Large, celery-flavored leaves. Young leaves are used in spring tonic salads, soups, stews, roasts, and in potato and poultry dishes. Leaves and seeds or fruit are used to flavor food. A 3-9 ft perennial that vaguely resembles celery in appearance and in flavor. Fruit of the lovage plant can be used as a spice, but what appears in the trade as lovage seed is usually ajwain, not lovage. However, what is sold as ‘celery seed’ is often partially or entirely ground lovage seed. Go figure.
Lovage tea can be applied to wounds as an antiseptic, or drunk to stimulate digestion. Lovage is second only to capers in its quercetin content, making it an anti-inflammatory and anti-histimine, cancer fighting and more.
Every plant’s best friend; just as borage helps protect plants from pests, lovage improves their health.