Sweet woodruff
Galium odoratum · Herb
Top 10 pairings
Sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum) is a low, creeping woodland herb of the bedstraw genus, prized for the warm, hay-and-vanilla scent it gives off as it wilts. Fresh leaves are nearly odourless; the fragrance — pure coumarin — blooms only as the cut plant dries, and is the signature of German May wine (Maibowle) and Waldmeister sweets.
Picking a good onedrag
Green and sound, sweet as it wiltsYellowed, slimy or cellar-musty
Wilted and greenEveryday bestLimp, still green, hay-and-vanilla full: this is May wine and syrup woodruff. A small bunch, steeped briefly and lifted out — coumarin is hard on the liver in quantity.
Crush a leafHay comes up thin, more cut grass than vanilla
Leaf and whorlGreen gone matt, lowest leaves just paling
Tear a bladeFloppy but supple, still tears rather than pulls