How to Make Lavender Sugar

Lavender, native to warm, Mediterranean-type climates, has household, medicinal, cosmetic and culinary uses. Lavender-infused sugar adds a gourmet touch to beverages, baked goods and ice cream. Making lavender sugar at home saves you money because you can produce three to four times more sugar than you can buy for a fraction of the cost. You can purchase some of the ingredients to make lavender sugar at regular supermarkets and others at gourmet, specialty or health food stores.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• 4 cups white sugar
• 1 1/3 cups dried culinary lavender
• 2 gallon-size resealable bags
• Wooden spoon
• Mixing bowl

1. Pour the white sugar into a mixing bowl. White sugar is best for this recipe because the molasses in natural and brown sugar overpowers the lavender flavor. Add the culinary lavender and blend the two ingredients together with a wooden spoon. Do not use aromatic lavender as it has not been cleaned and prepared for consumption.

2. Pour the lavender and sugar into the plastic bag and seal it. Shake the sugar mixture and seal the bag inside another resealable bag.

3. Store the lavender sugar in a cool, dry place for two weeks. Shake the bag to mix the sugar at the end of the first week. After two weeks, open the bag to taste the sugar. It's ready to use when it has a strong lavendar aroma and taste.

4. Sift the sugar to remove the lavender buds if you plan to use it as a beverage sweetener. However, do not discard the buds. Pour them back in the plastic bag, add additional sugar to replace what you use and reseal it. For cooking and baking, grind the lavender sugar, buds included, in a food processor or blender.

Tips & Warnings

• Mix a few drops of red and blue food coloring to make a light purple or lavender shade for the sugar. Add the food coloring to the lavender sugar a tiny bit at a time until you get the desired color. Spread the moist sugar onto a cookie sheet or waxed paper to dry. Return the sugar to the plastic bag for storage after drying.

• Always reseal the bag after every use. This will keep your lavender sugar fresh for a year.

• Place some of your lavender sugar in festive glass jars or fabric bags to give as gifts.

References

• A Taste of Lavender; Gloria Hander Lyons