It is not well known in the United States that lavender can be used for cooking. Places in the Mediterranean region of Europe have been cooking with lavender for years. Documents show that lavender has been in use as an herb for over 2,500 years. More and more chefs in the United States are starting to use culinary lavender in their cooking. English Lavender and Munstead varieties are the commonly used in cooking. The uses of lavender are limited only by your imagination. Lavender has a sweet, floral flavor, with lemon and citrus notes.
Make sure that the lavender buds you buy to cook with are marked as culinary lavender, especially if purchasing from a “craft” store.
Culinary lavender is a versatile herb that can be used in either sweet or savory dishes.
Sometimes it is used in place of rosemary, thyme, sage, or mint. It pairs well with fennel, oregano, rosemary, thyme, sage, and savory.
Culinary lavender has a floral, sweet taste; but if used in excess, it can have a bitter taste and be like eating perfume. The old saying: “that a little goes a long way” holds true when cooking with lavender. We suggest use a little to start with, sample your recipe, and add more as needed. Be sure to check if the recipe calls for crushing the buds first, they will be more powerful if crushed. Typically, the buds are used, but some chef’s have tried using the leaves as well. If using dried lavender buds in lieu of fresh, reduce by approximately 1/3 the quantity, as the potency increases with drying.
A well known herb blend, Herbes de Provence (salt-free, country-style blend), sometimes includes lavender buds. The basic traditional Herbes de Provence recipe uses rosemary, savory, marjoram, and thyme. But over the years, ingredients like lavender buds, tarragon, chervil, oregano, basil, and fennel seed have been added to some versions. The Herbes de Provence we sold contained: Rosemary, Thyme, Basil, Savory, Fennel, Lavender and Marjoram. It is great on grilled meats, fish, lamb, tomatoes and in any type of stews, soups, or vegetable dishes (especially eggplant or zucchini).
Here is a list of culinary uses of lavender:
Lavender infused honey – warm a pot of honey in a double-boiler and steep a bag of lavender buds in it for a couple hours.
Lavender teas – add lavender buds to your favorite loose tea, steep in hot water for a few minutes, and then enjoy.
Candied lavender buds – can be used to decorate cakes or other desserts. Lavender pairs well with chocolate.
Lavender sugar – add 2 tablespoons of lavender buds to 2 cups of sugar, put in air-tight container, sit aside for a couple weeks, strain out the buds, and use the sugar in your dessert baking.
Mix lavender buds into sheep’s-milk and goat’s-milk cheeses and enjoy on crackers.
Lavender scones – add 2 teaspoons of crushed lavender buds to your favorite scone recipe.
Use lavender buds in place of rosemary in hearty stews, lamb, or wine based sauces.
Use the lavender stems for our meat, vegetable, fruit kabobs.
Below are a couple of my favorite recipes using lavender:
Herbes de Provence Chicken:
Ingredients:
6 chicken breasts
3 tbsp. butter
1/2 oz. Herbs de Provence
3/4 cup dry Vermouth
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
In skillet lightly brown chicken breasts in butter and Herbs de Provence. Place chicken in baking dish with butter/herb mixture (scraped from skillet). Pour Vermouth over chicken and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, basting occasionally. Mushrooms may be added and baked with chicken. Serve on rice laced with vegetables.
Lavender Shortbread Cookies:
Yield: 2 dozen shortbread wedges or approximately 150 1” squares
Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons dried culinary lavender, crushed
Directions:
Take culinary lavender buds out of the container to air dry.
Preheat oven to 300oF.
Lightly grease two 9-inch round cake pans or one jelly roll pan (13” x 15”).
Crush lavender buds in a mortar and pestle or food processor.
In a medium-sized bowl, cream together the butter, salt, sugar, and vanilla. Stir in lavender buds and then beat in the flour. The dough will be stiff.
Divide the dough in half and press into prepared pans. Smooth the surface with your fingers or the bottom of a measuring cup.
Prick the dough with a fork.
Bake the shortbread for 35 to 40 minutes or until it is golden brown around the edges. Note: a dark colored pan will reduce the cooking time by approximately 10 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the shortbread.
Remove the pan(s) from the oven and loosen the edges with a knife.
Wait 5 minutes and then carefully turn the shortbread out, all in one piece, onto a clean counter or work surface.
Using a sharp knife, while bread is still warm, cut each round into 12 wedges (or 1” squares if using a jelly roll pan).
Note: if you wait until it is cool it will not be easy to cut.
Transfer the wedges or squares onto a rack or tray to cool.
