Lavender (Flowers)

- Livré en sachet refermable - 

- Origine Albanie/France/Allemagne -

Plante cultivée - Séchage à l'air libre - Sans OGM - Sans ionisation - Sans nanomatériaux - BIO

 Uses in Cooking and Beyond:

Lavender has a powerful, floral flavor with a slight bitterness that strongly resembles its aroma.

In cooking, if you’re not accustomed to using lavender, it's best to place the flowers in a small muslin bag or tea ball to easily remove them when the desired flavor is achieved. This prevents the taste from becoming overwhelming. For recipes where this isn’t possible (such as bread), infuse a small amount of lavender in a liquid used in the recipe (warm water, milk, syrup, etc.), adding it gradually and tasting frequently to control the flavor.

Lavender can also be used in small amounts to flavor liqueurs, as in a vermouth blend, or other spirits.

Lavender pairs wonderfully with jams, sauces for meat, and even mustard. It complements orange, Grand Marnier, honey, and goat cheese, on which a few flowers make an excellent garnish.

Dried lavender flowers retain their fragrance for a long time, making them popular for scenting closets. Note, however, that “lavender” in sachets often refers to lavandin, a less costly lavender hybrid with different cultivation requirements, though less suited for culinary use.

Who am I?
Origin: Albania/France/Germany

Scientific name: Lavandula angustifolia

Common names: True lavender, Alpine lavender, fine lavender

In perfumery, lavender scents everything from soap to detergents. It’s also used in creating classic colognes, primarily for men.

Lavender has calming, healing, and lice-repelling properties. Placed in a sachet under a pillow, it can help induce restful sleep.

Lavender is a member of the Lamiaceae family and the Lavandula genus, with mauve or violet flowers on spikes that can grow up to 0.5 meters tall. Its aromatic, fine foliage is evergreen, and its highly fragrant flowers are popular in perfumery and gastronomy. Lavender is also highly melliferous, producing a mild honey loved by bees, which is excellent for health. Flowers appear in July and August as small spikes on long, unbranched stalks, and they are harvested during this period.

"True" lavender is often mistaken for lavandin, a hybrid discovered and cultivated from the 1930s. Lavandin is more widely grown due to its higher essential oil yield and easier cultivation. However, its flavor is less pleasant in dishes. Lavandin differs by its flower stalk, which divides into three branches, each bearing a small spike, unlike true lavender with a single spike per stalk. True lavender grows at 500 to 1700 meters on sunny mountain slopes, while lavandin prefers plains. Higher altitudes produce better-quality lavender, with more intense color—a bluer lavender indicates higher quality.

Lavender thrives in dry, sunny, calcareous soil and is sometimes found wild, especially in Haute Provence. It is resilient to diseases and pests.

History:
The name "lavender" derives from the verb “to wash,” possibly from Italian "lavando" (washing) or the Latin "lavandaria" (laundry).

Native to the Mediterranean basin, lavender cultivation spread to Eastern Europe and even Canada, where hardy varieties can withstand severe frost.

Lavender was used by the Romans to scent their linens and baths. In Provence, it became popular in the Middle Ages for perfumes and medicines. Fumigations and poultices were made from lavender to combat the plague, as believed. Its cultivation expanded significantly in the 19th century, especially with the growth of the perfume industry in Grasse. In the 1950s, lavandin largely replaced true lavender in systematic cultivation.