flavour with prolonged cooking. It can be added to breadcrumbs as a coating for various meats including trout. Medicinal uses Winter savory has been purported to have antiseptic, aromatic, carminative, and digestive benefits. It has also been used as an expectorant, and in the treatment of bee stings or insect bites through the use of a poultice of the leaves. The plant has a stronger action than the closely related summer savory. Taken internally, it is said to be a remedy for colic and a cure for flatulence, whilst it is also used to treat gastro-enteritis, cystitis, nausea, diarrhoea, bronchial congestion, sore throat and menstrual disorders. It should not be prescribed for pregnant women. Therapeutic-grade oil has been determined to inhibit the growth of Candida albicans. The plant is harvested when flowering in the summer and can be used fresh or dried. The essential oil is an ingredient in lotions for the scalp in cases of incipient baldness. An ointment made from the plant is used externally to relieve arthritic joints. In traditional herbal medicine, summer savory was believed to be an aphrodisiac, while winter savory was believed to inhibit sexual desire (an anaphrodisiac). French herbalist Maurice Messegue claimed that savory was 'the herb of happiness'. References External links Grieves, A Modern Herbal Lamiaceae Herbs Flora of Europe Plants described in 1753