recipes / uses for pineapple sage?

[the word yes]

i was interested in some things to do with this beautiful plant other than mixed drinks and iced tea. does anyone have any interesting ideas or recipes?

won't be back to check until tonight, so thank you in advance.

[jlovs62]

All I have done so far is to dry the pineapple sage and the basil from my garden...am looking for recipes also

[Gospellady]

Never harvest this plant the first year, allow it to get established first. It makes great sun tea. You can add finely chopped leaves and flowers (if you can part with the beautiful flowers!) can be added to pound cake or yellow cake recipes and pineapple cakes or baked puddings. Meat and stuffing can also be cooked with the leaves added to the normal spice rubs you already use. It makes wonderful vinegar by steeping the leaves and oil too but use the oil quickly. Enjoy

[Sooeygun]

I made almond pesto with some of mine.

[hitachino]

i use mine in chicken salad made with leftover grilled chk breast and in salsas as the other poster suggested.

love the suggestion for frying the leaves, gotta try that!

i started out with one little plant and now i have about 8 - 10 huge plants - you can take a cutting and plop it in some soil and in no time you'll have another plant ---- keep doing that and you'll have tons of new plants. they're very easy to grow --- it's very hot here and even when i forget to water one and it starts to shrivel up it comes back beautifully after i give it some water.

[jeannebab]

It's wonderful on baked ham. Just chop it up and spread on outside with some whole cloves and brown sugar. After sugar "melts" in oven, baste with mix of coca cola, a little pineapple jc, and a little red wine.

[Procrastibaker]

I never tried this with my pineapple sage last year but meant to as it sounds lovely. Line the bottom of a loaf pan with the leaves and then bake your favorite pound cake-- unmold and the leaves decorate top (I'd be inclined to parchment the bottom of the pan, then place the leaves).

[janeer]

You can fry the leaves and serve as an appetizer: dip them in egg thinned with water and olive oil, dip in flour, fry quicly in oil, salt and pepper.

www.littlecomptonmornings.blogspot.com

[the word yes]

these suggestions are great and i really appreciate the responses. i cannot wait until the little plant i picked up gets big enough to try all of these.

i'm jealous of you, hillj, for having a plant big enough to harvest everything already. did you make a simple syrup that you added the sage to instead of the lemonade mix, or did you do it differently?

janeer, your blog is great. i like your suggestion, too. i think in about six weeks i'll have enough to give that a try.

in regards to the ice cream mixture.. when i make the ice cream custard, just add the sage in the beginning and let it thicken / cook while it gets to the 170 degree mark (offhand i think that's what i heat it too, but it may be less) and then remove it, or should it be removed far before then?

sorry for having more questions than anything else. i'm not as experienced as some of you guys, but i hope to be with some more time.

[HillJ]

I brewed the leaves into a strong tea and used it in place of lemonade for the cake.

For the ice cream I warmed the custard and allowed the sage leaves to steep a bit then once I transferred the custard to the ice cream bowl to blend I added a few rough chopped leaves for texture.

Two seasons ago I purchased three plants and they have all grown so large. It's been a lucky surprise.

[Non Cognomina]

Pineapple sage goes very well in a tropical fruit salad (pineapple, mango, kiwi, papaya, etc).

I also like it in turkey wraps--shaved or thinly sliced turkey breast with mayo, lettuce, red onion and pineapple sage. The flavor of the herb is less intense than "regular" sage and it lends a bright, almost citrusy flavor.

[HillJ]

flavors a basic vanilla ice cream recipe nicely
chopped into mango salsa
combine with mint, olive oil and rice vinegar and make an interesting salad dressing
chopped with a bit of fresh garlic and rubbed onto chicken breasts for grill
frozen into cubes with cranberry juice

use that pineapple sage!

[HillJ]

update: I brewed the leaves of an entire pineapple sage plant yesterday and added it to a lemonade cake mix in place of the lemonade concentrate--just delicious!

[pepper_mil]

Ice cream, or a creamy dessert like panna cotta. Sounds like it would be great with pork or chicken.