Mugwort ✦

Armoise

What it is

German kitchens call it Beifuss and pack whole stems into a roast goose, where the bitterness cuts the fat; Japanese ones blanch the young spring leaves into the yomogi paste that turns mochi green. The two uses are months apart and the plant is barely recognisable between them.

In the kitchen

For yomogi, blanch only the young leaves with a pinch of bicarbonate of soda to hold the green, squeeze them hard and pound. For goose, use whole stems and pull them out before carving — they are inedible.

Goes with

Goose Duck Wild boar Adzuki bean Kinako Glutinous rice flour Pork

Same species

Absinthe Dry vermouth Génépi Sweet red vermouth Tarragon Wormwood

In season alongside

Alexanders Epazote Fuki-no-tō (butterbur flower bud) Hyssop Wild fennel fronds Ashitaba

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