What it is
A leafy culinary herb with a distinctive anise-like note.
Plain-language buying tip
Choose fresh tarragon when possible for its more delicate aroma; dried tarragon is convenient but different in character.
Forms and use
Use in vinegar, mustard, chicken, eggs, fish, and creamy sauces; add it carefully so it does not dominate.
Common forms include fresh leaves, dried leaves. Match the form to the job: visible ingredient, even distribution, or a slow infusion you can strain.
Storage
- Dried leaf: about six months to a year at useful strength. Tarragon is one of the faster-fading dried herbs, and a jar that has been open a year is usually grass.
- Fresh sprigs: about a week in the refrigerator (at or below 40°F/4°C), wrapped loosely in a slightly damp cloth. Tarragon bruises and blackens where it is handled, so store it as whole sprigs and strip at the last minute.
- Better than drying: tarragon vinegar, or tarragon butter kept frozen. Both hold the anise character that drying loses. The vinegar is acidic enough to keep in the cupboard; the butter is not, so freeze it at 0°F (−18°C) or below — it keeps for months in the freezer and only a few days in the refrigerator at or below 40°F (4°C).
- Gone when: a pinch of the dried leaf rubbed in your palm smells of hay with no anise behind it. That is the only note worth testing for — if the licorice is gone, the herb is gone.
Quick questions
What should I check before buying Tarragon?
Check the stated botanical identity or style when available, the form, and the ingredient list. These details are more useful than relying on a broad category name alone.
Is this guide a product offer?
No. This is culinary editorial information. Leaf & Larder will connect only verified, available products when inventory exists.
Editorial boundary
This guide describes flavor, form, storage, and culinary use. It does not make medical, therapeutic, or supplement claims.