The Best Lavender for Cooking

The lavender you can produce yourself is the best for cooking. If at all feasible, purchase it from a reliable grower. Look for deep purple cultivars if you wish to cook with them. The color will linger longer in your meals and give any dish a lovely floral fragrance. Buena Vista, Folgate, Munstead, and Hidcote Pink are some of the best lavender varieties for cooking.

Lavender

Is it Okay if You Use Some Lavender in Your Cooking?

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Although most lavender kinds can be used in cooking, some varieties, such as Lavandula angustifolia, especially ‘Munstead,’ are more extensively employed (USDA zones 5 through 8). These lavenders have the sweetest scent of all the lavender species, adding taste to food.

Which Lavender Variety is Best for Cooking?

When cooking, only use culinary lavender. There are hundreds of varieties of lavender, but many are specifically grown for their excellent oil properties, not for eating. The best edible lavender varieties include Hidcote, Munstead, and Lady (Lavandula angustifolia).

summer lavender

How to Select Best Lavender for Cooking?

Picking lavender when the flowers are open is the most acceptable way to dry a bouquet for cooking. It’s at this point when they’re at their most fragrant. 6-10 inches below the lavender buds harvest the lavender plants. This will give you enough steam to make a bit lavender bunch to dry upside down.

How do You Use Lavender in Cooking And Baking?

While the flavor of culinary lavender is more delicate than that of ornamental lavender, less is still more. Dried lavender buds are nearly three times as strong as fresh ones, so use caution when freestyling in the kitchen or using a recipe that doesn’t indicate whether to use fresh or dried lavender buds.

Is it Safe to Consume Lavender?

Though most lavender is technically edible, culinary lavender is primarily grown from Lavandula angustifolia plants (also known as English or “genuine” lavender). It has significantly less oil than aromatic lavender used in fragrances or soaps.

What is Culinary Lavender?

Lavender is a generic word for any flowering plant belonging to the genus Lavandula, including 47 species. However, I repeat, not all lavender should be consumed, and not all lavender should be used in cooking. Though most lavender is technically edible, culinary lavender is primarily grown from Lavandula angustifolia plants (also known as English or “genuine” lavender). It has significantly less oil than aromatic lavender used in fragrances or soaps.

What Kind Of Lavender Can You Eat?

english lavender

There are 47 species in the genus Lavandula, and there are numerous varieties of each species; and Lavandula Angustifolia, for example, has more than 100 varieties. Some lavender species have a soapy or camphor-like flavor, and others, like the ones we recommend, have a sweet and floral flavor that adds delicate character and depth to sweet and savory recipes.

Lavender Varieties

There are numerous different varieties of lavender, but the two most common types are English and French.

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English Lavender

This popular cultivar has a sweet scent and is excellent for cooking. In some recipes, even the grey-green stems can be substituted for rosemary.

French lavender

a strong pine flavor, which makes it unsuitable for cooking. Spanish lavender, frequently confused with French lavender, has a strong flavor and is not suitable for cooking. Maybe this is why lavender was never a common ingredient in classic French cuisine.

Tips for Cooking With Lavender

lavendar cooking

  • Lavender can quickly make your dish taste perfumey, and a little goes a long way (kind of like vanilla).
  • Start with a little, taste, and add more as needed.
  • You can either ground the buds (which is ideal for blending with sugar) or soak and strain them from a liquid (like in simple syrup or honey).
  • One part fresh lavender buds = 1/3 part dried buds.
  • Lavender is often mixed into Herbes de Provence, a blend of solid herbs like rosemary, thyme, oregano, and lavender). Dip your toe in the culinary lavender world by trying out this blend first!

Lavender Flavor Combos

Lavender pairs well with light and bright flavors such as lemon, berries, honey, and mint. It’s delicious in baked products, ice creams, and savory foods (like a dry rub). Make a Lavender Lemonade Slush or a Lavender Vinaigrette Salad with it.

How to Store Lavender?

Flowers bucket

Pick fresh lavender as close to lunchtime as possible if you’re cooking with it (or cut and place in a jar of water until ready to use).

Cut lavender off the bush right before the buds open to dry it (when they open, the fragrance is lost, and the flowers become more fragile). Hang a bundle upside down in an excellent, dark spot for about two weeks after securing it with a rubber band. You have the option of leaving the buds hanging or removing them and freezing them in an airtight container.

You Have to Know the Below Points When Choosing the Best  Lavender for Cooking

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Lavender for cooking can be used in a variety of dishes. Its fragrant, enticing perfume is a perfect complement to any cuisine. Some individuals are cautious of this plant because it has a harsh and floral flavor. Food-grade cultivars, on the other hand, have no aftertaste. It’s critical to use the highest-quality lavender when cooking. Lavender can be used in a variety of ways in the kitchen.

Cooking with English Lavender is also a terrific option. This cultivar has the most decadent smell and is small. It’s also hardy, so it’ll grow in any environment. It has slender, dark-green leaves with a rich, flowery flavor and does not grow very tall. It can also withstand cold winters while still producing the most fragrant blossoms. If you want to utilize lavender in your kitchen, try to find a kind that grows naturally in your area.

Some Additional Factors

  • If you can’t find the best lavender for cooking, you can buy a bottle or even dried lavender buds from a specialty store. Dried flowers are more delicate than fresh flowers, and once they open, they lose their scent, so pick them close to your dinner time. If you’re unsure which type of lavender to use, you can get it from a specialty store or order it online. They can be stored in an airtight container in your freezer or refrigerator once they’ve dried.
  • It’s simple to include lavender into your cooking. It’s a popular dessert ingredient, and it’s a tasty addition. Its fragrant flavor transforms a dish into a perfume-y treat in no time. It’s even good with sugar, and finding the correct kind of lavender for cooking isn’t difficult. If you have a garden, the English variety is the best. Aside from that, it’s easy to incorporate into dishes.
  • Remember to use the proper kind of lavender while cooking for the season. The culinary kind of lavender is ideal for cooking. Although there are hundreds of lavender kinds, only a few are suitable for cooking. You can use either dried or fresh herbs, and French are among the best, although English types are the most popular. They’re frequently used in baking and as a sugar flavor. It’s a versatile herb that’s an essential part of Provence cuisine.
  • A plant that has not been sprayed with chemicals and produced organically is the best lavender for cooking. Lavender is available as a dried flower and growing for cooking, and it’s available in specialist stores and on the internet. While culinary lavender is pricey, it is a favorite component in recipes and instantly converts a dish from bland to fragrant. It’s simple to include into a recipe, and the components you use will improve the flavor.

Some Lavender Items Which you Can Eat

Lavender Honey

This lavender honey is harvested from our farm’s hives. The bees have become an essential part of the B&B family, and we now look after them and extract the 100% raw, natural honey ourselves. Although the bees gathered from our lavender fields, they also collected from other flowers in the region, so the lavender flavor is mild yet discernible. It’s some of the most delicious honey we’ve ever tasted. We are honored to be assisting these small but mighty creatures in their efforts to better the planet.

honey

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Lavender Lemon Tea

A friend and small business in Sequim handcrafted this Lavender Lemon Tea. Shaelee cultivates, collects, and blends the organic ingredients for this delectable tea. It’s a basic but effective combination of local plants. Lavender Lemon Tea is delicious hot or cold, and we recommend adding a dash of B&B honey for an extra unique touch.

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Lavender Jam and Jelly

These lavender jams and jellies are delectable, a tremendous gastronomic joy! Isla’s Foods makes them with Angustifolia lavender buds harvested right here at B&B Family Farm. Debbie has worked with us over the years to develop delicious fruit combinations. She uses as many local ingredients as possible, including all fresh fruit, and has years of baking, cooking, and canning experience.

 

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Conclusion

The wholly developed lavender in full bloom is the best for cooking. When purchasing lavender for cooking, look for the ones with the most color. You should avoid buying wilted flowers since they will be weaker. You should also choose the best cooking varieties. Some lavender varieties are better suited for cooking than others, depending on your preferences. If you’re unsure, read the labels carefully and seek advice from a trained specialist.

Lavender can be used in both sweet and savory meals. The culinary kind of lavender is ideal for cooking. It’s worth noting that there are hundreds of different varieties of lavender on the market, and you can use any of them in your cooking. Because it contains the most oil, the English type is the best. Herbes de Provence is an excellent option for culinary lavender, and it’s also suitable for children.