Traditional use
This article is missing information about effectiveness and safety of traditional medical uses. Please expand the article to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page. (October 2021)
In the ancient Roman world, the naturalists Pedanius Dioscorides and Pliny the Elder recommended that rue be combined with the poisonous shrub oleander to be drunk as an antidote to venomous snake bites.
Illustration in the Tacuinum Sanitatis
The Tacuinum Sanitatis, a medieval handbook on wellness, lists these properties of rue:
Nature: Warm and dry in the third degree.
Optimum: That which is grown near a fig tree.
Usefulness: It sharpens the eyesight and dissipates flatulence.
Dangers: It augments the sperm and dampens the desire for coitus.
Neutralization of the Dangers: With foods that multiply the sperm.
The refined oil of rue is an emmenagogue[4] and was cited by the Roman historian Pliny the Elder and the gynecologist Soranus as a potent abortifacient (inducing abortion).
A "crown of rue" or crancelin on the heraldic banner of Saxony
Culinary use
Ruta "Tena Adam" in coffee in Ethiopia
Rue has a culinary use, but since it is bitter and gastric discomfort may be experienced by some individuals, it is used sparingly. Although used more extensively in former times, it is not a herb that is typically found in modern cuisine. Today it is largely unknown to the general public and most chefs, and unavailable in grocery stores in most countries.[7] It is a component of berbere, the characteristic Ethiopian-Eritrean spice mixture, and as such is encountered in their cuisine. Also in Ethiopia, fresh rue is dipped in coffee before drinking it. Due to small amounts of toxins it contains, it must be used in small amounts, and should be avoided by those who are pregnant or who have liver issues. Skin contact with the herb's juices are also highly advised against, due to its ability to burn the skin when it comes into contact with sunlight.
It has a variety of other culinary uses:
- It was used extensively in ancient Near Eastern and Roman cuisine (according to Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq and Apicius).
- Rue is used as a traditional flavouring in Greece and other Mediterranean countries.
- In Istria (a region spanning Croatia and Slovenia), and in Northern Italy, it is used to give a special flavour to grappa/raki and most of the time a little branch of the plant can be found in the bottle. This is called grappa alla ruta.
- Seeds can be used for porridge.
- The bitter leaf can be added to eggs, cheese, fish, or mixed with damson plums and wine to produce a meat sauce.
- In Italy in Friuli Venezia-Giulia, the young branches of the plant are dipped in a batter, deep-fried in oil, and consumed with salt or sugar. They are also used on their own to aromatise a specific type of omelette.
- Used in Old World beers as flavouring ingredient.
