What is Savory?

Savory (Satureja hortensis), also called summer savory, is a peppery kitchen herb from the mint family. People use it mainly as a food seasoning, and in European folk practice as a mild tea for gas, bloating and mild indigestion (an upset, heavy feeling after eating).

It is also a traditional cough and sore-throat tea, and the strong-smelling oil in the leaves kills bacteria in laboratory dishes. That laboratory finding has not been shown to treat any infection in people.

The honest verdict: savory has a long record in European kitchens and herbals, but almost no human trial evidence. Traditional use tells you what people have done for centuries; it does not prove the herb works.

How does Savory work?

Nobody has shown clearly how savory works in the human body. The leading idea is that its aromatic oils relax the muscle of the gut wall slightly, which may let trapped gas pass and ease cramping.

The same oils, mainly carvacrol and thymol, kill bacteria and fungi in laboratory dishes and act as antioxidants (they slow damage to cells from unstable molecules). Laboratory dishes are not people, and these results do not tell you what a cup of tea does.

Animal studies have shown small drops in blood sugar and blood fats with concentrated savory extracts. This has not been confirmed in humans, but it is the reason for the caution around diabetes medicines.

What forms does Savory come in?

Dried leaf is the everyday form. You use it as a cooking herb or steep it as a tea.

Other forms you may meet:

Fresh leaf from the garden, used in cooking and rarely measured as a dose. Liquid extracts and tinctures, which are far more concentrated than tea. Capsules of powdered leaf, sold occasionally and rarely standardised.

Savory essential oil is a separate product and is not the same as the herb. It is extremely concentrated, meant for diluted external use or aromatherapy, and is not for swallowing.

Where it comes from:

Savory has been grown around the Mediterranean since Roman times. Roman writers used it as a seasoning and as a digestive herb, and it travelled north through monastery gardens into the herb beds of medieval and early modern Europe.

English herbalists such as Culpeper listed it for wind, colic and chest complaints. It stayed mainly a kitchen herb, especially with beans, lentils and sausage, where its reputation for easing gas came from.

It remains a common garden and culinary herb across Europe, North America and the Middle East today.

What does Savory help with?

• Gas and bloating: This is savory's best-known traditional use, especially with bean and lentil dishes. European herbals have recommended a leaf tea after heavy meals for centuries. No human trial has tested savory tea for gas or bloating. If it helps you, expect a mild, short-lived easing rather than a fix.
• Mild indigestion: Traditionally taken as a warm tea after eating for a heavy, over-full stomach. The idea is that the aromatic oils relax gut muscle a little. This rests on tradition and laboratory work, not on human trials. Indigestion that keeps coming back needs a doctor, not a herb.
• Sore throat and mild cough: Folk practice in Europe used savory tea as a gargle or warm drink for a scratchy throat. Warm liquid itself soothes a throat, which may explain much of the effect. There is no human trial evidence that savory shortens a cough or clears a throat infection.
• Use as a culinary seasoning: This is the one use with no doubt attached. Savory is safe and well established as a food herb in normal cooking amounts. Food amounts are much smaller than medicinal amounts, and the cautions on this page are aimed at concentrated extracts and the essential oil.

Which foods are rich in Savory?

1. Bean and lentil dishes: the classic pairing across Europe, where savory was added partly to ease gas
2. Sausages and cured meats: a standard seasoning in German and Eastern European recipes
3. Herbes de Provence blends: savory is one of the usual herbs in the mix
4. Bulgarian chubritsa: a table seasoning built around savory
5. Summer vegetable stews and green beans: a traditional Mediterranean use

Practical Tips:

Eaten as a seasoning, savory is a food, and the cautions on this page concern medicinal amounts and the essential oil.

What are the side effects of Savory?

• Upset stomach or nausea, mostly with strong tea or extracts
• Heartburn in people prone to it
• Mouth or throat irritation from very strong preparations
• Skin rash or itching in people allergic to mint family plants
• Skin burning or blistering from undiluted essential oil

Good to know:

In cooking amounts, savory causes problems for almost nobody and has a long, uneventful food history.

Side effects cluster around the concentrated forms: strong extracts, and above all the essential oil, which is irritating to skin and to the lining of the mouth and gut.

Allergy is possible if you react to other mint family plants such as oregano, thyme or mint. Stop taking it if you get a rash, swelling or trouble breathing.

How much Savory should you take?

• Recommended daily: No official or tested dose exists for savory, because the human studies that would set one have not been done. Traditional tea practice uses about 1 to 2 teaspoons of dried leaf in a cup of hot water, steeped 10 minutes, up to three cups a day. Cooking amounts are whatever a recipe calls for and need no limit. For tinctures and capsules, follow the label on the product you bought, since strengths differ widely. Do not swallow the essential oil at any amount.
• Best time of day: Most people take the tea after meals, which is where the traditional use points. For a sore throat, sip it warm whenever the throat feels raw.
• With or without food: After food, or with it as a seasoning. Taking it on a very empty stomach may feel harsh because of the tannins.
• Time to effect: If a settling effect happens, people usually notice it within 20 to 60 minutes of the tea. There is no reason to expect a build-up effect over weeks.
• How long to take it: Short use is the sensible approach. Treat a tea course as a few days to about two weeks for a passing digestive complaint. If your symptoms have not improved after two weeks, stop and get them looked at. Long-running daily use of concentrated extracts has not been studied for safety.