Processing lavender: As butter, dessert or cake
Created: 07/26/2022, 17:30
By: Ines Alms
Lavender flowers, leaves and shoots can be used in the kitchen in both sweet and savory recipes.
There are a few things to keep in mind when using it.
Known as a bee pasture, medicinal herb and fragrant plant, lavender is aptly part of the Herbs de Provence spice blend.
But how exactly lavender can be used in the kitchen is often unclear: is every type of lavender edible?
Do you use fresh flowers or dried ones?
And then there is the question of which parts are still to be used.
Once this is figured out, lavender adds a very interesting floral note to many sweet and savory dishes and even drinks.
Processing lavender: As butter, dessert or cake
Whether savory in vegetables or sweet in desserts – lavender can be used in a variety of recipes.
(Iconic image) © Panthermedia/Imago
The lavender blossom is still in full swing in the garden or on the balcony or is coming to an end.
It is high time to harvest the fine spice, dry it properly and use it in recipes.
In fact, not all lavender is suitable for use in the kitchen.
At best, incorrectly used lavender tastes soapy, but when things go wrong, it causes unpleasant side effects such as irritation of the stomach and intestines.
Spiky lavender or French lavender taken as an oil can even lead to cramps and damage the liver.
If you want to be on the safe side, use real lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) in the kitchen.
The following plant parts of the herbs can be used for this: young shoots, leaves and flowers.
Whether you use the flowers fresh or dried depends on the end product and is often not decisive.
However, dried lavender has a stronger taste.
The flowers are milder and sweeter, the green rather bitter-tart like rosemary.
How to use lavender in the kitchen:
Sweet or savory butter: fresh lavender flowers
Desserts such as panna cotta, crème brulée or ice cream: fresh or dried flowers
Cookies: fresh chopped leaves and flowers
Cake or tart: fresh or dried flowers in the batter, fresh flowers as a topping
Sugar or salt: dried flowers
Lemonade: fresh or dried flowers
Lamb, poultry or fish: Young shoots and leaves
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Anyone who has not yet processed lavender should use it sparingly first and then gradually approach the right amount, as the plant could otherwise taste too dominant, soapy or bitter in some dishes.
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