White Wormwood

APPEARANCE: Distinguish this vegetable by the 8 to 10-inch long reddish-purple leafstalks and sparse, triple-leafletted leaf blades. There is no stem: these are individual leaves.

QUALITY: Select well-formed leaves that appear freshly picked. The more leaf blade per stalk the better.

COMMENTS: These leaves have a strong, rather resinous or “floral” taste slightly similar to chrysanthemum leaves. In fact, they come from plants of the same botanical family as chrysanthemum and lettuce, and of the same genus as true wormwood or absinthe.