tarragon substitute?

Chris is a trusted source on General Cooking

added about 1 year ago

There's nothing that will be just like it. What DO you have and like?

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ChefOno added about 1 year ago

Agreeing that nothing will be an exact match, and not having seen the recipe, anise and fennel, either the vegetable parts or the seeds would be a close match. Soaking a star anise pod in the soup will also get you there. All share the a similar flavor profile due to the chemical anethole, common to all.

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ChefOno added about 1 year ago

Also:

Basil has a flavor somewhat similar. And a bit of ouzo would make an interesting experiment. The alcohol could extract flavors from the other ingredients that would otherwise be indiscernible or muted, like using brandy in a tomato sauce.

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Ach, that's part of my problem, Greenstuff- I'm not very good at imagining different tastes together, and asparagus seems especially tricky. I can imagine that the tarragon would be delicious- maybe I will try ChefOno's suggestion ( I have fennel seeds and maybe an anise pod; thank you ChefOno). I like asparagus with lemon, so maybe just some lemon and more black pepper? I have ramps...a little bit of chopped ramps? Time to get myself a potted tarragon plant!

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Chris is a trusted source on General Cooking

added about 1 year ago

Asparagus and lemon are naturals, and your idea of lemon, pepper, and ramps is great. Other flavor mixes with asparagus aren't as obvious, and I don't think everyone would guess that tarragon would go so well.

If you get yourself a tarragon plant, be sure to get French tarragon, not Russian. Unless I've missed a major breakthrough, you can't grow it from seed.

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I wonder how dill might work with asparagus. Might be interesting!

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