Are you wondering what to do with sage? A couple of years ago, I planted a very small, inexpensive sage plant in the corner of one of our raised beds. And it grew. And grew. And grew. And now, I have SAGE. Lots and lots (and lots!) of sage! I keep cutting it back, and it keeps trying to take over our whole raised bed.
A couple of evenings ago, I cut a whole bunch off, and made little bundles of sage to sell, as I’ve seen lots of people do here. After two days of trying, at 25 pence per bunch, we had one taker. Time to figure out what to do with sage, sage, and more sage.
It turns out that sage is a fantastic herb to have too much of. It is one of the earliest known medicinal plants, and has so many uses. The name salvia which is derived from salvare, the latin word for healing is a great indicator of its history of medicinal use. In fact, there was a Roman saying, “Cur moriatur homo, cui salva crescit in horis?” – “Why dies the human when salvia grows in his garden?” It can be used internally and externally, for all sorts of maladies. Here are some of the issues sage has been used medicinally to treat (the short list!)
Conditions Treated with Sage
- asthma
- bacterial & fungal infections
- calming and stimulating the nervous system
- candida
- colds
- coughs
- encouraging healing
- gastrointestinal upset
- gingivitis
- headache (nervous)
- hot flashes (menopausal sweats)
- improving memory
- indigestion
- intestinal infection
- insect bites
- joint paint
- liver complaints
- oral inflammation
- rheumatism
- skin, throat, mouth and gum infections
- soothing the digestive tract
- stimulating upper digestive secretionss
- strengthening the nervous system
- throat infections
- Taken internally or as a gargle or mouthwash
*note that sage should not be used by pregnant or nursing women or by people who have epilepsy
That’s quite a long list! So, I wanted to find some ways to keep sage available to easily use as a medicine, and then other ways to just preserve it for use in the kitchen. It should be noted here that extended over-consumption (more than 15g per day) of sage can be problematic, as it contains a compound called thujole which is toxic. So be reasonable!
So far, I have preserved it in four different ways. I’ll share those with you, then a good roundup of a bunch of other (ahem…) sage ideas for using this herb.
First, I made a Sage and Honey Cough Syrup. This is so simple to do, and makes a great medicine and a nice herbal honey for desserts or cocktails.
Next, I made a medicinal sage tincture. This is also extremely simple.
How to Make Sage Tincture
- Wash and thoroughly dry your sage leaves.
- Roughly chop them and put them in a glass jar that can be tightly sealed.
- Pour vodka or another pure spirit over to cover.
- Cover tightly and put it in a dark place (like your cupboard) for three weeks or so. Shake daily.
- Strain out the leaves and put in a dark glass containers like these.
Uses of Sage Tincture: There are a lot of ways you can use sage tincture, and it’s a great thing to have on hand in your first-aid kit and for making personal care items. To read more about how to use your tincture, look here and here. I am not an herbalist, so I can’t give too much instruction, but it’s definitely worth looking into!
- As an antibacterial mouthwash, and to help heal sore throats and tonsilitis
- In a spray bottle as a deodorant (it is a treatment for hyperhydrosis)
- As a toner for oily skin
- Applied topically to treat eczema and skin rashes, and to relieve bugbites
- Applied externally to treat bruises, sprains, and swelling
- Used in hair care products for healthier hair and to decrease hair loss (It can also darken hair color for some.)
I used a couple of bunches for making sage salt. This was easy to do.
I finely minced about 1/4 cup of sage, then tossed it with about a cup of maldon sea salt. To keep the fresh leaves from making the the salt too moist, I put the jar on top of one of our radiator for a couple of days. You could also put it in the oven with the pilot light on, or some other warm, dry spot.
Lastly, I dried lots of sage for tea. Clean your sage leaves, make neat little bunches, and wrap the ends with twine or a rubber band. Hang someplace dry and airy. When the leaves are completely dry, you can crumble them between your fingers into a bowl, or use a mini-chopper to cut it into the right texture for brewing tea. Store it in a tightly sealed glass jar. I have a cupboard full of dried herbs and berries for making herbal tea blends with– it’s fun!
Here is a round up of other ideas for what to do with sage.
- Make an Herb Vinegar
- Make an Anti-Microbial Cleaning Spray
- Make Lemon Sage Vodka
- Make Brown Butter Sage
- Make Grapefruit and Sage Mimosas
What am I missing here? What do you like to do with sage?
Sources: https://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-sage.html, https://www.aromantic.co.uk/buy-sage-tincture-organic-uk.htm
Thank you Ariana for mentioning my sage vinegar in your great post! Sage ACV is my “go to” herb when I crave Sage Aoli which goes with everything! https://grassfood.me/2012/08/25/garlic-breath/
I forgot to mention my favorite way of preparing sage. Coat whole sage leaves in a bowl with olive oil and lay out flat on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt and bake until crispy. So addicting! I always have a bowl of this on our Thanksgiving table. Yum!
Ooh, love that idea! I will have to try it this Thanksgiving. Thanks!
I love the idea of baking the sage leaves. Would you mind letting me know how long do they need, and what temperature of the oven? Thanks.
Agreed How long and what temperature? I am excited!
Baking the leaves is a great idea. I’m going to try that tomorrow. Thank you for all of the great ifeas.
Great – I have sooo much. How do I use it to treat candida?
I am thinking that tea or a tincture will work well. I think Google could help you out here!
Great article with lots of info! Thank you for being so sweet about the terminology 🙂
Of course, Marianne! Thanks for taking the time to email me about it!
I have the same problem! Who knew that this plant would get to be 4 feet across? And crowding out everything else. Oh boy. Also, never plant lemon balm where you don’t want ten million other lemon balm plants!
Yes about the lemon balm!! I have pulled lots of plants out by the roots and dried them for tea. Same goes for mint!
You can toss it into fire pits or your campfire to keep Mosquitos away too!
Love that idea, Kristen!
A Tuscan friend taught me to make this seasoning salt but she added equal equal parts of sage and rosemary and several fresh crushed garlic. It is superb on roasted meats and vegetables…or just about anything!
THANK YOU! I have far too much of it right now and we don’t cook with a lot of it, I’ll definitely try some of these great ideas 🙂
Great post! Other than drying it and adding a couple of leaves to my morning tea, I haven’t done much with my TONS of sage. I’ll be making the honey and the salt this week. Thanks!
Tie it in bundles to be tossed into coals around fire to keep mosquitoes away
I love sage for making wreaths. It dried well.
Great post! May i also add sweet potato sage soup and maple sage picked carrots?
I love sage and you’ve posted some great uses! Just do not give too much to a small child. My mother got very sick from an overdose when she was little.
Thank you for that tip, Deborah!
I drink sage in some form of tea everyday for Hot flashes and night sweats. Been using it for three years now. I just add a couple tbls to whatever ice tea I’m drinking or 1 tsp added to hot tea. I make sure and drink several cups a day it has been a godsend.
Do u dry it first?
I have a great recipe for using sage leaves with sweet potatoes. Quarter sweet potatoes and blanch in boiling water. Drain and pat dry. Drizzle potatoes with olive oil. Place one or two sage leaves on each potato quarter and wrap with prosciutto. Bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes. Perfect blend of savory and sweet.
I like to use it alone or with other herbs to make sage smuge bundles. A nice way to purify the home during and after sickness.
Love all these ideas for my sage! Can’t wait to try some! I noticed one typo in the article though. Sage is a treatment for hypERhydrosis not hypOhydrosis. I doubt too many people would complain about sweating too little!
I will. I have a skin condition called ichthiosis vulgaris. Because my skin sluffs off slower than it should, I don’t sweat well. Summers here are brutal for me. I do appreciate not having to spend a fortune on deodorant though.
Lol…..I noticed that typo! My daughter has suffered from that so I picked it up right away. I will let her know about this possible treatment.
I tied bundles of dried sage for the campfire to keep the bugs away.
Thanks for sharing these tips for excess sage.
Bit late to the party, but you can also make a delicious sage, lemon & chili butter. You just soften the butter and add fresh finely-chopped sage, chopped spicy chilis and grated lemon rind (all to taste) and then chill or freeze the butter for later use. It’s great with boiled new potatoes, melted over bbq portobello mushrooms, or sliced and placed on baked sweet potatoes. You can add a little salt & pepper if you like, or replace the fresh chilis with cayenne powder if necessary.
I grow alot of lemon basil and lemon thyme. I bet the thyme at least would taste delicious with that!
Correction for you – it helps hyperhidrosis not hypohyrosis 🙂
Late to the party as well, but I am a sage addict. I haven’t tried the salt yet, but my favorite thing to do is seep it in balsamic. I found a great pork marinade that cooks with balsamic, sage, garlic and brown sugar. Loved it so much that now I use that sage/balsamic on as much as possible! Good ideas for the other stuff!
Sage oil is wonderful to cook with and apply to skin for joints etc.
OMG I dont know about everyone else but my Sage smells like cat urine! And there are no cats anywhere! It stinks! Is this normal?
Sure….now I find this very helpful blog post via Pinterest three months after I dug up my sage plant. Lol! Mine was probably 6 or 7 years old and very woody. The crazy thing is that I planted a Roma tomato in it’s place because it was a leftover from where I’d run out of room in the garden. It has grown huge and is producing really large tomatoes, better than any in my actual garden. Sage must do something wonderful to the soil! Next year I’ll begin again with a baby sage and keep this article and the good uses in mind. Thank you!
Next time your sage gets leggy and spreads, layer it. Hold down some of the stems with something close to or just in the soil, where the leaves join the stems. It will root and when the roots look good enough, cut the new plant away from the main one. You now have new plants to put somewhere and you can get rid of the old one, if you really must!
Doesnt anyone have pineapple sage? It makes Wonderful tea, hot or cold. I also use it for fires Inside or out. Also the fragrance is delicious. Potpourri anyone!
i love pineapple sage
I just bought some, because I loved the fragrance; but don’t know what to do with it!
Thank you. Any cooking recipes?
I use my Sage for making smudge sticks, great way to use up a lot at one time. 🙂
Making herb-salt:
Put salt and fresh herbs in your food processor. Chop until you get a green salt.
Dry the salt at 50 degrees C in your oven with the blower on or if you are lucky, outside in the shade.
Or same method for making flower/herb sugar.
I love this idea, Gijs! Thank you. I shared it with my readers on my facebook page. 🙂
I originally planted my sage to keep sprigs on the dash of my car all summer to help keep out mosquitos and other bugs when I want to keep the windows open when it’s parked. I love the smell and now I have many other ideas to use for the extra I have.!!
I make a mix of lightly fried finely chopped onion, chopped sage, breadcrumbs, egg yolk and milk, salt and pepper; as a stuffing. Put this in the cavity of a chicken and roast it. Or put the stuffing in a greased baking tray and bake it separately. Brush some chicken fat on top of it. Or you could just stuff the chicken cavity with fresh sage, Then discard it after the chicken is cooked.
Ohhhh its my type of need you made my day thank you so much for saharing amazing article with us .
You made really nice effort for us
Thanks sharing this article
Have you ever tried fried sage? It’s a popular Italian dish! The batter is quite simple (there are a few variations for that depending on the recipe, some are egg+breadcrumbs, some are flour+beer, some are milk+egg, but they are all under 5mins prep), and if you have big leaves it makes for quite the tasty snack!
this is great. i have some extra this year.
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Ok I can ever have too much sage 😊
Thank you for sharing even more
Ideas for using. 😀❤️