posted by admin on May 20
Imagine huge tracts of purple flowers growing in neat rows across the countryside, brightening up the farmland as you walk by.
Imagine the intense colour of the flowers catching your eye at the florist, the beautiful fragrant aroma wafting past you on a breeze, setting your eyes off in search of it’s source.
Imagine sitting in the park eating your picnic and tasting lavender in your slice of cheese…..
Hold on! Not quite what you’d imagine as tasty? How about Lavender Short-breads, or Lavender Ice-cream?
But Lavender is a smell, it’s a scent isn’t it?
Well according to much literature from the past, we know that Lavender was used in foods way back in medieval times - since then though, our perception has gradually changed. Lavender was then specifically bred for it’s strong and instantly identifiable scent, rather than it’s taste, and so it fell out of fashion for food.
Now, at Castle Farm in Kent, a group of artisans and hops farmers have got together to create a new brand of Lavender essence that can (and already is) widely used in a range of edible treats that they produce and sell themselves.
Their first product they tried was in-fact the Lavender Ice-Cream - which they took to a show to test the public reaction - and it was sold out by the end of the day! They knew they were on to something after that, and now produce over 16 types of lavender-based produce, including jams, jellies, chutneys, cakes and fudges!
Different Lavender Products:
The Lavender plants that produce the culinary essence are of a different species to those used for flower harvests, so the crops are grown and maintained differently on their land - and they are currently the 2nd largest Lavender grower in the UK as a result.
They also still supply the standard, more well-known products including lavender oils, lavender water and soaps and both dried and fresh flowers as part of their business using these different strains.
Their current website (www.hopshop.co.uk) contains information about their ranges, including recipes, cooking tips, and all about their farms and sales.
Their site also has tips on other cookery uses - like dried flowers on beef joints, as a marinade for lamb or a garnish - basically used in a very similar way to Rosemary - which also has a very strong smell.
And their new products in the making include Lemon and Lavender Mayonnaise and Apple and Lavender Juice Drink.
