In many foods, woodruff is now only contained as an artificial flavor due to its active ingredients such as coumarin. However, you can harvest the ancient medicinal herb yourself relatively easily and preserve it for use.
When and how should you harvest woodruff?
It is best to harvest woodruff from early to mid-April or until mid-May in cool locations, before flowering, to ensure lower coumarin content. Cut the plants and preserve them by drying or freezing.
Finding Woodruff for the Harvest
The woodruff is not equally widespread as a wild plant in all regions of Central Europe. However, it is most likely to be discovered in shady places in light and not too dry forests. Here, due to the self-sowing of the seeds and the propagation via root runners, it usually forms extensive carpets in its location that reach a maximum height of 30 centimeters. Its characteristic leaves, which are arranged in lance-shaped layers in a circle around the stem, make it relatively difficult to confuse with other plants. Woodruff is particularly easy to find, not only because of its sweet scent, from April and May, when the woodruff begins to bloom. The flowers are shaped like small white crosses and are said to have served as a model for the appearance of the Swiss flag.
Grow woodruff yourself
If you can't find woodruff in the forests in your area, you can plant one yourself relatively easily. To do this, you can use a shady location under trees or bushes in the garden, or grow the woodruff directly in a pot in a shady place. Since it is a frost germinator, the sowing time of the woodruff lasts from approximately September to December. However, a larger harvest should only be obtained from the young plants in the second year, as pruning in the first year inhibits the plants' development and growth.
The perfect time to harvest woodruff
In principle, woodruff can be harvested and preserved from spring to autumn. However, there is definitely a reason why the plant, which is also used for the typical May punch, is mainly cut before the flowering period in spring. With the flowering, the value of the coumarin contained in the woodruff increases sharply and with it the risk of an overdose, which could lead to malaise, headaches and, if taken regularly, even liver damage. It is therefore better to choose the time for harvesting from the beginning to mid-April or, in cool locations, until mid-May.
Preserving the Woodruff
The woodruff can be preserved either by drying or freezing. Different procedures can be selected for drying:
- hanging tied bouquets in an airy place
- drying in a dehydrator
- drying at low temperature in a slightly opened oven
To freeze, either tied bouquets or already chopped leaves can be placed in portions in the freezer compartment.
Tips & Tricks
After harvesting, let the fresh woodruff wither or freeze briefly for a few hours before using it for May punch or other recipes. By breaking down the coumarin, the taste will become even more intense.
