Sage, meadow sage, raw (organic?)

Meadow sage ( Salvia pratensis) is a versatile wild and medicinal plant. It is ideal raw as a spice and helps with colds, digestive problems and inflammation.

Use in the kitchen

Is meadow sage edible? Wild sage is edible and meadow sage can be used in many different ways in the kitchen, raw or cooked. It tastes spicy, a little bitter and slightly hot; similar to common sage ( Salvia officinalis). As its aroma is a little less intense, meadow sage is used less often in the kitchen. Nevertheless, it is a good alternative to common sage, which is also called garden sage, medicinal sage or kitchen sage due to its use. Meadow sage leaves can be used as a delicately spicy ingredient in many dishes, both fresh and dried, although the taste is a little stronger when dried. The fresh leaves are suitable raw for seasoning salads, seasoning oils, soups, sauces, stews or vegan herb butter. ¹

Meadow sage goes well with various other herbs, such as fresh thyme or fresh tarragon. It goes well with Mediterranean vegetables such as eggplant, zucchini, all sweet peppers ( red, yellow, green), tomatoes, artichokes, olives ( green, black), broccoli, onions and garlic and adds a pleasant spice to dishes with pasta or potatoes, such as a vegan potato pan with mushrooms and green beans. Large meadow sage leaves can also be breaded, fried in dough or made into sage chips. When squeezed, the juicy plant stalks of flowering sage bushes produce a deliciously sweet juice ¹ that is suitable as an ingredient in bowls, desserts or smoothies, such as the meadow sage smoothie with blackberry and apple. It is also popular for making tea, as it has a pleasant taste and calming and anti-inflammatory properties.

Are meadow sage flowers edible? The pretty flowers of meadow sage can be used as a raw edible decoration for salads, desserts or cocktails.

Vegan recipe for meadow sage and zucchini rolls

Ingredients (for 4 people): 2 zucchini, 1 handful of fresh meadow sage, ½ cup macadamia nuts (soaked), 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons rapeseed oil, salt andpepper to taste.

Preparation: Cut the zucchini lengthways into thin slices or slice them. Wash the sage and pat dry. Drain the macadamia nuts and process them in a blender or food processor with lemon juice, rapeseed oil, salt and pepper to form a creamy mass. Take a slice of zucchini and spread some of the macadamia cream on it. Place one or two sage leaves on top and carefully roll up the zucchini. Repeat the process with the remaining zucchini slices. Arrange the vegan sage zucchini rolls on a plate and garnish with fresh sage as desired. The rolls can either be served immediately or chilled in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes for a better consistency.

These meadow sage zucchini rolls are a refreshing and healthy raw food appetizer or snack option. They are easy to prepare and the meadow sage gives them an aromatic flavor.

Tea preparation

ingredients (for 1 cup of 250 ml): 1-2 teaspoons of fresh meadow sage leaves, 250 ml water, optional: lemon juice and agave syrup to taste.

Preparation: Put dried meadow sage leaves in a teapot or cup. Pour hot water over the meadow sage leaves. Let the tea steep for about 5-10 minutes, depending on the desired strength. Strain the tea and season to taste with lemon juice and agave syrup. Enjoy meadow sage tea hot.

This meadow sage tea has a pleasant, slightly spicy taste. It can be drunk both hot and chilled.

Vegan recipes with meadow sage can be found under the note: " Recipes that have the most of this ingredient ".

Purchasing - Storage

In contrast to common sage, meadow sage cannot be found in the usual large retailers such as Coop, Migros, Denner, Volg, Spar, Aldi, Lidl, Rewe, Edeka, Hofer, Billa or organic supermarkets such as Denn's Biomarkt and Alnatura. However, as a wild and garden plant, it can be purchased as seeds for home cultivation or as a fully grown plant for your own garden over the Internet, in hardware stores and garden centers.

The availability of meadow sage varies depending on the size of the store, catchment area, etc. If you are interested, click on our recorded food prices for the DA-CH countries (above under the ingredient image). There you will find current prices from various supermarkets and their price development.

Found in the wild

Where can you find meadow sage? Meadow sage is a wild plant. Originally from the Mediterranean region, it can now be found throughout Europe, the Caucasus region and North America wherever it is sunny and dry. ² This includes meadows, field margins, field paths, fallow land and sometimes roadsides. ³ It can even be found in isolated mountainous areas at altitudes of up to 1,600 metres. ²

What does meadow sage look like? Meadow sage is a type of sage that is easy to spot in meadows, with blue-violet (occasionally pink and white) flowers, square stems and a height of up to 70 cm. ² According to the German Nature Conservation Association, it can be confused with steppe sage ( Salvia nemorosa) and whorled sage ( Salvia verticillata). ⁴ However, both are purely ornamental shrubs that are used neither as a spice nor as a medicinal herb. ^5,6

Storage tips

Meadow sage is best eaten fresh. If you want to store it, you can keep it in the fridge between damp cloths for up to two weeks. Separated from the stems, the meadow sage leaves, washed and dried, will keep even longer in a freezer bag or other container in the fridge. In dried form, it is recommended to store them in a cool, dry place. Meadow sage can either be dried in the oven (at 40 °C circulating air for around 7 hours, turning the leaves regularly) or, tied into a bundle at the stem ends, air-dried for around 10 days in a dark, dry place.

Ingredients - Nutritional values - Calories

In addition to tannins and bitter substances, meadow sage contains essential oil, triterpenes, phytosterols, rosmarinic acid, flavonoids, resins, estrogen-like substances and saponins. ¹

100 g of meadow sage contains 59 kcal, which mainly come from carbohydrates. Of the 9.8 g of carbohydrates per 100 g, 6.8 g are sugar. The fat content of 2.0 g/100 g and the protein content of 1.7 g/100 g are rather low. The nutritional values are identical to those of common sage. ⁷

Meadow sage has a high manganese content of 4 mg/100g (202% of the daily requirement). Fresh herbs such as Mexican goosefoot (3.1 mg/100g) or thyme (1.7 mg/100g) contain significantly less of this trace element. The proportion is the same or higher in dried herbs, although we consume much less of them: for example, dried dill (4 mg/100g) or dried oregano (5 mg/100g). ⁷

Meadow sage contains 266 mg of calcium per 100 g (33% of the daily requirement). Slightly higher values can be found in Mexican goosefoot (275 mg/100g) or fresh rosemary (317 mg/100g). Nettle contains almost twice as much calcium (481 mg/100g). Dried spices, such as dried parsley (1,140 mg/100g) or dried coriander leaves (1,246 mg/100g), provide larger amounts. ⁷

Also worth mentioning about meadow sage is its iron content of 4.5 mg/100g (32% of the daily requirement). In comparison, fresh coriander leaves contain only 1.8 mg/100g and Mexican goosefoot 1.9 mg/100g of iron. Fresh marjoram has a much higher value of 12 mg/100g. ⁷

The complete ingredients of meadow sage, the coverage of the daily requirement and comparison values with other ingredients can be found in our nutrient tables. In the article Nutrients explained you will get a detailed insight into the topic.

Effects on health

For medicinal purposes, mainly common sage ( Salvia officinalis) and clary sage ( Salvia sclarea) are used. These have astringent (contracting), antibacterial, antiperspirant, disinfectant, anti-inflammatory and antiviral and antifungal properties. They are mainly used for infectious diseases of the respiratory tract and to inhibit sweating. Due to the estrogen-like ingredients, they can help relieve menstrual cramps and provide relief during menopause (due to the inhibition of sweating). They also have antispasmodic, carminative, lactation-inhibiting and, to a small extent, blood sugar-lowering effects. ¹

Meadow sage ( Salvia pratensis) has a similar, but significantly weaker, effect profile. ¹ Since it contains only small amounts of essential oils, meadow sage's healing effect is correspondingly less. ⁸ The plant is therefore generally not used for medicinal purposes. ⁹

Nevertheless, the leaves of Salvia pratensis contain tannic acid, bitter substances, flavonoids and essential oils, which sometimes have an antioxidant effect. ^2,10 Meadow sage can be used for washing and baths for skin diseases, insect bites, eczema and excessive foot sweating. The effect of meadow sage also helps with inflammation in the mouth and throat. When chewed, the meadow sage leaf helps against gingivitis and bad breath and cleans the teeth. ¹

Dangers - Intolerances - Side effects

In general, meadow sage is well tolerated and not poisonous. ² However, pregnant women and people at risk of epilepsy should consume preparations containing sage with caution. ¹

Folk medicine - natural medicine

In folk medicine, meadow sage is often used instead of common sage. ¹¹ In the form of a tea, it is used internally for digestive problems, excessive sweating and externally for various skin diseases. ²

Ecological footprint - animal welfare

The ecological _CO2 footprint of food depends on many factors, including the cultivation method (conventional/organic), the country of origin and the corresponding transport, processing and packaging. Since meadow sage is a wild and ornamental plant, it is assumed that it has a relatively low ecological footprint, as packaging and processing are not required. However, despite extensive research, we were unable to find any precise values for this. Ideally, you should plant meadow sage yourself (see cultivation - harvest) to save on unnecessary transport.

If you use meadow sage to make tea, you should make sure to only boil the amount of water you really need. One tea manufacturer explained that 36% of its total carbon footprint created in 2021 was due to boiling the tea water, as consumers sometimes boiled twice as much water as necessary. ¹³

Animal protection - species protection

Wild meadow sage is an important promoter of biodiversity and is one of the most important native pollen and nectar suppliers. The lever mechanism of the flowers is particularly adapted to the large bumblebees. Meadow sage is an important and sought-after source of food for bumblebees and butterflies, as well as for bees. ²

Worldwide occurrence - cultivation

Meadow sage is native as a wild plant in Europe and the Caucasus region and is now naturalized and widespread in North America. ¹²

Cultivation - Harvest

In addition to its occurrence in the wild, meadow sage can also be cultivated in your own garden as an ornamental plant or culinary herb. To do this, it needs a sunny and dry place with nutrient-rich or poor, ideally calcareous, soil. ³

When does meadow sage bloom? The main flowering period is from early June to late July. ¹ The first meadow sage bloom is from May to August. A second one is possible in autumn if you cut the shrub back after the first bloom. Since the wild plant develops long taproots, you should not transplant it. Keeping meadow sage in a pot is therefore less suitable. The varieties Midsummer, Ocean Blue, Lapis Lazuli and Rose Rhapsody are popular for your own garden. Propagation is possible via seeds, root division or cuttings. ²

Further information

Meadow sage ( Salvia pratensis) belongs to the genus sage ( Salvia) and the family Lamiaceae.

Alternative names

Meadow sage is also called "Süssle" due to its juicy stems, which when squeezed produce a sweet juice. ¹ In English, in addition to its Latin name, its botanical name "meadow sage" is also common. Incorrect spellings such as Wiesensalbe, Wiedensalbei, Riesensalbei or Wiesen Salbei can occur.