What to do with zuta levana, a.k.a. white savory

January 18, 2009 at 1:00 am | Tags: , , | 1 Comment

white-savory1

I'm off to the United States for the rest of the month, so what better time to write about an herb that grows primarily in the Galilee?

I had my first real run-in with zuta levana (זוטא לבנה) at the Tel Aviv port farmer's market. Sure, I'd noticed it in plant nurseries before, but I never considered buying it, since it was described as just another herb for making tea.

In any case, the guys from Carmel Yevulim pretty much forced a bunch of herbs on me -- it was the end of the day, and they were trying to clear out. So I took it home. Then, the question became what to do with it.

But first, a little about the plant itself: Zuta levana, or white savory, is a small shrub that grows wild in Israel, particularly in the Galilee. It has a pale, slivery color, and its small leaves have a fuzzy texture. The Israeli Environmental Protection Ministry states that the tea is good for easing stomach pains and sore throats. And a warning: Its oil contains pulegone, which is considered dangerous for pregnant women.

And a little confession: I didn't know anything about this plant was at first, so I tried looking it up online -- and didn't find anything in Wikipedia. So after a bit of research, I wrote the entry myself.

zuta-teaTEA

The most obvious solution -- since this is what most people do with it. The herb is fragrant, and as a member of the mint family, it has a menthol essence -- its smell kind of reminds me of Ben-Gay, but in a good way. And it makes a fabulous tea, with a strong blast of menthol, and the taste of what a friend thought was sage.

zuta-levana-saladCHOPPED IN SALADS

I tossed some leaves into a chopped salad, in place of mint or parsley, and added some black olive tapenade as well. Both have quite prominent flavors, and make an interesting combination, giving salads a taste you don't expect. (This salad also included tomatoes, cucumbers, red peppers, onion and carrot).

colorful-vegetablesFRIED OVER COOKED FOODS

The herb is also quite nice as a flavoring for cooked foods. I got good results by frying leaves until crunchy in a bit of olive oil, and sprinkling over vegetables for flavor (See my last post: Crayon-box vegetables).

white-savory3MIXED WITH OLIVE OIL

Try mixing a few leaves with olive oil and salt, and using to dip bread.

SEASONING FOR FISH

While I didn't try this at home, since I don't really cook that much fish, I suspect that it would also be quite good topping a salmon or musht, along with some lemon.


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  1. [...] or several of the herbs popularly used in teas around here: sage, mint, lemon grass, lemon verbena, white savory, and even lavender. One of my former roommates once made tea out of basil, after mistaking it for [...]

    Pingback by Cafe Liz » Refreshing drinks for summer -- Kosher vegetarian recipes from my kitchen in Tel Aviv — June 14, 2009 #

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