Borage

Borago officinalis · Herb

40 pairings

Borage (Borago officinalis), also called starflower, is a stout, bristly annual herb whose grey-green leaves taste unmistakably of cool, fresh cucumber and whose vivid five-pointed blue star flowers are a favourite edible garnish. Native to the Mediterranean and long naturalised across Europe and beyond, it is used as a fresh culinary green, a garnish for drinks such as Pimm's, and increasingly as an oilseed crop grown for its seed oil's gamma-linolenic acid.

Picking a good onedrag

Just cut, leaves standing stiffBlackened, slimy, sour at the base

Bunch freshYoung leaves raw and chopped small, bigger ones blanched for pasta fillings and soups, blue stars on top. A seasoning and an occasional green, not a daily salad base.Everyday best

Where it came fromA kitchen garden or grower you know is not sprayed for looks

The leavesStill green, the biggest lower leaves just starting to droop

Leaf in the handPrickle softening, the leaf lifts again but slowly

Cut stemsStem firm, cut end dried and browned a few millimetres up

The blue stars, if the bunch carries themBlue strong, a few blooms fading mauve or shed in the bag

Smell of a bruised leafQuiet cucumber with a grassy edge

What to look for, from just cut, leaves standing stiff to blackened, slimy, sour at the base.

Preparing