It seems that the scent of lavender is everywhere. It is in soaps, oils, perfumes and cleaning products. They say the aroma of lavender lifts the spirits and chases away melancholy.
But did you know that you can cook with lavender?
Lavender is an incredibly versatile herb for cooking. In today's upscale restaurants; fresh edible flowers are making a comeback as enhancements to both the flavor and appearance of food.
As a member of the same family as many of our most popular herbs, it is not surprising that lavender is edible and that its use in food preparation is also returning. Flowers and leaves can be used fresh, and both buds and stems can be used dried. Lavender is a member of the mint family and is close to rosemary, sage, and thyme. It is best used with fennel, oregano, rosemary, thyme, sage and savory.
English lavender has the sweetest fragrance of all the lavenders and is the one most commonly used in cooking. The uses of lavender are limited only by your imagination. Lavender has a sweet, floral flavor, with lemon and citrus overtones. The potency of the lavender flowers increases with drying. In cooking, use 1/3 the quantity of dried flowers to fresh. The key to cooking with lavender is to experiment; start out with a small amount of flowers, and add more as you go.: Adding too much lavender to your recipe can be like eating perfume and will make your dish bitter. Because of the strong flavor of lavender, the secret is that a little goes a long way.
The lavender flowers add a beautiful color to salads. Lavender can also be substituted for rosemary in many bread recipes. The flowers can be put in sugar and sealed tightly for a couple of weeks then the sugar can be substituted for ordinary sugar for a cake, buns or custards. Grind the lavender in an herb or coffee grinder or mash it with mortar and pestle.
The spikes and leaves of lavender can be used in most dishes in place of rosemary in most recipes. Use the spikes or stems for making fruit or shrimp kabobs. Just place your favorite fruit on the stems and grill.
Lavender is most often associated with sweets but adventurous cooks are adding it to savory dishes as a substitute for thyme or marjoram and crushing it with garlic to add to a dish in the last few minutes of cooking.
Because lavender is a popular crafter's item, it is important to make sure that flowers you purchase for cooking have been grown for that purpose. It may be labeled as “culinary lavender” or “food grade.”
You can always grow your own! Lavender is a lovely addition to your landscape. Plant it in a place where it will be brushed against frequently or is easy to reach out and touch. Lavender has long been used for fragrance and beauty in formal gardens. The grayish-green foliage stays attractive year around. I have included three recipes. One for savory grilled pork chops and two using Lavender in a dessert - a parfait and a cookie. Enjoy.
This column has been a collaborative effort between Auburn natives chef
Max Hitchcock and his mother, Susan Silverman. They can be reached at Birdscapes@adelphia.net
Fresh Fruit and Lavender Parfaits
Makes 4 servings
1 cup whipping cream, chilled
3 tablespoons lavender sugar (see below)
1 cup crumbled crisp coconut macaroon cookies or Amaretti
2 cups blueberries or chunks of peaches or nectarines or a combination
1 teaspoon dried lavender buds, for garnish
About an hour before preparing the dessert, chill a glass bowl
(3 or 4 cup capacity) and the beaters of an electric mixer in the freezer.
Pour the cold whipping cream into the chilled bowl and stir in the
lavender sugar. Whip at high speed until the cream has doubled in
volume and will hold a soft peak. This will take a few minutes.
In four parfait or wine glasses, alternate layers of the cookies, the fruit and the whipped cream twice. Sprinkle each dessert with 1/4 teaspoon
of the lavender buds. Serve immediately.
Grilled Pork Chops with Lavender Flowers
Makes 4 servings
4 pork loin or rib chops, about 3/4-inch thick
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried culinary lavender
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper, lavender, thyme, rosemary and olive oil; rub mixture
onto the pork chops. Cover the chops with
plastic wrap and let sit 1 to 2 hours at room temperature.
Preheat barbecue grill. Place pork chops onto
hot grill. Cover barbecue with lid, open any vents, and grill 4 to 5 minutes; turn and grill
an additional 3 to 4 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 155 degrees on a meat
thermometer. Remove from barbecue and serve.
Lavender Sable
1 1/2 cups and 1 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon dried lavender
7 ounces (14 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
3/4 cup confectioner sugar
Pinch of salt
1 egg yolk
Zest from one lemon
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter on medium speed until smooth, add the confectioners' sugar and beat until well blended. Beat in the egg yolk, followed by salt, dried lavender and lemon zest.
On low speed, add the flour and cornstarch and mix just until flour is incorporated.
Turn dough out onto a counter, gather dough into a ball, divide in half and wrap each piece in plastic wrap. Chill dough for 30 minutes in refrigerator.
Form each piece of dough into a log that is about 1 to 1 1/4 inches in diameter. Wrap logs in plastic wrap and chill dough for 2 hours in refrigerator.
(Dough logs can be wrapped airtight and kept refrigerated for up to 3 days or stored in freezer for up to 1 month.)
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Once the oven is ready, slice the log into 1/4-inch thick and place on a lined baking sheet with 1/2 inch interval.
Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the sables are set but not brown. Transfer and cool the sables on the rack.
Lavender is an incredibly versatile herb for cooking. In today's upscale restaurants; fresh edible flowers are making a comeback as enhancements to both the flavor and appearance of food.
As a member of the same family as many of our most popular herbs, it is not surprising that lavender is edible and that its use in food preparation is also returning. Flowers and leaves can be used fresh, and both buds and stems can be used dried. Lavender is a member of the mint family and is close to rosemary, sage, and thyme. It is best used with fennel, oregano, rosemary, thyme, sage and savory.
English lavender has the sweetest fragrance of all the lavenders and is the one most commonly used in cooking. The uses of lavender are limited only by your imagination. Lavender has a sweet, floral flavor, with lemon and citrus overtones. The potency of the lavender flowers increases with drying. In cooking, use 1/3 the quantity of dried flowers to fresh. The key to cooking with lavender is to experiment; start out with a small amount of flowers, and add more as you go.: Adding too much lavender to your recipe can be like eating perfume and will make your dish bitter. Because of the strong flavor of lavender, the secret is that a little goes a long way.
The lavender flowers add a beautiful color to salads. Lavender can also be substituted for rosemary in many bread recipes. The flowers can be put in sugar and sealed tightly for a couple of weeks then the sugar can be substituted for ordinary sugar for a cake, buns or custards. Grind the lavender in an herb or coffee grinder or mash it with mortar and pestle.
The spikes and leaves of lavender can be used in most dishes in place of rosemary in most recipes. Use the spikes or stems for making fruit or shrimp kabobs. Just place your favorite fruit on the stems and grill.
Lavender is most often associated with sweets but adventurous cooks are adding it to savory dishes as a substitute for thyme or marjoram and crushing it with garlic to add to a dish in the last few minutes of cooking.
Because lavender is a popular crafter's item, it is important to make sure that flowers you purchase for cooking have been grown for that purpose. It may be labeled as “culinary lavender” or “food grade.”
You can always grow your own! Lavender is a lovely addition to your landscape. Plant it in a place where it will be brushed against frequently or is easy to reach out and touch. Lavender has long been used for fragrance and beauty in formal gardens. The grayish-green foliage stays attractive year around. I have included three recipes. One for savory grilled pork chops and two using Lavender in a dessert - a parfait and a cookie. Enjoy.
This column has been a collaborative effort between Auburn natives chef
Max Hitchcock and his mother, Susan Silverman. They can be reached at Birdscapes@adelphia.net
Fresh Fruit and Lavender Parfaits
Makes 4 servings
1 cup whipping cream, chilled
3 tablespoons lavender sugar (see below)
1 cup crumbled crisp coconut macaroon cookies or Amaretti
2 cups blueberries or chunks of peaches or nectarines or a combination
1 teaspoon dried lavender buds, for garnish
About an hour before preparing the dessert, chill a glass bowl
(3 or 4 cup capacity) and the beaters of an electric mixer in the freezer.
Pour the cold whipping cream into the chilled bowl and stir in the
lavender sugar. Whip at high speed until the cream has doubled in
volume and will hold a soft peak. This will take a few minutes.
In four parfait or wine glasses, alternate layers of the cookies, the fruit and the whipped cream twice. Sprinkle each dessert with 1/4 teaspoon
of the lavender buds. Serve immediately.
Grilled Pork Chops with Lavender Flowers
Makes 4 servings
4 pork loin or rib chops, about 3/4-inch thick
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried culinary lavender
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper, lavender, thyme, rosemary and olive oil; rub mixture
onto the pork chops. Cover the chops with
plastic wrap and let sit 1 to 2 hours at room temperature.
Preheat barbecue grill. Place pork chops onto
hot grill. Cover barbecue with lid, open any vents, and grill 4 to 5 minutes; turn and grill
an additional 3 to 4 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 155 degrees on a meat
thermometer. Remove from barbecue and serve.
Lavender Sable
1 1/2 cups and 1 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon dried lavender
7 ounces (14 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
3/4 cup confectioner sugar
Pinch of salt
1 egg yolk
Zest from one lemon
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter on medium speed until smooth, add the confectioners' sugar and beat until well blended. Beat in the egg yolk, followed by salt, dried lavender and lemon zest.
On low speed, add the flour and cornstarch and mix just until flour is incorporated.
Turn dough out onto a counter, gather dough into a ball, divide in half and wrap each piece in plastic wrap. Chill dough for 30 minutes in refrigerator.
Form each piece of dough into a log that is about 1 to 1 1/4 inches in diameter. Wrap logs in plastic wrap and chill dough for 2 hours in refrigerator.
(Dough logs can be wrapped airtight and kept refrigerated for up to 3 days or stored in freezer for up to 1 month.)
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Once the oven is ready, slice the log into 1/4-inch thick and place on a lined baking sheet with 1/2 inch interval.
Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the sables are set but not brown. Transfer and cool the sables on the rack.
