24th June: Rosemary

Rosemary was the herb of the day in the French Revolutionary Calendar. Here are some facts about this herb:

1. Rosemary, is a woody, perennial herb belonging to the Mint family. Its close relatives include Basil, Lavender and Oregano.
2. It is native to Spain, Italy, Portugal, Southern France, Greece and North Africa and is commonly seen on rocky limestone hillsides near the sea.
3. The name comes from the Latin "ros" and "marinus" meaning "dew of the sea".
4. Although you'd be forgiven for thinking it derives from "Rose of Mary" since it has associations with The Virgin Mary. She is said to have hung her cloak on a rosemary bush to dry, which is why the flowers are Blue.
5. Another explanation as to why the flowers are blue comes from Sicily. The legend says that when the evil sorceress Circe caused men to leap off cliffs to their deaths, one blue-eyed woman clung to the cliffs to try and stop them, and was turned into a rosemary bush.
6. One thing rosemary is often associated with is memory. The ancient Greeks believed rosemary had a magical ability to strengthen memory and students would wear sprigs of it in their hair while they were studying. In more modern times, it has become a symbol of remembrance. At funerals, people would throw rosemary springs into graves to show that they would never forget the dead person; "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance," says Ophelia in Shakespeare's Hamlet. Rosemary is also worn on Remembrance Day and other war commemorations.
7. Rosemary was commonly worn at weddings in the middle ages. This led people to wonder if it was a love charm, but more likely it was a symbol of fidelity. If a man was indifferent to the aroma of rosemary it was believed he was incapable of giving true love. The memory thing was also significant here - if a bride wore it, it was a sign she wouldn't forget her family.
8. Rosemary is commonly used as a flavouring for roast lamb, pork, chicken and turkey, and is often an ingredient of Stuffing. It can also be made into a herbal tea. It has been used as a medicine for gas, toothache, headache, jaundice and baldness, as well as for a tonic to quicken the mind and improve memory. It also helps preserve food as it has antioxidant properties. In olden times it was spread or burned in sick rooms to ward off disease.
9. As well as its culinary and medicinal properties, the plant is considered attractive enough to grow in gardens for its looks alone. It is an evergreen shrub which can reach 1.5m (5 ft) tall and can be grown as a small hedge around a vegetable garden. It can grow in dry conditions and will attract bees.
10. Rosemary is an ingredient of Hungary water, an early alcohol based perfume dating back to the 14th century. The oldest surviving recipes call for distilling fresh rosemary (and possibly thyme) with strong brandy.