Lovage: The Celery-Flavored Herb, Its Origins, Uses and Safety

Lovage tastes like celery leaf turned up: stronger and sweeter, with a slightly musky, almost curry-like note. It’s Levisticum officinale, a perennial herb of the parsley family and the only species in its genus, and you can cook with its leaves, stalks and seeds. Use it in soups and stews in place of celery, where it holds its flavor through long cooking. Even its home is in dispute: Kew gives southern Iran to Afghanistan, Britannica southern Europe. Below: where it comes from, what gives it that smell, how to cook with it, and what regulators say.

At a glance

Where lovage comes from

Sources disagree on the native range:

We haven’t found a source that settles it, so we’ve shown both. You’ll often read that lovage originated in Greece; neither source above says so.

The name points to Liguria. Merriam-Webster traces English “lovage” through Middle English lovache and Anglo-French to Late Latin levisticum, an alteration of Latin ligusticum, meaning Ligurian.⁴ Herb books often say the Romans spread the plant across Europe, or that it shows up in the Roman cookbook attributed to Apicius. We couldn’t open a source that documents either, so we’ve left them out.

Flavor and the compounds behind it

Lovage tastes like celery leaf turned up, with a sweet, slightly musky, almost curry-like note and a finish that lingers.

Research names at least one compound. A 1999 study of the odor of maple syrup urine disease describes sotolon as a well-known flavor impact compound in fenugreek and lovage.³ Our fenugreek profile covers sotolon in more detail. We couldn’t open a full analysis of lovage leaf aroma, so we haven’t listed other compounds.

You’ll also hear that the spice sold as celery seed is really lovage seed. Celery seed is the seed of celery, Apium graveolens, which is known for its essential oil.⁵ We found no source showing that commercial celery seed is lovage.

How lovage is used

The leaves and stalks go into herbal tea, get eaten as a vegetable, and flavor foods, especially meats. The seeds flavor confectionery and liqueurs, and an essential oil from the flowering tops goes into perfumery and flavoring. In the kitchen:

• Soups, stocks and stews. Use lovage in place of celery. It holds its flavor through long cooking.
• Raw. Chop young leaves small for potato salad, egg dishes and green salads. It’s stronger than celery leaf, so start with about half as much as you’d use of celery leaf. We found no test of that ratio; it’s just a place to start.
• Seeds. Use them like celery seed in breads, pickles and dressings. Britannica only documents confectionery and liqueurs.²

Buying and storage

Fresh lovage can be hard to find in shops, and plenty of cooks grow a plant instead. Pick leaves that are glossy, not wilted. We didn’t find a published shelf-life figure for fresh or dried lovage. Dried lovage loses a lot of its character compared with fresh. For keeping its close relative celery leaf, see celery leaves.

Safety and regulation

• United States. Lovage, Levisticum officinale, is on FDA’s list of natural flavoring substances at 21 CFR 172.510.⁶
• European Union. Dried lovage has its own maximum level for pyrrolizidine alkaloids: 1,000 µg/kg for borage, lovage, marjoram and oregano and mixtures made only of them, against 400 µg/kg for most other dried herbs.⁷
• As a herbal medicine. The European Medicines Agency has a monograph on lovage root.⁸ It covers a traditional herbal medicinal product used to increase urine flow and so flush the urinary tract, as an add-on in minor urinary complaints. The monograph says people allergic to plants of the carrot family or to anethole shouldn’t use it, that use under 18 isn’t recommended, and that safety in pregnancy and breastfeeding hasn’t been established.⁹ None of this applies to lovage as a kitchen herb.

The NIH’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health has no fact sheet on lovage.¹⁰ You may read that lovage fights cancer, clears the lungs or kills bacteria. We couldn’t find a systematic review or health agency that backs any of that up, and we found no nutrient analysis of lovage to support vitamin or mineral figures. We’re not making those claims.

Substitutes and comparisons

Celery leaves, with a little celery seed for depth, are the closest match. Parsley adds green freshness but not the celery note. Neither swap comes with a tested ratio. See lovage substitutes and these related pages:

• Celery leaves and celery leaves substitutes
• Celery seeds and celery seed substitutes
• Celery salt
• Parsley