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This month of March, in the cloister and garden of the Pedralbes monastery in Barcelona you can see flowering borage, in two colors (blue and white). They have medicinal properties, but, from these photographs that I have captured for La Vanguardia's Readers' Photos, I ask you the following: what is more valued, water or borage oil? Both have highly appreciated properties, although there is a negative saying erroneously attributed to this plant that should be clarified first.
I am referring to the expression "staying in borage water." According to the Royal Spanish Academy, it is a "thing of little or no importance, especially when at first it seemed to have it." But, as the Cervantes Virtual Center reminds us, this expression is actually misused.
José María Iribarren, who dealt with the matter in The Why of Sayings. Meaning, origin and anecdote of the sayings, idioms and proverbial phrases of Spain, with many other curiosities (Government of Navarra, 1993). According to this expert, a more correct expression would be "stay in the water" and not "borage."
Cerja is less known than borage, although they are similar, but the former fell more into oblivion, which is why the saying ended up being confused with the better-known "borage." Cerja is an herb from the Asteraceae family, which can be consumed raw, as a salad, or made into an infusion that is diuretic and purifying. That is, it is very similar to borage and they were confused in this linguistic use.
Borage is an annual plant of the Boragenaceae family, 20 to 60 cm high, with a thick, branchy stem, large, ovate leaves, especially blue flowers arranged in a cluster, and very small seeds. It is covered with rough and stinging hairs, it is edible and the infusion of its flowers is used as a sudorific.
According to the Treasure of the Castilian or Spanish Language, published in 1611 by the lexicographer Sebastián de Covarrubias (1539-1613), the phrase "agua de cerrajas" exists. This plant is tasteless, it had that reputation in the 17th century and, according to Covarrubias, that is where the idiom comes from.
Now, there is a Catalan version of the saying ("tornar-se aigua de boratges"), which refers to the belief that, by stepping on borage or boiling its leaves and drinking them as broth, the chances of pregnancy were multiplied. The expression comes, therefore, from the frustration of having done the ritual and it did not work.
But, returning to the initial question, it seems that there is no dispute that borage oil is valued more than borage water. In fact, the oil, rich in Omega 6, is highly regarded in the nutraceutical industry and more expensive than gold.
This is explained because borage oil is one of the main sources of gamma linolenic acid, one of the essential fatty acids for health and form of the Omega 6 series. Despite being a vital product, our body is not capable of producing it. by itself, but we acquire it through food. In any case, none of this that I have explained to you is going to remain in "borage water", right?
