Sweet Cicely

Sometimes there are plants we like so much that we try to grow them wherever we go. For the Romans in Britain, it was Alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum) and, less fortunately Ground Elder (Aegopogon podagraria). For me, it is Sweet Cicely, Myrrhis odorata.

Where I grew up in North East Scotland, Sweet Cicely takes the place of Cow Parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris) along roadsides, providing a mass of frothy white flowers in spring. I grow Sweet Cicely because it reminds me of this part of the world, but also because it is pretty, versatile, edible and its leaves stay green for most of the year.

Like Alexanders and Ground Elder, Sweet Cicely is probably an introduction to Britain and it is often found near houses and old settlements (view UK distribution map). In Norfolk I have only seen it in gardens. We grow it in our back garden (pictured above), on the edge of our allotment and in the Grapes Hill Community Garden in Norwich. It does well in semi-shade in our garden and in full sun on sandy loam on the allotment.

Sweet Cicely is a member of the Parsley Family, Apiaceae (formerly Umbelliferae) and is a hardy perennial that grows to 60 – 90cm tall. The small white flowers, borne in umbels, are followed by long, ridged seeds that start off green and ripen to a dark brown-black.

The leaves have a gentle, pleasant aniseed scent and can be used in salads and omelettes. In her excellent “Jekka’s Complete Herb Book” (Kyle Cathie 2007) Jekka McVicar suggests adding them to soups, stews and to the water cabbage is cooked in. Leaves can be added to sweet recipes as a natural sweetener, to reduce the amount of sugar needed. I haven’t experimented yet, but adding a handful chopped leaves to stewed fruit is said to cut down the amount of sugar required by nearly half.

Sweet Cicely forms a long tap root rather like a parsnip, which can be cooked as a root vegetable or eaten raw, peeled and grated, as a salad with some French dressing. The taste is described as parsnip with a hint of aniseed. It is the long root that lets the plant thrive in well drained soil. It is also difficult to eradicate mature plants – should you wish to – as even small parts of the root will regrow.

Young Sweet Cicely plants in Grapes Hill Community Garden

You can browse on the unripe, green seeds and add them to fruit salads. Herbalists also suggested they should be candied and used as a cure for plague, though I have my doubts about how effective this might have been. Ripe seeds can be added to apple crumbles and pies and are traditionally used to make a gentle furniture polish.

Sweet Cicely grows easily from seed but the seeds need a period of cold to germinate, so plant them outside in autumn, either sowing direct or in pots. In spring you can plant out the seedlings, though older plants resent having their roots disturbed and sulk when they have been transplanted. Sweet Cicely looks good either as individual plants or as a mass planting. After flowering you can cut back the flower heads and new foliage will grow and stay decorative until autumn. That way, you’ll also prevent the plants from self-seeding. I often cut some plants back and then collect seeds from the rest.

One proud discovery of mine is Sweet Cicely Vodka, adapted from John Wright’s recipe for Alexanders Vodka in his “Edible Seashore” book (River Cottage Handbook No. 5, Bloomsbury 2009), although I’ve since found similar recipes on the internet. I liquidised 500g of Sweet Cicely chopped stems into a puree, which I filtered through a jelly bag, squeezing to extract the juice. I put the juice in a measuring jug and added about a half of its volume in sugar, then topped it up with about three times the volume of vodka. I poured the resulting mixture into a sterilised bottle and sealed it. Sweet Cicely Vodka can be stored or drunk immediately. I quite like it neat but you could serve it with ice or even martini. It has a much more subtle taste (and colour) than Alexanders Vodka.

Cheers!