The Love of Lavender
The highly aromatic and calming scent of lavender – the “herb of love” – usually conjures up the sunny Mediterranean or heady Provence. It may also evoke memories of aromatherapy, our grandmother’s linen cupboard, potpourri, and various cleaning products. These beloved plants, iconic pale violet flowers, and silvery leaves have been valued for centuries.
The leaves and flowers are used therapeutically – for insomnia, anxiety, depression, nausea, and fatigue. The plant is also favored as a perfume, a fragrance for clothes and hair, during religious ceremonies, and as part of ancient mummification. It is known to repel moths and other insects and was even thought to help ward off the Black Death plague.
Today, lavender essential oils are a familiar and popular ingredient in personal care products, including soaps, skincare, haircare, massage and muscle rubs, as a sleep aid, and insect repellant. Ornamental lavender is also beautiful, and the flower makes a striking garnish. Also—did you know that lavender is a well-loved culinary ingredient?
When dried, lavender is cholesterol and fat-free and very low in calories. It also offers calcium, vitamin A, and iron. However, the herb’s flavor and colors – from lavender pink to lavender grey – make it a culinary star. At the very least, it’s in a supporting role.
Lavender in Food
The versatile herb can be used fresh and dried in sweet and savory dishes. As a close relative to mint, you can use lavender wherever you use mint, and the delicate floral flavor, fragrance, and color add interest and depth to profiles. Lavender combines well with lamb, teas, infused preserves, syrups, and seasonings. It’s also ideal in salads of summer vegetables and fruits, especially citrus, and perfect in cocktails and treats such as pastries, crème brulee, vanilla ice cream, and even chocolate.
All lavender is safe to eat. However, true or English lavender, from Lavandula angustifolia plants, has less oil than other more aromatic lavenders used as a fragrance. It also dries to a deep, rich purple, lending an appetizing hue to dishes. With over 45 species and 450 hybrids, there’s a lavender variant to pair with whatever you’re preparing, cooking, or baking.
What does lavender taste like? The herb is too unique to compare to any other – it’s pleasantly floral yet slightly bitter. It tastes like lavender, supplying an unmistakable undertone to flavor and aroma profiles. Like many herbs and spices, a little goes a long way. Add too much, and your dish may taste like soap!
Embracing Lavender in Your Recipes
Manufacturers and consumers have fallen in love with lavender in 2024, with products embracing the herb’s unique qualities to appeal to and delight consumers. However, formulating with lavender requires care, thought, and restraint.
Culinary experts advise that lavender works best when combined with other flavors. Different varieties call for various strengths and profiles. This complexity is simplified by relying on pure and concentrated extracts, such as Advance Biotech, to create, enhance or layer your product’s taste and aroma.
How to Taste Perfectly Purple With Advanced Biotech
Advanced Biotech offers an extensive collection of pure, 100% natural, and EU-certified flavor and aroma ingredients. Our plant-based and often organic extracts are responsibly sourced and derived using cutting-edge, eco-conscious technology and techniques. Please browse our range of Lavender and other essences, oleoresins, distillates, pyrazines, thiazoles, and other extracts, and place your order today.