Saturday, December 26, 2009

Anyone know how to extract lavender oil?

We have lavender in the garden and I would like to (a) dry it and also (b) extract the oil to use as flavouring for ice-cream and desserts. Any ideas?Anyone know how to extract lavender oil?
Well, it's a VERY long and labourious process, that's why it's so expensive, but it's boiled and then the oil is skimmed off the surface, then it's left to 'rise to the surface' again and skimmed to make it more pure - this process is done up to ten times with commercial lavender.





To use it in cakes/biscuits/ice-cream, just use a few flower heads - you'll get a taste without it beng too perfumey.





to dry just hang it in bunches somewhere dry and airy, the heads will fall when it's ready, then keep somewhere or in something non-plastic else freshly dried will go mouldy. To 'fix' the scent in dried lavender, use a little orris root powder - about a teaspoonful to half a pound of lavenderAnyone know how to extract lavender oil?
Using lavender for cooking could well be done by anyone with a mature lavender bush. The flowers can be put in sugar and sealed tightly for a couple of weeks then the sugar can be substituted for ordinary sugar for a cake, buns or custards. And of course the desserts can be decorated with crystallized lavender flowers.





Lavender is not only for sweet dishes. It is also a savory herb. I always add lavender when I am making Herbs Of Provence, the wonderful French spicy mixture of rosemary, savory and thyme often with lavender and basil added. Lavender has a particular affinity for lamb; in fact, in France lambs were grazed on lavender whenever possible. Adding lavender stems to the barbeque and sprinkling the flowers on to the roast will help to impart the flavor to the meat.





Be careful when cooking with lavender only to use a few flowers, as too many will make the food bitter. Always wash them first and do not use if there is any danger of them having been sprayed with insecticide.
The link below details all of the extraction methods. None of them are easy. Lavendar is not very expensive and maybe you should search for a culinary grade essential oil. Learn the extraction methods so you can ask which method is used. You don't want to flavor your ice cream with solvent extracted lavendar oil.

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