#culinary lavender

[hoardingrecipes]

Lavender Espresso Pancakes

[hoardingrecipes]

Lavender Blueberry Cake with Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting

[lisamaliga]

8 Reasons to Love Lavender

By Lisa Maliga

Copyright 2025

Lavender plants love being in the sun and their roots need plenty of aeration. They grow in the city as well as in the country. Lavender is thought to have originated in India, but it thrives in the Mediterranean, France, Spain, Bulgaria, and Croatia. Successful crops of lavender come from many parts of the United States, Australia, Tasmania and South Africa.

The most common species of lavender is Lavandula angustifolia, which is referred to as English Lavender, or true lavender. Lavandula is the genus name which in Latin is lavandus and that means to be washed. [Similarly, the Spanish word for laundry is lavandaria]. Angustifolia means narrow leaved.

This versatile flower has many species that adapt to particular environments with low or high humidity, warmer temperatures, etc. While most people think of lavender as a purple flower, did you know it also comes with white, pink, and even yellow petals?

This popular plant has many uses. It is available as an essential oil, freshly picked, dried, as a tea, boiled into an infusion or in tincture forms. For culinary use, lavender can be found in jam, honey, dessert toppings, and baked into meat dishes.

Here are eight ways to benefit from lovely lavender.

[1] Stress relief. Have a headache? Too much work to do and not enough time to do it? Simply apply one drop of lavender essential oil to each temple and gently massage it in. If you have sensitive skin mix the lavender into a small amount of olive oil before applying.

[2] Helps heal minor burns and cuts. You can apply lavender essential oil directly to the injured area or mix it into a small amount of olive oil and apply.

[3] Potpourri. You can make Lavender Potpourri with this easy recipe:

Mix 1 cup dried lavender flowers with 1 Tablespoon orris root in a bowl. Add 2-3 drops lavender essential oil. Mix well and put in a nice bowl so that you can smell the wonderful aroma whenever you walk into the room.

[4] Bathing. Add a few drops of lavender essential oil to your warm to hot bath water and relax.

[5] Sachet. In a small muslin bag, add a few tablespoon’s worth of dried lavender flowers. This can be added to your dresser drawers, or hung on a doorknob, or hung in your closet. It also is a fine substitute for mothballs!

[6] Shiny Hair. Add 1-2 drops of lavender essential oil to your hairbrush and brush the aroma of lavender into your hair.

[7] Room Freshener/Pillow Spray. Fill a spray mister bottle with distilled water and add 10 drops of lavender essential oil. This can be used in any room of the house. You can also spray it on your pillow so you can have a good night’s sleep.

[8] Launder with Lavender. You can add lavender essential oil to your detergent, rinse cycle, and wool dryer balls.

Lavender helps you and your environment smell cleaner, fresher, and more floral.

Throughout history, this marvelous flower has shown us its usefulness in being more than just a decorative flower but one that can help soothe and relax us.

Make lavender soap! Check out The Joy of Melt and Pour Soap Crafting for some recipes!

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[piratebay]

had mostly a productive day AND i made my fav flavor of milk tea w boba bc the ingredience came in :')

[clairehoneybee]

Ultimate Guide to Growing and Using Lavender

Ultimate Guide to Growing and Using Lavender

Medicinal, Culinary, Cosmetic, and Aromatic Ah….The fragrance of lavender! Evoking many memories, like wandering through blooming fields of lavender on a hot summer day buzzing with bees. This is one herb that if I were on a desert island, I would want to grow! My dog enjoys me picking my lavender! Growing lavender in my garden every year is essential and I find many uses for the fresh and dried…

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[wolfwind20]

Cinders and I made a gluten free version of the lavender honey cupcakes with a cup for cup flour substitute. Icing was improvised with lots of icing sugar, creamed rose lavender lemon honey, lavender, touch of rose essential oil, and cream cheese :)

[moonandspoonandyum-blog]

16 Gluten-Free & Vegan Lavender Recipes + Uses, Tips & Benefits

16 Vegan and Gluten-Free Lavender Recipes, plus all about culinary lavender — where to buy it, how to cook with it, health benefits, what to pair lavender with and MORE! Find everything from lavender cookies to lavender lemonade in this fun and healthy culinary lavender recipe round-up!

[gettinggreens-blog]

A Lavender Farm

As with farmers’ markets, I cannot pass by a lavender field without coming to a screeching halt. On a recent Saturday afternoon, I was running an errand in Woodinville Wine Country, north of Seattle, when I drove by the Woodinville Lavender Farm. Turns out, I had happened by at a good time. The farm’s owner was about to conduct a class on growing, harvesting, and cooking with lavender. I pulled up a chair. I’ve been growing and eating lavender for years, but this guy -- a rocket scientist turned lavender farmer (it’s true!) --  taught me a few new things about this versatile and amazing herb. Namely:

1. French and English Lavenders (Lavandula angustifolia) are sweeter and low in camphor, making them best for culinary use. 

2. Spanish lavender (Lavandula stoechas), while beautiful, is bitter and therefore not good for culinary use. 

3. You can grow lavender from cuttings. Just strip the bottom leaves from a small lavender branch leaving about 2 inches of stem and poke it into soil -- with growth hormone or not -- and you will get a new lavender plant in about a month.

4. Lavender has antiseptic properties and can be applied directly to the skin to soothe burns, bug bites, and more. It can aid in healing. 

5. Lavender mixed with dark chocolate is sinful and addictive. Ditto for lavender tea biscuits. (We tried both at the end of lavender class.) 

I bought several lavender plants (French and English ones) and a bag of culinary lavender to make lavender syrup, which transforms ordinary iced tea, lemonade, even a cafe latte into something legendary. Lavender syrup is also good in margaritas, cosmopolitans, and other mixed drinks. Plus it’s a snap to make.

Lavender Simple Syrup

1 cup filtered water 1 cup sugar 2 tablespoons whole culinary lavender buds 1 strip lemon zest

Boil the water in a  small saucepan and add sugar. Stir continuously until the sugar is dissolved. Add the lavender buds and lemon zest and allow the mixture to steep, uncovered, for about 30 minutes. Strain the mixture through a fine-screened colander or cheesecloth. Lavender syrup will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. 

Note: If you don’t happen to pass by a lavender farm or you don’t grow your own lavender, you can buy lavender buds in the bulk section of Whole Foods or other well-stocked grocery stores. 

This recipe is from my favorite book about lavender. If you have to buy one book on the subject, make it this one: The Lavender Lover’s Handbook by Sarah Berringer Bader. As its subtitle -- The 100 Most Beautiful and Fragrant Varieties for Growing, Crafting, and Cooking -- says, you’ll learn new things about choosing and caring for lavender and enjoying it in your home and kitchen.  

Here’s another look at Woodinville Lavender’s fields, the best manicured I have ever seen (maybe even beating those in Provence, France). 

Here they are on May 23, the day I attended the lavender class. 

Here they are a month later with the showy lavender in bloom. Imagine reaching into the garden and gently rubbing the lavender. The smell, yes!, it’ll transport you.