uses for Lavender and infusing vodkas

B

Bill Averett

Bill Averett
At this point in the year, about the only things in my herb garden still alive are the lavender and rosemary. I have yet to even use a sprig of the lavender. Any ideas?

I've been thinking about infusing some vodka with it. Has anyone ever experimented with making their own flavored vodkas? I would imagine it is as simple as putting some herbs in a cheaper bottle of vodka for a few days and then taking them out.

I'm open to suggestions.
 
My college roommates swore by Skittles-infused vodka. If you're going to do it, though, I'd suggest startiing with the red ones first, and only once you've mastered that moving on to trying to combine flavors. When working with the more difficult combinations the stuff can easily turn brown, which isn't entirely visually appealing.
 
Probably the best food use for Lavender is in crme brule. I've had it in various good restaurants and while PLAIN OLD crme brule is very good, the lavender probably is an enhancement.

Otherwise, you might want to take up making sachets?!?

Lavender has a long and happy history in perfumery. If you want to smell like an ageing rou (which is not an entirely bad thing from my personal p.o.v.) buy a bottle of "Pour un Homme" by Caron. It is lavender water, more or less.

Frank
 
Lavender's a good bridge between sweet and sauvage, IMHO. I agree that it's a tasty addition to creme brulee (and it's nice w/ poached peaches or pears, too), but it can certainly be used in entree dishes.

-with Port or berry reductions for quail or duck
-add to tea smoking w/ lamb (or above birds and other game), and of course any DIY herbes de provence type of thing.
-play w/ honey (pork?)
-I think it'd be a nice counterpoint to orange, though it'd be a bit harder to find the dish. As a side, likely- w/ sweet potato mash, perhaps.

On the infusion front, I'm not sure a plain vodka infusion would be the best bet for something to stand on its own- it'd probably be a mixer, not a sipper. But toss some fruit in there, too, and you'd be doing OK I bet- the aforementioned peaches or oranges should work. I'd also consider infusing something other than vodka. My hunch is on something with a bit of dirt already- a rhum agricole / cachaca, bourbon, even Scotch. Hell, Scotch might be just the thing- add some honey and create your own Drambuie analogue for use in various cocktails and such.
 
The pork with honey and lavender is an excellent suggestion.

Lavender sorbet - with a splash of vodka for texture - is a good palate cleanser. Though I prefer rosemary sorbet.

Crackers with lavender salt sprinkle are nice too.

Omelets with a bit of lavender and goat cheese can be good.

Careful: lavender is very strong and a tiny bit goes a long long way. I'm personally not a big fan but like it now and then. Like tarragon.
 
I can eat tarragon far more often than lavender.

A note of caution someone once offered to me: Don't give food made with lavender as a gift to someone who already has lavender-scented soap....
 
We make lavendar ice cream frequently in the summer-simmer some of the lavendar in milk, strain and then use this as your ice cream base. We also make rosemary ice cream the same way.

I would be surprised if you have any seeds left on the plant-as the seed drop off as summer/fall progresses. I trimmed back mine-Provencal-located in S IL-last week and there were very few seeds left in the blooms.
 
originally posted by mark meyer:
We make lavendar ice cream frequently in the summer-simmer some of the lavendar in milk, strain and then use this as your ice cream base. We also make rosemary ice cream the same way.
Click to expand...

In a similar vein, lavendar panna cotta is pretty good.
 
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