From The Food Encyclopedia by Jacques Rolland and Carol Sherman
1. either of two related herbs - summer savory, Satureja hortensis, and winter savory, Satureja montana - both having small, narrow, gray-green leaves. Winter savory is the stronger of the two, with a pungent flavor like that of thyme, marjoram and rosemary; summer savory has a similar, but milder flavor. Savory is among the most documented traditional herbs; Roman naturalist Pliny refers to 14 different species in his writings. In late medieval France, the herbs were used extensively for their medicinal value. The herb also had a reputation as an aphrodisiac because its botanical name Satureja was said to come from Satyrs, the half-goat, half-man amorous Greek deities, who lived in fields of savory. The Greeks used it for an infusion to soothe earaches, toothaches, relentless diarrhea or enteritis. Roman midwives swore by it as an antiseptic during childbirth. Savory reached Britain at the time of the Roman Conquest, and it appears on Charlemagne's list of herbs. According to a 17th-century French writer, "These modest little plants look as if they were intended to bloom in the cloistered gardens of the good nuns", referring to their delicate fragrance and the fragile appearance of their flowers. 2. a word used to describe food that is piquant as opposed to sweet.
