We have had Lemon Balm in the backyard now for about 6-7 years and now there is simply too much and I am not sure what to do with it all.
I want to do something crafty/culinary with it.
Anyone know what I can do with a bunch of clippings from all my bushes of this herb?
I tried drying some for oil purposes, but it didn't seem to hold its delicious smell.
Any ideas would be great!
Thanks
- rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
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I just made a batch of lemon balm jelly:
https://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1923,14 ... 03,00.html
but use at least 2 packed cups of lemon balm leaves for the infusion. If you leave out the pectin and just simmer it until it is reduced, you have lemon balm syrup.
I put the leaves in fruit salads and green salads and add lemon balm sprigs to summer drinks, maybe with mint.
Chop it in to salad dressing or in to cream cheese. Use it instead of lemon rind/ zest in recipes. Mince it in to muffin recipes, especially with blueberry muffins. And of course dry the leaves to use in herbal tea blends:
Lemon balm, lavender and chamomile make a lovely soothing tea. Lemon balm, peppermint, and fennel seed made a tea that is good for calming upset stomach. And lemon balm, chamomile, fennel seed, coriander, and bits of dried apricot make a delicious fruity tea. I posted some herbal tea recipes here:
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... hp?t=40087
Mix it with baby oil to make your own homemade lemon furniture polish:
https://theherbgardener.blogspot.com/200 ... olish.html
None the less it is in the mint family and it does spread like crazy. I do sometimes end up just composting some, because it is starting to turn into a pest in my yard.
https://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1923,14 ... 03,00.html
but use at least 2 packed cups of lemon balm leaves for the infusion. If you leave out the pectin and just simmer it until it is reduced, you have lemon balm syrup.
I put the leaves in fruit salads and green salads and add lemon balm sprigs to summer drinks, maybe with mint.
Chop it in to salad dressing or in to cream cheese. Use it instead of lemon rind/ zest in recipes. Mince it in to muffin recipes, especially with blueberry muffins. And of course dry the leaves to use in herbal tea blends:
Lemon balm, lavender and chamomile make a lovely soothing tea. Lemon balm, peppermint, and fennel seed made a tea that is good for calming upset stomach. And lemon balm, chamomile, fennel seed, coriander, and bits of dried apricot make a delicious fruity tea. I posted some herbal tea recipes here:
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... hp?t=40087
Mix it with baby oil to make your own homemade lemon furniture polish:
https://theherbgardener.blogspot.com/200 ... olish.html
None the less it is in the mint family and it does spread like crazy. I do sometimes end up just composting some, because it is starting to turn into a pest in my yard.
- rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
Did you like any of those ideas?
If you are still looking for more, you can put it in herbed vinegar or use it in herbed butter:
Lemon Herb Butter
2 tablespoons lemon balm, chopped fine
2 tablespoons thyme, chopped fine
1 cup butter, softened
mix the herbs in the butter and chill for at least three hours.
If you are still looking for more, you can put it in herbed vinegar or use it in herbed butter:
Lemon Herb Butter
2 tablespoons lemon balm, chopped fine
2 tablespoons thyme, chopped fine
1 cup butter, softened
mix the herbs in the butter and chill for at least three hours.
- applestar
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We made lemon grass and lemon verbena soap. Maybe you could use lemon balm.
I steeped some of the dried herbs in warm extra virgin olive oil, then used the strained scented oil to grease the soap mold, then stirred the oil and some pulverized dried herbs into melted clear glycerin soap base. I think we used yellow food coloring for these because we decided to use star-shaped mold... Either that or we found we didn't need to add the coloring because it came out yellow green from the olive oil and the herbs... Hm... Can't recall.
I steeped some of the dried herbs in warm extra virgin olive oil, then used the strained scented oil to grease the soap mold, then stirred the oil and some pulverized dried herbs into melted clear glycerin soap base. I think we used yellow food coloring for these because we decided to use star-shaped mold... Either that or we found we didn't need to add the coloring because it came out yellow green from the olive oil and the herbs... Hm... Can't recall.