ALEXANDERS: ARCHAEOLOGY AND HERBAL HISTORY by Veronica Smith

In 2003, I wrote a piece for the Irish Garden Plant Society (newsletter No: 87) entitled “Alexanders and Archaeology?”  It was prompted by articles published in “Archaeology Ireland” (issue nos: 53 & 54) in which experts argued that viable plant seeds could lie dormant in the soil for hundreds of years.  It was suggested that archaeologists working on sites should take note of any strange plants, as these could give clues to historic land usage. 

One plant mentioned was Alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum), imported by medieval monks for their vegetable plots.  Alexanders rarely occurs naturally away from the sea, except at medieval sites, and yet my garden in the inland county of Carlow, Ireland, was full of it!  Mind you, the place name of the area was “Kilknock”, from the Gaelic Cill Cnoc, which translates as “church on the hill”; so it is possible that my Alexanders was originally planted by medieval monks one thousand years ago!

Those articles whetted my appetite for more information but it was hard to find. Alexanders is no longer the popular plant it once was, and it is known by several different names.  Evidently, it originates from south-west Europe, around the Mediterranean, and was officially recognised by the ancient Greek botanist Theophrastus as early as 322BCE. 

Alexanders is related to herb Lovage and is often called “Black Lovage”.  Its generic name “Smyrnium” comes from the Greek word for Myrrh, because of its myrrh-like flavour.  The specific name “olusatrum”, means “Black Pot Herb”, referring to the plant’s black seeds that can be ground up and used like pepper.  However, its Medieval Latin name was “Petroselinum alexandrinum”, meaning “Parsley of Alexandria” and this is how we got the popular name of Alexanders.

The Romans introduced Alexanders to Britain, along with many other Mediterranean plants.  Ireland had to wait another one thousand years, when medieval monks brought Alexanders with them for their monastery gardens, where it was used for flavouring and as an early spring vegetable.  Later, the great herbalists Culpepper and William Coles included Alexanders in their list of useful plants for the kitchen garden.   This is why so much Alexanders is found growing by the ruins of old abbeys and castles here in Ireland and in the west of England.  It was still being cultivated up until the early 18th century, when it was replaced by Celery!

I can understand why Alexanders was so highly prized in the past.  It is a strong, vigorous plant that seeds easily.  The first leaves appear at the end of winter, when there is little else; they taste like parsley and can be used as such, while the real parsley is still limp with frost!  As it grows, you can cook and eat the succulent stems, best taken from the bottom near the root.  Later, the delicate lime-green flower buds can be cooked and added to salads.  There’s a recipe from 1675 for “a grand sallet of Alexander Buds” by Robert May.  Unfortunately, the Alexanders that grew in my Irish garden tasted more like turpentine than parsley or aniseed, so I can understand why the milder-flavoured celery replaced it in the kitchen!

Regardless of taste, Alexanders was accredited with many medicinal qualities.  For example, the powdered seeds taken in wine could expel retained after-birth, relieve trapped wind and even neutralise snake-bite!   The stewed roots would help digest a Lenten diet containing too much fish!  The bruised leaves, when applied to wounds, would stop the bleeding.  The list is long and varied.  So no wonder it was grown in all the gardens of Europe.

Even earlier, in ancient Greece, it was revered as a Sacred Herb, favoured by the head of the Greek Pantheon, Zeus.  Ruled by the planet Jupiter and the element of Fire, Alexanders represented the Male Force of the Universe.  Used as a tea or as incense or added to the bath, it could help to explore one’s Masculine side and to connect with the God Principle, especially at Summer Solstice, when fiery Male Energy reaches its Zenith.   

While Alexanders may have lost favour in the kitchen / herb garden, it is still a plant worth knowing.  To identify it, Alexanders is a strong, bushy-looking biennial umbellifer, which grows up to 4 ft / 1.25 metres high.  It has large, SHINY bright-green tri-foliate leaves, like Lovage, consisting of three broad, toothed leaflets with a veined membraneous bract enclosing the base of the leaf stalks.  The flowers, growing in fat, round, tightly-massed umbels, are a vivid lime green and appear in the spring.  When ripe, the globular seeds turn black, giving the plant the folk-name of “Black Pot Herb” and “Black Lovage”.  I’ve also seen a variegated Alexanders grown in the RHS headquarters in Wisley Gardens, UK, showing that there are still some fans out there! 

RECIPES FOR ALEXANDERS

ALEXANDERS SAUCE, (made in late winter). 
A main attraction of this herb / vegetable is that it is one of the earliest “greens” to appear in the garden.  The young bright green Alexander leaves have a fresh taste of parsley, long before the real parsley plants have come out of winter dormancy.  You will need:
1 tablespoon butter;
1 tablespoon plain flour;
½ pint milk;
2 – 3 tablespoons finely chopped Alexanders leaves (about 2 handfuls of picked leaves);
salt, pepper, whatever condiments you care to add.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan on a low setting and carefully stir in the sifted flour.  Gradually add the milk a little at a time, stirring continuously (preferably with a whisk), to make sure that it is smooth, not lumpy.  When all the milk has been added and the mix is smooth, turn up the heat and keep stirring until the sauce has thickened and is silky smooth.  At this point, add the chopped Alexanders leaves and condiments (salt and pepper).  Serve at once.  This sauce does the same job as parsley sauce, tasting delicious on fish, chicken, vegetables.  You can even sprinkle fresh chopped Alexanders leaves as a garnish.  Enjoy!

ALEXANDERS BUDS AS SALAD (Spring)
the delicate, lime-green flower buds of Alexanders taste very good in a mixed salad or served on their own with a French Dressing.
Serves 4 people.
1 pint of Alexanders buds;
3 parts olive oil to 1 part cider vinegar;
salt and pepper, whatever condiments you care to add.
Wash the buds and trim away any stalks.  Cook them in a little boiling salted water for about 5 minutes, until tender.  Drain and allow to cool.  Toss the buds in the dressing and turn into a shallow dish or serve on top of a mixed salad.  Enjoy!

ALEXANDERS STEMS AS A VEGETABLE (spring, early summer)
The young stems of Alexanders are quite succulent  (which is why they were used like modern celery before celery had been developed) and cooking removes the turpentine-like scent.  The best part of the stem is at the bottom, so cut the stems as low to the ground as you can. 
You will need:
1 double handful of Alexanders stems and some butter.
Trim away the leaves and green parts of the stems, keeping only the lower parts that are white and pale.  Wash the stems thoroughly and cook in boiling salted water for 10 – 15 minutes, until a fork can easily pierce the thickest stem.  Drain and serve with melted butter.  Enjoy!

CRYSTALLISED ALEXANDERS (Spring only)
Gather however many young Alexanders stems as you care to preserve.  Then wash them and cut them into 3 inch pieces.  Bring a preserving pan filled with water to the boil, add the stems to the boiling water and simmer for 20 minutes.  Drain, weigh and put into a large ceramic / glass dish.  Add an equal weight of sugar to the cooked stems, cover and leave overnight.  The next day, put the sugar-and- Alexanders mix back into the preserving pan, bring to the boil and simmer until the sugar-syrup has almost evaporated.  Remove the pan from the heat and ladle out the crystallised stems onto a wire rack.  Leave them to set and then store in an airtight jar.  Enjoy! 

Author:    Veronica Smith         first published on 13 April 2016 under the title “Alexanders: Medieval Monks’ Meal”.

References:

ALL GOOD THINGS AROUND US by Pamela Michael and Christabel King; published by Ernst Benn Ltd in 1980; ISBN: 0 510 00055 X

HERB CRAFT: A GUIDE TO THE SHAMANIC AND RITUAL USE OF HERBS by Susan Lavender and Anna Franklin; printed by Capall Bann Publishing, UK in 1996; ISBN: 1 898307 57 9