How do you use lavender in your kitchen?

Saliha

Well-known member
Lavender? Ok, you can make lavender lemonade or lavender sugar but what else? For example...

At the first few basic tips:

Firstly, there are a few things you need to know before you start cooking with lavender.

One. It is a STRONG flavour. like, obnoxiously strong. So you only ever need a little bit.

Two. When you bake with lavender, you need to purchase dried lavender buds found in the spice section of health food shops or specialty kitchen stores. Just make sure that the lavender you buy is marked as edible, you don't want to be eating the kind made for potpourri.

There is much more to learn about this little beauty, but that's plenty of info to get you started.


Little Honey & Lavender Cakes

IMG_2003.JPG


2/3 cup caster sugar
1/2 tsp dried lavender
185g butter
3 tbs of honey
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup sour cream
1-2 cups icing sugar


1. Preheat the oven to 160C.

2. Beat the butter, sugar, lavender and honey until pale and creamy. While beating, add the eggs and vanilla extract.

3. Sift together the baking powder and the flour and fold into the wet ingredients.

4. Spoon the batter into prepared cupcake tin. I like to use a mini cup cake tin so they are about 2 or 3 bites per cake.

5. Bake for 15-20 minutes until they are quite browned. If they aren't quite cooked they will sink in the middle. If that happens, it's okay!


For the Icing:
In a small bowl, mix together the sour cream and 1/2 cup of icing sugar. Gradually add more icing sugar until it reaches the consistency that you want. I like to go for a thick glaze, so that it is thick enough to be opaque but thin enough that it doesn't hold its shape.

Garnish with lavender buds or sugar beads.

http://www.petalandpie.com/2012/07/little-honey-lavender-cakes.html#more
 

Adillo303

*****
Gold Site Supporter
Oddly enough, I have a 5# can of lavender essential oil on my kitchen counter.

My wife is a soap maker. We use a lot of lavender. We also have bags of the buds. It is all good grade.
 

Saliha

Well-known member
For me getting lavender essential oil from local markets... forget.

Getting fresh or dried lavender buds... forget.

Only way is grow them by myself. In climate of my country it is almost "forget".

:oops:

Just need to try every year and wish a warm summer.

:bonk:
 

Adillo303

*****
Gold Site Supporter
Salina - Dw (Dearest Wife) visited a lavender farm, which she said was beautiful. She brought home a few plants and we get two small cuttings a year.

The lavender EO is good grade. Each can comes with a fresh analysis. The plants we have look beautiful around the falls of our fish pond and they smell great too.

Could you possibly make a mini greenhouse of sorts to stretch your growing season?
 

Mountain man

Entree Cook
Gold Site Supporter
I don't think we cook with ours. She uses it for scents for candles and oils and we keep a big clump of it in the guest bathroom. We grow it year round in the big greenhouse but it really takes off when planted out in the garden.
 
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