LORE Closely related to wormwood, tarragon has come from the plains of Siberia to become one of the staples of French cuisine. While early on cooks used the herb to remove the fishy taste of seafood and add subtle flavor to chicken, Medieval pilgrims found a more pedestrian use for tarragon, stuffing sprigs of it into their shoes to help them plod along their journeys. There are two main types of tarragon that are closely related but vastly different. While A. dracunculoides, or Russian tarragon, grows easily from seeds, its strong flavor approaches bitterness. Russian tarragon lacks the oil glands found in the French variety that secrets the herbal flavor to the dish.
Many cooks avoid the Russian variety outright.
The Russian variety is hardier and appears healthier than its rarified cousin. Choose a somewhat sunny spot with good drainage, plant cuttings about a foot and a half apart, and invert a water glass over each slip. Plants should grow to be two to three feet. If you have a lot of the herb to store, try preserving the leaves in oil or white-wine vinegar . Although tarragon's flavor is subtle, its oil glands allow its flavor to spread assertively throughout a dish.