add some of the leaves for extra flavor), and the flowers make a blue dye that turns pink with the addition of acid. http://www.alchemy-works.com/borago_officinalis.html

Borage vs. alkanet. Alkanet – alkanna tinctoria or dyer's alkanet is a very attractive purple colourant that is found in the roots of plants belonging to the borage family. http://maiwahandprints.blogspot.hu/2013/02/natural-dyes-alkanet.html

Skein dyed with borage root

Borage as a vegetable. Vegetable use of borage is common in Germany, in the Spanish regions of Aragón and Navarra, in the Greek island of Crete and in the Italian northern region Liguria. Although often used in soups, one of the better known German borage recipes is the Green Sauce (Grüne Soße) made in Frankfurt. In Italian Liguria, borage is commonly used as filling of the traditional pasta ravioli and pansoti. It is used to flavour pickled gherkins in Poland. The leaves and flowers were originally used in the manufacture of Pimms before it was replaced by mint. It is traditionally used as a garnish in the Pimms Cup cocktail, but is often replaced by cucumber if not available.
Historical Uses. In folk tradition, borage has long been believed to dispel melancholy and ease grief and sadness.  According to Dioscorides, borage can 'cheer the heart and lift the depressed spirits', while Gerard wrote that its flowers were used in salads 'to exhilarate and make the minde glad' while cooks used them 'for the comfort of the heart, to drive away sorrow, and increase the joy of the minde'. The Greeks and Romans believed that the herb was a source of courage and comfort, and there are references to the flowers being embroidered into medieval tapestries and the colours of jousting knights. The blooms were even floated in drinks consumed by Crusaders before battle. The American settlers carried borage seed with them on their long journeys across the Atlantic Ocean. http://www.seedaholic.com/borago-officinalis-alba-white-borage.html

White borage. Finally, in August, months after the first of the season’s borage had come and gone, a few new plants came up in a part of the garden that had been borage free. These plants were different. Their leaves were brighter green, the foliage denser, tighter, and more compacted. I pried the developing buds open looking for clues. WHITE! Now I know. White borage seem to come up later than its blue cousin. http://yougrowgirl.com/white-borage/

Borage in Spain. (Mostly white borage used.) This vegetable originated in the Mediterranean basin. In Spain it is cultivated along the Ebro river valley in the regions of Navarre and Aragón, in both of which borage is a popular dish. Specially famous is the Cadrete borage from Zaragoza. Borage from Navarre is very tender and moist with a mild, sweetish flavor. Borage can be found fresh in season in Spanish markets and frozen all year round. It is also sold as a vegetable preserve. http://www.foodswinesfromspain.com/spanishfoodwine/global/products-recipes/products/4446330.html

Borraja con patatatas. Es y resulta muy curioso comprobar que una verdura tan popularizada en La Rioja, como la borraja, sea casi desconocida en la mayor parte de otras regiones. Por lo tanto, es muy difícil encontrar referencias en los recetarios de cocina al uso.  http://blog.todalarioja.com/recetas-de-la-rioja-borraja-con-patatas/

goo.gl/pwmWYF

Pochas con borraja. (Fejtett bab borágóval.) Las legumbres como las lentejas, alubias y garbanzos en casa se han comido siempre en potaje acompañadas de chorizo y morcilla, [...] http://www.cocinandoconlaschachas.com/2015/05/pochas-con-borraja.html

http://www.cocinandoconlaschachas.com/2015/05/pochas-con-borraja.html

Sünzanót - Ulex europaeus

Ulex europaeus (gorse, common gorse, furze or whin) is a species offlowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to portions of Europe from the northern United Kingdom south to Galicia in Spain and Portugal, and from the western Republic of Ireland east to Galicja in Poland and Ukraine. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulex_europaeus)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Gorse-Ulex_europaeus.jpg

Ulex europaeus is a deciduous Shrub growing to 1.5 m (5ft) by 1.5 m (5ft) at a fast rate. It is hardy to zone (UK) 6 and is not frost tender. It is in leaf 12-Jan It is in flower from Jan to December, and the seeds ripen from Jan to December. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees, flies, beetles.It can fix Nitrogen. (http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Ulex+europaeus)

Ulex (gorse, furze or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are native to parts of western Europe and northwest Africa, with the majority of species in Iberia. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulex)

Gorse cordial. How did it taste? I took it to work to get opinions and got lots of "mangoes", "cut grass", "spring" and "herby notes". The flavour, while subtle, was quite distinctive. (http://curiouskai.blogspot.hu/2010/09/gorseflower-cordial.html)

Gorse wine.  The smell from a gorse bush in spring sunshine is extraordinary and one can be overwhelmed by the smell of the coconut-scented flowers. But it's coconut with a slight difference. Perhaps a little more like a vanilla joss-stick or one of those particularly virulent vanilla-scented car air-fresheners. Nevertheless, gorse blossom makes one of the best country wines and is not to be missed. The coconut flavour survives the brewing process reasonably intact and the wine as a whole is full-bodied and as rich as Croesus. (http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2012/mar/14/how-to-make-gorse-wine)

Dying with gorse. "the palest shade is the original colour, in reality more lemon like, the deeper shades are results of using a bit of washing soda for different lenghts of time at the end of the dyeing process." (https://red2white.wordpress.com/2009/05/02/natural-dyeing/)

https://red2white.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/gorse-merino-b.jpg?w=700

Gorse barley wine. It is impossible to accurately describe the aroma of gorse. To say it smells like coconut is to describe Beethoven’s 9th as a nice tune. Since that day I have been trying to use gorse in my beer to get at least a sense of that wonderful aroma, but like satisfaction and true happiness, my goal has evaded me. This time I am trying a new tack. I am brewing a barley wine without gorse. At the same time I am macerating gorse flowers in neutral spirit at 60% ABV, (don’t ask me where I got it from) to extract the essential oils. I will then fortify the barley wine with the gorse flower infusion. (http://brewingreality.blogspot.hu/2010/05/21-gorse-barley-wine.html)

Gorse beer in chardonnay barrels. "we filled into some amazingly fresh Chardonnay wine barrels. These were tucked away and stored for a full 14 months to allow the flavours to marry and intertwine. The resulting beer has a beautiful oak note to it like a finely aged wine with the coconut flavours of the gorse flowers complementing the Chardonnay undertones." (https://www.cromartybrewing.com/blog/wild-bush)