Laura Dean Bennett
Staff Writer
Most of us know how a vase of dried lavender can cast its lovely scent throughout a house.
We’ve tied it to wreaths, scented our dresser drawers with lavender potpourri and decorated wedding presents with lavender sachets.
We find it in soaps, shampoos, body washes, perfumes, body lotions, room sprays and laundry detergents.
But lavender is so much more than just a wonderful fragrance.
It’s also been used for medicine, religious rituals and in cooking and baking.
History tells us that humans have been using lavender for at least 2,500 years.
It originated in the Middle East, India, the Greek Islands and coastal France where it took part in all aspects of life – from household and personal use to religious rituals.
Egyptian queens bathed in lavender water.
And when the tomb of Tutankhamun was opened, traces of lavender were discovered, and its fragrance still hung in the air.
Cleopatra was said to wear the fragrance of lavender to seduce both Julius Caesar and Mark Antony.
There are many references to it in the Bible, where it was called “spikenard,” which was lavender’s first name around the Middle East and the Mediterranean.
The name spikenard or “nard” was taken from the city of Naarda in Assyria (now Iraq) – which was a major hub of the original lavender trade.
King David’s Song of Solomon refers to the beguiling scent of lavender.
It was one of the holy herbs which were the basis of the Hebrew’s “holy essence” which scented the temple in Jerusalem.
Its oil is mentioned in the gospel stories about Mary Magdalene anointing the feet of Jesus.
In ancient Greece, where it was called “nardus,” lavender was widely recognized as medicine.
Roman soldiers carried dried lavender to pack wounds and Roman citizens relaxed in their famous public bath houses in water scented with it.
By 600 B.C. it was being brought to England by Arabic-speaking traders and it didn’t take long to captivate European royalty.
Louis XIV was known to bathe in it.
And lavender was just as popular for washing clothes.
Soon, the plant was given the name, “lavender,” which came from the Latin word, “lavare,” which means “to wash.”
During the Middle Ages, washerwomen in Europe were known as “lavenders,” because they often dried laundry by spreading it on lavender shrubs.
Throughout Europe superstition about lavender’s power against malevolent spirits proliferated.
It was strewn on church floors, tossed onto bonfires, hung above thresholds and used in bath water to ward off evil.
It was believed to predict romance during the reign of the Tudors, when English ladies drank lavender tea on St. Luke’s Day to discover the name of their true love.
Scandinavian maidens often stuffed their pillows with sprigs of lavender to attract a favored suitor.
By the 19th century, lavender was widely thought to ensure good fortune.
Lavender bouquets and lavender sachets were sold on the streets of European cities as talismans of good luck.
Whether or not the scent of lavender could secure good fortune, it must have done a credible job of combatting the less than pleasant odors of city living in an era not known for public sanitation.
Centuries before science discovered the reasons for lavender’s anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects, many ancient cultures instinctively used lavender to fight disease, pack wounds and ease pain.
Lavender’s medicinal properties were familiar to ancient Asian cultures.
Records indicate that Greek, Roman and Egyptian physicians prescribed lavender tea to treat headaches, anxiety and sleeplessness and digestive complaints.
Lavender poultices were used to enhance healing and arthritic complaints.
We now know that lavender is high in calcium, magnesium, zinc, vitamin C and copper.
The Greek physician, Dioscorides, used an oral solution of lavender to treat indigestion, sore throat and headache and wash wounds to prevent infection.
During the devastation of the Black Plague, an acidic concoction of crushed lavender buds and vinegar, called Four Thieves Vinegar, was widely used by grave diggers. They believed that bathing in it, and even drinking it, protected them from contracting the disease.
A 12th Century German nun, Hildegard of Bingen, also prescribed lavender water – crushed lavender buds soaked in vodka – to treat migraines.
In the 16th century, many glovemakers who used lavender to rid glove leather of bad odors reportedly did not contract cholera.
During the Renaissance, it became popular to keep lavender stems in pillowcases to ensure a good night’s sleep and prevent headaches. This habit is still employed by many people even today.
It was common among royalty and the upper classes to have their bed linens rinsed in lavender water and their pillowcases stuffed with lavender.
In the 16th Century, the medicinal uses of lavender were recorded by an English herbalist, John Parkinson.
During the 1930s, French chemist Rene Maurice Gattefosse studied lavender’s healing properties before it was used in France during World War II to treat battlefield wounds.
These days many people are familiar with the benefits of lavender tea, oral supplements, lotion, oil and ointment.
It’s used to relieve anxiety, depression, menstrual cramps, to help with sleep and reduce many types of pain.
Lavender has long been popular for use in aromatherapy. It’s great for homemade heating pads. Sprinkle the buds into a rice-filled fabric pouch and warm the pouch in a microwave.
Of course, it’s always recommended to consult a doctor before ingesting any herbal medicine.
The lavender plant is in the mint family. It’s a close relative of rosemary, sage and thyme.
And it can be found in many food recipes.
We don’t know exactly when lavender began to find its way into old world kitchens, but by the Middle Ages, it was known as an ingredient in the cooking of many cultures.
Now more than ever, because we now understand its healthful components, lavender is right at home in the modern kitchen.
It’s brewed for teas and cold beverages and used in everything from baked goods to savory dishes.
The first thing to remember about cooking with lavender is to only use culinary lavender.
You don’t want your recipes to taste like potpourri.
And more importantly, you must be careful to differentiate between culinary lavender – which is chemical and pesticide free – and decorative lavender.
When buying lavender for food or medicine, be absolutely sure that it is chemical-free.
Often recipes call for using lavender buds. Rub the buds off the stalk and discard the stalks, which contain essential oils that are usually way too pungent for culinary use.
There are many varieties of lavender.
The French and Spanish varieties are ideal for personal and home fragrance, but English lavender (L. Angustifolia) is best for cooking. It’s usually considered to have the sweetest fragrance of all lavenders.
And there are many varieties of English lavender. Their fragrance and flavor be can be different from the scent we usually recognize as lavender. It can be woody, minty, smoky or even fruity.
It’s often used in desserts and baked goods and there are many varieties of it – some sweeter than others. Some even contain a hint of lemon.
Lavandins (L. Intermedia) is an English lavender with a very strong flavor. Some say its fragrance is reminiscent of pine. It pairs well with savory dishes.
In addition to English lavender, many cooks like to use Lavandin Provence, which has a very mild flavor.
Take care to use any culinary lavender sparingly. Especially when used dry, it can easily overpower a recipe.
And always use about a third as much of any dried lavender as compared to fresh.
It’s often used in roasted meat dishes instead of rosemary and is especially good with lamb.
You may have unknowingly used lavender on roasted meat if you’ve ever used the savory herb blend called Herbs de Provence.
Lemon is a natural companion to lavender (think lemon lavender chicken and lavender lemonade) and so is honey (warm honey and drop in a tea ball of lavender buds).
Lavender can be distilled into a lovely vinegar or other liquid concoctions. It’s great in marinades, dry rubs, salad dressings, syrups and much more.
If you’ve never cooked with lavender, see what you think of its flavor by sprinkling a few culinary lavender buds on salads or using them as a garnish on desserts and baked goods.
If you don’t already grow lavender, now’s the time to start. It will surely become an indispensable member of your herb garden.
