I love to cook and I especially love trying something new and creative. Lately, the herb tea ingredients on my shelf have been enticing me to try them in cooking!
For example, I recently found out that Calendula is known as “poor man’s saffron.” It can be used in place of saffron in cooking. It has a slightly spicy taste and adds a nice golden color when added to rice. You can also add the petals to salad, perhaps with other colorful flower-petal tea ingredients such as rose or red clover. This recipe for Calendula Cream Cheese Fruit Dip sounds amazing!
Speaking of Rose Petals, they have been used in such a variety of cuisines that there is no end to the recipes you can find on the internet. But I know what I want to do next because I just got a spice grinder that grinds things to a fine powder! I’m going to make rose powder and start sprinkling that stuff everywhere! I hear that rose sugar is very nice (grind 8 tsp of sugar with 1 tsp of rose petals). You can also use rose powder alone sprinkled on custards, rice pudding, or vanilla ice cream. Make Rose Syrup for use in cocktails or mocktails or get creative and add to your next batch of shortbread cookies, meringue, or buttercream frosting.
Elderflower has gotten very popular in cooking. Make Elderflower Syrup and use it in cocktails or mocktails, lemonade, or iced tea. Mix it into homemade whipped cream or drizzle over cheesecake. You can also use it as a substitute for sweetener in a variety of recipes. I think it would be delicious in poundcake or cupcakes.
My favorite soap is scented with Lavender so I can’t drink it without feeling like I’m drinking soap. But many people LOVE Lavender Lemonade. Again, make a simple syrup using lavender instead of rose or elderflower and use that to sweeten your lemonade. Other people use dried lavender in savory herb blends such as Herbes de Provence (rosemary, thyme, basil, tarragon, savory, marjoram, oregano, and lavender) and use it to flavor roasted chicken, lamb, fish or roasted vegetables.
Dried mint (Peppermint or Spearmint or combined) is very nice in yogurt or cream-based salad dressings. Try it with diced cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions and a squeeze of lemon, or sprinkle the leaves into your veggie or fruit salads. Raspberry mint dressing is very good. Zip dried mint into a powder in your spice grinder and add it to vanilla ice cream, cocoa, frosting or whipped cream. Make chocolate mint brownies!
Rooibos and Honeybush teas are a nice alternative to black tea that I drink for that reason and less so for health purposes (although they are thought to be a great source of antioxidants). In the United States we don’t tend to use it for any other purpose but a quick look on the internet was an eye-opener! Are they used for culinary purposes? Oh yes!
The South African Rooibos Council is a source for an amazing number of recipes. Make a strong tea and add it to marinades for chicken or pork, combine the dry herb with spices for seasonings and meat rubs, make sauces, use it in stew or soup. Then go for dessert with some delicious sounding recipes for Rooibos cheesecake, ice cream, cakes, muffins and sweet bread, cookies, smoothies, mixed drinks, and so much more.
Honeybush can be used in many similar recipes —probably interchangeable with Rooibos—but it is slightly sweeter so you’ll more often find recipes combining it with fruit. Plus this recipe for Honeybush Baklava With Almonds And Dates looks amazing!
Find all these herb tea ingredients in my Etsy shop.