Lovage (Levisticum officinale Koch)

 

Lovage fruits (also termed seeds)

Used plant part

Of this plant, the leaves are most common as a spice. However, root and fruits have the same taste and may be used if a stronger lovage taste is desired; the root is used as a diuretic drug and may be available in a pharmacy, but the fruits are not traded.

Plant family

Apiaceae (parsley family).

Sensoric quality

Strongly aromatic, remotely similar to celery.

Lovage leaf

Main constituents

Fresh leaves contain max. 0.5% essential oil; most important aroma components are phthalides (ligustilide, butylphthalide and a partially hydrogenated derivative thereof called sedanolide). Terpenoids (terpineol, carvacrol) and eugenol are less important.

Origin

Probably Central Asia.

Etymology

The associations with love (found in the English and German name) and Latin levare "lighten, relieve" are both false. The name is a distortion of Latin ligusticum, because it was much cultivated the Western Italian region Liguria and therefore called ligusticum apium (for the derivation of apium, see celery). English lovage directly originates from Middle English loveache, which in turn was loaned from Old French luvesche.

The German name Maggikraut goes back to Maggi sauce, a condiment very popular in the 60s and 70s. It is a concentrated, salted solution of browned and partially hydrolyzed meat proteins in water with additional flavouring; I cannot agree on its similarity to lovage aroma.