COOKING WITH LAVENDER (AND ROSEMARY)
The authentic taste of an English summer has been captured in our unique culinary essences, giving chefs and home-cooks exciting new possibilities for both sweet and savoury use. The recipe books haven’t yet caught up with us, but we can give you lots of new ideas to try!
The essences are made from our pure Kentish oils. Lavender oil itself is not suitable for cooking because it has a bitter quality on the tongue and it is sensed as a fragrance rather than a taste. The essence is an extract of the flavour element of the oil, formulated so it will integrate with other ingredients in a recipe and give reliable, consistent results – making it ideal for commercial and domestic use.
The flavour is experienced as a true taste, not just an aroma, and can be supplemented by sprinklings of flower-heads for decorative effect. We select the buds of a special dark blue, sweet-flavoured variety of Lavandula angustifolia. We produce two distinct types of Essences:
- Hot (for baking and high temperature use in cakes, biscuits, fudge, stewed fruits, jellies, marmalades, chutneys and sauces)
- Cold (for use in ice cream, cheesecakes, cold drinks etc).
The essences have been featured in numerous food magazines and used on TV by Gordon Ramsay and a Masterchef winner. Go to News and Press for published articles and recipes.
here are some RECIPE IDEAS to inspire you -
Main Courses (meat, sauces and vegetable dishes)
Desserts (meat, sauces and vegetable dishes)(ice-cream, cheesecake, trifle and coulis)
Afternoon tea (cakes, biscuits, breads)
Seasonings, dressings and marinades
OTHER SIMPLE SUGGESTIONS -
Lavender essence softens the sharpness of some fruits, reducing the need for sugar. Add a few drops to stewed fruit such as plums, rhubarb or gooseberries and use with berries in summer puddings.
Lavender works brilliantly with citrus flavours, so use ‘Hot‘ essence in delicate lemon sauces for chicken or fish or in powerful orange marmalades.
Combine lavender heads with ground coriander seeds for a spicy taste in chutneys or as a crust for roast beef or lamb – and then serve the meat with lavender jelly.
Try using lavender with tomatoes - it really works!
Marinade chicken pieces in honey and lavender flowers for barbecues.
NB. Chocolate is the one foodstuff that requires an oil rather than essence in its making. For that we generally recommend rosemary oil or lavandin oil rather than lavender. Their sharper character is great with a rich dark chocolate.
lavender foods produced for the hop shop
We have work along with local artisan producers to develop a range of lavender flavoured foods – some are available online but you need to come to the shop for the full range inmcluding jams and chutneys.
LAVENDER TEAS
The calming or reviving properties of lavender and lavandin can still be appreciated when the flower buds are used in food or drinks and so we asked a Master Tea-blender to create a unique range of teas for different times of the day. He devised Morning Booster with lavandin and rosemary, Lavender Grey with a sprinkling of sweet lavender flowers, After Dinner Mint with lavender and lavandin to aid digestion and Sleepy Tea with its soporific hops and lavender.
MORE RECIPES
Click here to view a pdf containing more recipe ideas.