20 Uses For Lemon Balm In The Kitchen & Beyond
Lemon balm is a simple and adaptable plant that can be easily cultivated and can yield a rich harvest during the entire growing season. Being a perennial herb, it will come back year after year.
20 Reasons Lemon Balm Should Grow In Every Garden
To maintain the productivity of your plants, make sure to take cuttings often. Whenever you harvest lemon balm, the plant will recover quickly and grow even more vigorously.
As its name implies, this herb has a mildly lemony taste and scent. To add a subtle citrus flavor to your soups, sauces, salads, and dressings, add a few leaves of lemon balm. It can also be used in meat marinades, cookie dough, smoothies, herbal butters, jams, and homemade breads. Additionally, you can chew on the leaves to freshen your breath.
Keep reading to learn about the various ways you can incorporate lemon balm in your cooking and beyond.
- Lemon Balm Tea
Lemon balm tea is a soothing and fragrant beverage that can be easily prepared using either fresh or dried lemon balm leaves.
Here are the ingredients you’ll need:
- 1 cup of water
- 10 fresh lemon balm leaves or 1 rounded tablespoon of dried lemon balm (learn how to dry lemon balm at home)
- 2 teaspoons of honey
To make the tea, use a teapot or infuser to pour 1 cup of boiling water over the lemon balm leaves. Allow the mixture to steep for 10 to 20 minutes, then strain and add honey. Stir well and enjoy.
For a more complex flavor, you can add cloves, lavender, orange zest, mint, or other herbs and spices to the mixture while steeping.
- Lemon Balm Iced Tea
20 Reasons Lemon Balm Should Grow In Every Garden
Lemon balm iced tea is a fantastic drink that can help you beat the heat on a hot summer day.
Here are the ingredients you’ll need:
- 8 cups of water
- 1 cup of roughly chopped lemon balm leaves
- 2 tablespoons of honey
In a large bowl, combine the chopped lemon balm leaves, boiling water, and honey. Cover the bowl and let the mixture steep for at least two hours. Once steeped, strain the liquid using a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth and pour it into a pitcher to remove any plant bits.
Stir the tea well and store it in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, pour over ice and garnish with a slice of lemon or lime.
Also read: Growing Sugar Snap Peas – The Perfect Crop To Plant In Early Spring!
- Lemon Balm Lemonade
This lemonade recipe is both sweet and tart, making it a great choice for those who enjoy a stronger and zestier flavor.
Here are the ingredients you’ll need:
- 8 cups of water
- 3 cups of fresh lemon balm
- 6 lemons for zest and juice
- 3/4 cup of honey
In a large pot on the stove, add water, lemon balm, and zest of six lemons. Bring the mixture to a boil and then turn off the heat. Add honey and lemon juice, stirring well. Allow the mixture to steep until it has cooled. Once cooled, strain the liquid and transfer it to a pitcher. Chill the lemonade in the refrigerator or add ice and serve immediately.
- Fruity Lemon Balm Shrub
Drinking shrubs are syrups made from a combination of fruit, sugar, and vinegar. They are allowed to steep for days or weeks, resulting in concentrated flavors that can be mixed with plain water or seltzer. Using any type of fruit, or even fruit scraps, is a great way to use up excess produce.
Here’s what you’ll need to make your own shrubs:
- Quart-sized canning jars
- 2 cups of chopped fruit
- 1/2 cup of chopped lemon balm
- 2 cups of apple cider vinegar
- 1-2 cups of sugar
- Cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer
Start by adding the fruit, lemon balm, and sugar to the jar. Mash it up with a wooden spoon to release the juices, and then screw on the lid. Let it sit in the fridge for 24 hours. After 24 hours, add the vinegar and stir well. Replace the lid and store in a cool, dark place for up to one month. The longer you leave it, the more intense the flavors will be.
When you’re ready to strain the mixture, use cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer to remove all fruit bits until the liquid is clear and unclouded. Then, screw on the lid tightly and store in the fridge. Drinking shrubs will last for up to six months.
To serve, dilute the shrubs to taste. Start with a glass of flat or fizzy water, and then add one tablespoon of shrub and stir well.
5. Blueberry and Lemon Balm Kombucha
This fermented beverage is rich in probiotics and antioxidants from blueberries and green tea, with a citrusy note from fresh lemon balm leaves.
6. Lemon Balm Mead
This artisanal mead is made with honey, lemon balm, black tea, and raisins, and needs to be fermented and aged for at least a month before drinking.
7. Lemon Balm-Peach Popsicles
A summer treat made with fresh peaches, Greek yogurt, milk, sugar, and lemon balm that can be made in small plastic cups and skewers.
Also Read: 8 Secrets To Grow Sweet Red Peppers – And Get Them To Turn Red Too!
8.Lemon Balm Ice Cream
A healthy alternative to heavy cream-based ice cream made with frozen bananas, frozen mangoes, almond milk, fresh lemon balm, and a pinch of sea salt, ready in 15 minutes.
9. Lemon Balm Granita
An icy dessert made with water, honey, fresh lemon balm, lemon and lime zest, fluffed with a fork when mostly frozen.
10. Lemon Balm Cookies
Adding fresh minced lemon balm leaves to sweet cookies for a tangy flavor.
11. Lemon Balm Cashew Pesto
A creamy and rich pesto made with lemon balm and cashews instead of basil and pine nuts, perfect for pasta, pizza, sandwiches, and veggies.
12. Lemon Balm Butter
A lemony butter made in a mixer, blender, or by hand, perfect on toast, vegetables, and meat, with optional add-ins such as garlic, basil, honey, or cinnamon.
13. Lemon Balm Salsa Verde
A super aromatic green sauce made with lemon balm, basil leaves, chives, mint, lemon zest, sumac, olive oil, and black pepper, versatile as a dip, condiment, meat topper, and salad dressing.
14. Seared Lemon Balm Chicken
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts seared with lemon balm, green onions, salt, and pepper in just 20 minutes.
15. No Bug Balm
Lemon balm is one of the herbs that naturally repels mosquitoes and other bugs, and can be infused with other herbs in oil to make a spreadable salve that is good for your skin.
16. Lemon Balm Soap:
A cold-pressed soap recipe made with olive oil, coconut oil, sunflower oil, castor oil, lemon balm tea, lemongrass, and lime essential oils, with turmeric powder for a light yellow color.
17.Lemon Balm Lip Balm
A lip balm recipe made with fresh lemon balm leaves infused in a carrier oil of your choice, blended with beeswax, honey, and lemon or mint essential oils after two weeks of infusion.
18.Lemon Balm Potpourri
A clean and crisp herbal mixture for natural home scenting made with lemon balm, lemon verbena, thyme, bay leaves, orange peel, mint leaves, lemon, neroli, and mint essential oils.
19.Herbal Bath
A soothing bath using a muslin bag filled with fresh lemon balm leaves, rose petals, lavender, yarrow, and other herbs hung over the faucet while the tub fills, with added Epsom salts for ultimate relaxation.
20.Lemon Balm Hair Rinse
A hair rinse and scalp clarifier made by steeping dried lemon balm in boiling water overnight, straining, and pouring over the hair and scalp after shampooing and conditioning. No need to rinse.
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