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Cooking with lavender

lavebder cooking

Lavender flower is colourful fragrant and beautiful. It has long been used in aromatherapy and skin care, but a lot of people don’t know about the great culinary potential it has. There is no other plant that has such a broad spectrum of uses.

In this article we want to introduce you to a fragrant a spiced world of cooking with lavender.

Culinary lavender has been and is still used in many cuisines all over the world.

The ancient Greeks added lavender flowers to wine to make it more fragrant. Even to these days archaeologists keep discovering amphoras with perfectly good vermouth, which was preserved due to lavenders antiseptic properties.

Queen Elizabeth I, who was a big lavender lover, used the plant to put in her tea and requested to have a special lavender jam served at every dinner. It is said that royal cooks created a special lavender biscuit recipe to please her majesty.

Why are lavender recipes so popular?

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lavender for cooking

Lavender has a very distinguished floral, spicy, and bitter taste with a delicate flavor and a very strong fragrance. This makes it an ideal herb to use in both sweet and savoury dishes. Adding lavender to your favourite recipes can give them a unique twist.

Most widely, it is used in Mediterranean cuisine. English lavender is particularly recommended for culinary purposes due to its milder flavor, which is suitable for cooking.

Lavender holds a prominent place in French, Italian, and Spanish cuisines.

Sourcing and Storing Lavender

When it comes to sourcing and storing lavender, there are a few things to keep in mind to ensure you get the best quality and flavor for your culinary endeavors.

Lavender in sweet dishes

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lavender for cooking

Lavender has a prominent place in baking. It can be infused into caster sugar, butter, or cream. Plus, lavender pairs well with other popular ingredients for sweet dishes like lemon, vanilla, and honey. Some of which are lavender lemon cake and lavender macaroons.

To make lavender-infused sugar at home, just add lavender buds to a jar with sugar, close the lid tight, and in 10 days you will have your own lavender sugar, which you can add to your baking or use to flavour different beverages.

Lavender in savoury dishes

Cooking with lavender

lavender for cooking

Lavender is equally great when it comes to cooking savoury things. It pairs well with poultry, fish, and meat. But especially well lavender herb goes with rich and fatty meats as it lifts the overall flavour. Lavender leaves can also be used in various culinary applications, such as in honey-vinaigrette for salads or flavoring desserts.

It is very popular in spice rubs (such as herbs de Provence), added as a powder to salads, or infused into vinegar or oil. Adding a splash of lemon juice can help balance the strong flavors of lavender in savory dishes.

Lavender is a key ingredient in green oil, alongside saffron, dill, and satureja.

Alternatively, you can add lavender and juniper berries to smouldering coals when smoking fish or meat.

Preparing culinary lavender for cooking

Lavender flowers are collected after they have completely opened because the concentration of essential oils in them is at its peak. That means that the herb will have a stronger smell and a spicier taste. Fresh lavender can also be used to enhance various dishes, particularly baked goods and beverages.

After the collection, lavender flowers need to be dried in a dark, well-ventilated place. If you want to dry lavender yourself and don’t have time to wait, it is also possible to dry it in an oven. Simply place flowers on baking paper, preheat the oven to 200 degrees, and bake for approximately 10 minutes.

Dried lavender should be kept in an airtight jar; like this, it will keep its smell and flavour for at least a year.

Warning about dried lavender

Lavender has a very strong taste and smell, which can be somewhat overpowering, so it is important to use culinary lavender with its more delicate flavor sparingly. It needs to be used sparingly so as not to spoil the taste of a dish. Better way is to start by adding a little bit of lavender and add more later if it is necessary.

When used for baking, you might need to grind flowers to a powder. Like this, the distribution of the herb will be more even. Plus, it makes it easier to control the quantity of lavender you are putting in a dish.

Also, remember that despite being considered one of the most hypoallergenic plants, allergies may still occur, so test it in small quantities before adding it to the dish.

So why not experiment and see what dishes you can create with this beautiful, fragrant flower?!

Happy cooking.

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