Moldovan snakehead

Use in cooking
Snakehead stimulates the appetite and improves digestion. As a spice, it is added to summer salads, soups (primarily pickle), fish broth. The spicy aroma of the plant perfectly complements meat dishes, and the powder from dried leaves is homemade sausages.

It is widely used when rolling up blanks for the winter – when salting tomatoes, cucumbers, for making bread kvass and compote. Perfectly aromatizes tea. Just a pinch of snakehead, added to tea, surpasses the strength of the aroma of melissa and catnip, because it is very important to dose this spice so as not to overdo it.

The plant retains its aroma well during long-term storage. Its dried leaves are crushed into a powder, and then stored in a tightly closed container. In winemaking, the snakehead is used in the manufacture of vermouth.

In the confectionery and canning industry, snakehead essential oil is also used for flavoring food products.

Snakehead goes well with other spices-thyme, savory and lovage, it is part of spicy mixtures, replacing allspice and black peppers.

In combination with star anise, cloves and cinnamon, the plant will complement fruit marinades, as well as pickled pumpkin. Together with lovage and celery – zucchini, tomatoes and pattisons. A spicy mixture with tarragon and yarrow will serve as an excellent marinade for chicken and pork chops. A marinade for fish can serve as a dried snakehead mixed with salt, pepper and lemon zest.

Application in medicine
All parts of the plant contain a large amount of essential oil and vitamin C, which is used for medicinal purposes.

Snakehead has an analgesic, soothing, anticonvulsant effect, enhances the activity of the digestive organs, strengthens the immune system and improves kidney function.

In ancient Indian and Tibetan medicine, the plant was also used as a strengthening agent, prescribed for migraines, toothache, during colds.

The snakehead has a healing effect for bruises, festering wounds and stomatitis. It has an antiseptic and antispasmodic effect, moreover, microorganisms do not develop resistance to it even with a sufficiently long contact.


No more than 0,2 g of snakehead should be added to each serving of food.
The spice is added to the soup a few minutes before serving.