Lavender

Lavender

As we promised we will give you more information, about the herbs and their healing properties. We will start with one really beautiful plant with many uses in the medicine and culinary - The Lavandula.

The common name of the lavandula is lavender and it  is a part of  the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to the Old World and is found from Cape Verde and the Canary Islands, southern Europe across to northern and eastern Africa, the Mediterranean, southwest Asia to southeast India.

The lavender is mainly have medical and culinary usage. However oil of spike lavender has also occasionally been used as a solvent in oil painting, mainly before the use of distilled turpentine became common. For instance Francisco Pacheco mentions the use of lavender oil in his book "Arte de la pintura"

Lavender is well regarded for it's skin healing properties as well. It's effectiveness in treating burns was first discovered by French biochemist René Gattefossé when he cooled his hand in a handy vat of lavender after burning it in a lab accident. This storied burn healed so quickly, and without scarring, that it is often cited as a seminal event in the birth a modern aromatherapy. The  lavender s in form of essential oil  was used in hospitals during World War I. Infusions are believed to soothe insect bites, burns, and headaches. You can also put in pillows, lavender seeds and flowers aid for better sleep and relaxation. One more of the uses of the lavender oil is  to treat acne when diluted 1:10 with water, rosewater, or witch hazel; it also treats skin burns and inflammatory conditions.




In culinary, the lavender is mainly used for salads and dressings. t nectar from which bees make a high-quality honey. Monofloral honey is produced primarily around the Mediterranean, and is marketed worldwide as a premium product. Flowers can be candied and are sometimes used as cake decorations. Lavender lends a floral and slightly sweet flavour to most dishes, and is sometimes paired with sheep's-milk and goat's-milk cheeses. For most cooking applications the dried buds (also referred to as flowers) are used, though some chefs experiment with the leaves as well. Only the buds contain the essential oil of lavender, from which the scent and flavour of lavender are best derived.
In the United States, both lavender syrup and dried lavender buds are used to make lavender scones and marshmallows.