Lavender Sugar and Rose Geranium Sugar

Rose Geranium Sugar recipe
Rose Geranium Sugar

Two Herb Sugars – Lavender Sugar and Rose Geranium Sugar

This recipe tells you how to make two Herb Sugars –  Lavender Sugar and Rose Geranium Sugar.  Both follow the same process and are very easy to make.  You simply place fresh lavender leaves and buds or chopped rose geranium leaves in a jar of sugar.   The sugar will become infused with the scent of the herbs and can then be used as an ingredient to bring a floral flavour to cakes, puddings or other dishes.

About Rose Geraniums

Lavender is quite a common plant in gardens or in pots on balconies.  Rose Geraniums are less well-known.   There are a number of scented varieties of Rose Geranium (which are actually technically pelargoniums) and all have leaves that smell of rose –  I think they actually smell a bit like Turkish Delight!  I have two varieties –  Angels Perfume and Attar of Roses  –  which I bought from Herbal Haven which is a specialist herb nursery.

Rose Geranium leaves can be used in lots of puddings and desserts to add a subtle rose flavour.  I think this is a better way than using rose-petals as you only need a few leaves whereas you need loads of petals (and, really, who wants to destroy their roses?).

Pelargonium
Rose Geranium

About Herb Sugars

Herb Sugars were popular in Victorian times as a way of capturing the flavour of fresh herbs.     Once the sugar has taken on the scent of the herb, it will keep for many months and, in the days when people cooked with what they grew themselves, this allowed herb-scented dishes to be made in winter when there were no fresh herbs available.

It is best to make Herb Sugars in the summer, when the flavour of herbs is at its strongest.   A wide variety of herbs can be used to produce Herb Sugars, in addition to lavender and rose geranium, and some of my favourites include: thyme, rosemary, bay, lemon verbena and mint.

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Lavender sugar recipe

Lavender Sugar

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 10
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 1 jam jar 1x
  • Category: Herb Sugar
  • Cuisine: English

Description

Lavender Sugar is produced by allowing the flavour of fresh lavender to infuse into caster sugar which can then be used as an ingredient to bring a floral taste to cakes, biscuits, puddings and other dishes.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 350 g caster sugar
  • 2 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh lavender (leaves and/or flowers)

Instructions

  1. Place the caster sugar in a bowl.
  2. Place your chopped lavender on a plate and press with the back of a spoon to encourage it to release its flavour.
  3. Add the chopped lavender to the sugar and mix well.
  4. Transfer the sugar and lavender mixture to a jam jar.
  5. Seal the jar and leave for at least 24 hours, and preferably a week, to allow the flavour to infuse into the sugar.
  6. When you are ready to use the sugar, you can either pass it through a coarse sieve to remove the herb pieces or you can leave them in the sugar.

Keywords: herb sugar, lavender, sugar

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Rose Geranium Sugar recipe

Rose Geranium Sugar

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 10
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 1 jam jar 1x
  • Category: Herb Sugar
  • Cuisine: English

Description

Rose Geranium Sugar is produced by allowing the flavour of fresh rose geranium leaves to infuse into caster sugar which can then be used as an ingredient to bring a floral taste to cakes, biscuits, puddings and other dishes.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 350 g caster sugar
  • 10 rose geranium leaves (finely chopped)

Instructions

  1. Place the caster sugar in a bowl.
  2. Place your chopped rose geranium leaves on a plate and press with the back of a spoon to encourage them to release their flavour.
  3. Add the chopped rose geranium leaves to the sugar and mix well.
  4. Transfer the sugar and rose geranium mixture to a jam jar.
  5. Seal the jar and leave for at least 24 hours, and preferably a week, to allow the flavour to infuse into the sugar.
  6. When you are ready to use the sugar, you can either pass it through a coarse sieve to remove the herb pieces or you can leave them in the sugar.

Notes

In order to make this Herb Sugar, you need to make sure you source Rose Geraniums, such as Angels’ Perfume or Attar of Roses, which have leaves that are strongly rose-scented.

Keywords: lavender sugar, rose geranium sugar

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Strawberry and Rose Geranium Jam

Strawberry Jam
Strawberry and Rose Geranium Jam

Strawberry and Rose Geranium Jam

Easy-to-make Strawberry and Rose Geranium Jam has all the fruity loveliness of strawberries but with a floral boost provided by the addition of Rose Geranium leaves.    This recipe is based on one in Sarah Raven’s Food for Friends and Family which is one of my favourite cookery books.  It is really easy to make and is fantastic on crusty bread or as an ingredient in cakes and puddings.   If you don’t have access to Rose Geraniums, you can add a little rosewater to the jam to add a floral accent.

Strawberries for jam
Strawberries

I grow strawberries in my garden but they are  not yet ready for picking.  Therefore, as it is half-term this week, I took two of my adolescent children with me to Primrose Vale Pick-Your-Own farm which is about a half hour drive from where I live.  My two gaming-addicted companions were somewhat reluctant at the prospect of this outing but actually enjoyed it a lot (and picked more strawberries than they ate!).  It is a good spot for a family outing, with a playground for younger children, an excellent farm shop and a cafe serving drinks and snacks and wonderful, locally-produced  Winstones ice-cream.

Pelargonium
Rose Geranium
About Rose Geraniums

There are a number of scented varieties of Rose Geranium (which are actually technically pelargoniums) and all have leaves that smell of rose –  I think they actually smell a bit like Turkish Delight!  I have two varieties –  Angels Perfume and Attar of Roses  –  which I bought from Herbal Haven which is a specialist herb nursery.

Rose Geranium leaves can be used in lots of puddings and desserts to add a subtle rose flavour.  I think this is a better way than using rose-petals as you only need a few leaves whereas you need loads of petals (and, really, who wants to destroy their roses?).

Strawberry jam
So many strawberries!
Equipment

Heavy pan and a large sterilised jam jar (There are various ways of sterilising jars.  I think the easiest is to wash in soapy water and then put in an oven at 120 C for 15 minutes)

Ready for jam
Strawberries and Rose Geranium leaves
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Strawberry Jam

Strawberry and Rose Geranium Jam

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 15
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 1 jam jar 1x
  • Category: Jam
  • Cuisine: English

Description

A beautiful summer jam, perfect to make when strawberries are in season in June or July, which has the added twist of a hint of rose.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 500 g fresh strawberries
  • 500 g jam sugar (caster sugar with added pectin)
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 4 Rose Geranium leaves (or a teaspoon of rosewater)

Instructions

  1. Wash the strawberries and hull them (remove the green leafy bit).
  2. Put the strawberries into your pan together with the lemon juice and the Rose Geranium leaves.   If you do not have access to a Rose Geranium plant, you can add a teaspoon  of rosewater if you want your jam to have a floral accent.  Otherwise you can make it without either – it will still taste really good!
  3. Heat for around 5 minutes until the strawberries have become soft and released their juice.
  4. Add the jam sugar and bring to the boil.  Then allow to continue boiling for 10 minutes until the setting point is reached.  (You can judge the setting point by putting a saucer in your freezer before making the jam.  Spoon some of the jam onto the cold saucer and leave to cool.  If the surface of the jam crinkles when you push it with your finger, it is ready.  If not, continue boiling and try again after a few more minutes).
  5. Remove from the heat and then pour into a sterilised jam jar.

Notes

You can sterilise your jam jar by washing it in soapy water and then putting it in an oven at 120 C for 15 minutes.

Keywords: strawberry jam, strawberry and rose jam, rose geranium jam

Strawberry jam

Strawberries and Rose Geranium leaves – ready for jam!

Strawberry jam
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