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In the making: Lavender Honey
July 16, 2008 | 40 Comments
English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) yields a highly effective essential oil and has the sweetest overtones of all the lavender varieties. They are also much more cold-hardy than the French and Spanish varieties. We have two types of English lavender – Hidcote and Munstead.
A certain someone with a good-sized garden (I’ve seen it with my own eyes) has been giving a bewildering array of reasons why she can’t participate in Grow Your Own.
Nothing grows in Colorado, she dislikes rabbit soup, she can’t buy beans to sprout, her neighbour’s cat pooped on her lawn, Medha’s got summer holidays ….
Well, I thought of snipping some dried lavender flowers and mailing them out – just to confuse her and maybe, get her to stop hacking into my comments form.
When I stepped out this morning, scissors and camera in hand, I encountered some winged gourmets who like lavender as much as we do.
I got a recipe idea from this furry dude.
I wondered what lavender honey would taste like. Honey produced from bees that have fed on Provencal (French) lavender is popular in France and the Mediterranean.
I added some lavender blossoms to my favourite orange blossom honey. I put it in the microwave on low power (power level 3) and cooked it for 2 minutes, then let it seep for an hour. Or you can make it on a very low flame on the stove top, simmering the honey for about 8 minutes. You can strain it if you want to. It’s not necessary.
Make sure your lavender blooms are organic, sans chemical fertilisers or pesticides.
I also made some lavender-flavoured sugar. Simply add some lavender blooms to organic raw cane sugar and store in an airtight container.
HONEY AND SUGAR infused with MUNSTEAD LAVENDER
Our entry for
Andrea’s brainchild, hosted by us this fortnight. Deadline: July 30, 2008.
and for Jihva for Edible Flowers at Soul Food
There’s a packet of lavender on its way to Manisha. Now let’s see what excuse she can concoct for not participating in Procure Grow Your Own.
Also check out
Chocolate Pudding infused with Lavender
- Bee
Filed Under: bees, butterfly, GARDENING, hidcote lavender, honey, Lavender, munstead-lavender, orange-blossom-honey, Photo Essays, raw-cane-sugar, sugar, vegetarian recipes
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40 Comments
Bee, the pics look great , I was thinking of a lavender Icecream , this year we went to clip some flowers from a farm , it was a great experience!!! Love the pics and I would like to see what manisha cooks up too
What a flavor and color combo too
The lavender sugar and honey can be flavored any simple dessert!
That is such a wonderful idea…and poor M, no more excuses now
hey send this to Jihva na…..
Gulp! She has thrown down de gauntlet. In a big way. (said like Calypso from The World’s End – better effect that way)
I promise never to open my big fat mouth ever again on this blog. I also promise never to threaten J with a meme.
Er…I might also be moving very soon – like today. With mail on ‘return to sender’ status.
Such a lovely blog. I will surely try this recipe.
Oh my I love your lavender pics, and really like the idea of adding it to sugar and honey, for my tea
This is fun
. Last time I talked to her, she was in some nursery checking out plants to buy – I assumed to-buy part!!!). I can’t believe she didn’t plant anything. And you made sure she will be cooking something (no clicking pictures and eating it raw) 
. Ok Ok..I will shut up, don’t want to see her sad again.
Love those lavender bushes and the bees
. Beautiful. Lavender honey is very new. This is another thing I have never tasted.
the pics of the lavendar are really pretty! love the color
So pretty! Absolutely love it!
Shilpa, sweetie, what are you growing?
Ooh..lavender honey! I remember that killer chocolate pudding, and the goodly havoc it caused in our household.
Bee, tose bees would have been longing to meet “Bee” and these lavender blooms seems to be a reason
Anyway I envy Manisha as I too love lavender but have never smelled or seen a real lavender flower. Infusing them into honey is a brilliant idea. And the pic of your sinful choc pudding were still in my eyes. I have something to add. Ayurveda and Siddha says not to cook honey over heat. Have you read anything about this ?
no. we do cook honey often in desserts and jams.
fab pics……esp the one with the bee(the furry one!!) in close up ….am just trying to imagine the flavours and fragrance of lavender honey……….
aaaaaaaaaah! the bliss of finally smelling the flowers and your food in this blog once again! Its still not “Phatak” openining – if u know what i mean- but then its wayyyyyyyyy less than the usual – I think 10min-12m Thats something I can do to come here and spam ur comment section – NO IP BLOCKIN! its taken me some real hard work to get to spam here u know
That sure is a lovely idea. Its surprising that something that looks as delicate as lavender has such a strong flavor. I have never used fresh lavender flowers so far. Manisha shouldn’t be whining anymore.
I whined? Dammit. I was asking some very serious questions!
What will you do with the sugar, O Bee? You are a honey person… I use sugar… you have my mailing address?
i have a recipe in mind. will post it soon.
Bee meets bee? Nice pic! Lavendar sugar….that must taste lovely in a cake or muffin, or maybe in a glass of milk.
lol @ manisha’s comment… by the way you can always direct that mail to me manisha
and i am good at keeping secret 
beautiful photos…
I just wrote at Suganya’s about your Lavendar Chocolate Pudding from last year (she has something similar). Honey definitely lends a better flavour and colour to cakes.
I have heard of vanilla pods in sugar but adding lavendar is a great idea – trust you to come up with such things:) Nature can be really inspiring, isn’t it?
Wow Jai n Bee, wonderful pictures… love the bee… looks so crips.. and your honey awesome…..
what a beauty, those lavender blossoms, stunning!
love the idea of lav-sugar…sweet
the close up of the bee is amazing….. !!!!!
I just made lavender honey for the last DB challenge. Isn’t it great?! Beautiful photos – WOW!
I am enchanted with these pictures.
What a feast for the eyes…
Off-topic: Have the CLICK raffle winners been announced? Thanks.
tomorrow.
Those pictures are too good Bee. Very innovative idea of infusing lavender in honey.
Reg, substitution for khoya, I think dry milk powder will also be good. But are you thinking of non dairy substitution?
not non-dairy. i was thinking of milk powder as well.
What a lovely post. Loved the lav-sugar, lav-honey. Very creative.
Sia, psst! I am in disguise but just wanted to let you know that I will definitely share! Just as long as you on the right side of the pond?
Anita, she said post, not mail.
About the Ayurveda thing: honey is made by bees at about 90F or so. The chemical composition of honey changes when it is heated and the Vaids believe that along with it, is lost all the health benefits. I was told therefore that if honey crystallized in winter, to place it in hot water instead of heating it in the microwave. Then later on I was told that heating gently is the key. Commercial honey has already been heated at high temps to prevent crystallization. Which is another reason why health buffs will tell you to buy raw (and unfiltered) honey. I have to tell you that I can taste the difference cos I just got a bottle of raw unfiltered honey from the Boulder Farmers Market. Yum!
My turn to go away with the heavy heart…I did note that she said post a recipe… so be it. Maybe I can get lavender flowers from the mountains nearby. Sigh. And make my own lavender sugar.
lavender honey are definitely the best honey we have here in southern france…:-) our lavender in the garden are already in full bloom
just the way you pictured it out on this post 
Beautiful pix. I feel like I have just taken a little trip to Provance.
I made lavender cookies last week. Just a simple shortbread cookie with a couple of tsp of lavender flowers. I was worried about them tasting of soap, or pot pourri, but they were fabulous!
Holla, wow, lavender is in right now. I just posted my lavender cookies
yum, honey looks good.
Guys, I hope you are whipping something up from What´s For Lunch Honey? for this month´s T&T.
Excellent pictures! I love lavender as well. I just snipped some stems last week!
One thing I wanted to tell you though, according to Ayurveda, you should not heat honey on the direct heat. My grandpa used to collect wild honey in India and always used ‘double boiler’ method to heat honey. You mention that you used microwave on low setting that might be okay. but in general its a good idea to use double boiler.
i just need to follow manisha’s trail I suppose…hheeh…those lavenders are surely a treat for eyes!
I have been going through your blog, and the best feature about your blog definitely are the pictures you’ll manage to take.
These pics of the lavender are the best. I had never seen lavender before, to think that they actually grow in your own garden, I’m feeling jealous.
Bee and Jai, the pictures are so lovely. I always feel inspired when I see your photos. Your lavender and honey sounds perfect. (And I must apologize. I visited this post earlier but got distracted and didn’t leave my comment. Thanks for being such wonderful hosts for Grow Your Own.)
[...] which flower you use, make sure it’s organic. We use an organic fertiliser once a year on our lavender plants and avoid chemical sprays or pesticides. Unfortunately, we cannot say the same about our roses. We [...]