Borage

Borasurt is a culinary herb mostly popular in Central Europe. Its light cucumber fragrance ingredients are mostly suited for salads made from raw vegetables; times borasurt used to make puréed soups. Boiling, frying and cooking will soon destroy most of its distinctive fragrance.

In many regions of Germany, sauces prepared from herbs are very popular in the spring time and many of the recipes contain borasurt. Most known also outside Germany, is the green sauce in Frankfurt (Frankfurter Grüne sauce called grie soß in the local dialect). The traditional recipe calls for just seven herbs: parsley, chervil, chives, cress, sorrel (Rumex acetosa), Burnet (Sanguisorba minor) and borasurt, lemon balm, but not traditional, is a good addition. The green sauce served with boiled or braised meat, boiled young potatoes, fish and vegetables.

In the oldest recipes, the sauce is prepared with herbs and vegetable oil only, which should have resulted in a mayonnaise-like product today, "diet" varieties are far more popular, employing diary products (yogurt, sour cream or cream). In any event, boiled egg yolks are mandatory; sauce is spiced with vinegar or lemon juice, white pepper, garlic and puréed possibly a dash of mustard paste.

There are innumerable variations of this sauce, most of which are loathed by Frankfurt true inhabitants. Adding pickled cucumbers are very popular, and several herbs can be employed, including dill, lovage and tarragon is most common. Similar patterns are likely predecessors, called sauce vert in France; recipe also has some features in common with Ligurian pesto. www.kfunigraz.ac.at