Огірочник (borage)

B. officinalis grows to a height of 60 centimetres (2 feet) and is bristly or hairy all over the stems and leaves. The flowers are bright blue and star-shaped. Flowers are most often blue, although pink flowers are sometimes observed. Although an annual, it will persist in the garden from year to year through ready self-seeding.

Borage's taste is rather weak and very similar to fresh cucumber, and the leaves provide a unique, crunchy texture. The main compound of the leaf and flower oils is (E,E)-2,4-decadienal, at 43.4% in the leaf oil and 26.9% in the flower oil. Aldehydes predominate in both oils, making up 61.2% of the leaf oil and 61.9% of the flower oil.

The seeds consist of 26-38% borage seed oil, of which 17-28% is gamma-linolenic acid (GLA, an omega-6 fatty acid), making borage seed oil the richest known source of GLA. The leaves contain small amounts (2-10 ppm in the dried herb) of the liver-toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids intermedine, lycopsamine, amabiline, and supinine. The alkaloids are also present in the seed oil, but may be removed by processing. Borage oil may contain the pyrrolizidine alkaloid amabiline, which is hepatotoxic leading to a risk of liver damage.

The flowers produce copious nectar, which is used by honeybees to make a light and delicate honey. The flower has a sweet, honey-like taste and may be used to decorate desserts and cocktails, and is sometimes frozen inside ice cubes. Vegetable use of borage is common in Germany, in the Spanish regions of Aragón and Navarre, on the Greek island of Crete, and in the northern Italian region of Liguria. In Italy, borage is always eaten cooked, and is most commonly used to fill ravioli in the regions of Campania and Liguria. The traditional recipe for the Frankfurt green sauce calls for exactly seven herbs, of which borage is one.

Fresh borage is eaten as a vegetable, and it is also used as a dried herb. Its cucumber-like taste makes it a frequent addition to salads and a garnish. Steeped in water, the herb gives the water a coolness and a faint cucumber flavour. Boiling, frying and simmering quickly destroy most of its characteristic fragrance.

—

Related: Alpha Pinene · Angelica · Angelica Root · Angelica Root Oil · Artemisia · Barrenwort · Beachheather · Behini Tree