How to Use Fresh Lemon Balm

Lemon balm is a perennial herb with many culinary uses. Adding lemon balm to an herb garden will provide a gardener with a bountiful fresh lemon balm harvest several times over an entire growing season. With minimal care, lemon balm will grow energetically into an attractive plant with an enticing aroma. Fresh lemon balm is easy to gather from the garden and easy to use in a variety of ways.

Things You'll Need

• Lemon balm plant
• Pruning shears
• Basket
• Colander
• Salad spinner or paper towels
• Kitchen scissors
• Utility knife
• Cutting board

Instructions

1. Harvest lemon balm stems from the plant when you see it starting to bloom. This will prevent the plant from setting seed and will encourage it to continue to grow throughout the season. Clip as many entire stems from the plant as you desire, approximately 2 inches from the soil level. Gather the whole stems and any blooms you find in the basket and bring them inside to the kitchen.

2. Place the stems and flowers in the colander and wash them thoroughly under cold, running water. Place the herbs into a salad spinner and rotate them to remove excess water or place the herbs onto several paper towels and allow the moisture to drain from them. Pat the tops of the herbs lightly with another paper towel to remove more moisture.

3. Chop the lemon balm leaves finely with the utility knife or snip the leaves into small pieces with the kitchen scissors. Leave the flowers intact. Leave some of the lemon balm intact to use.

4. Use the whole flowers in fresh fruit salads or as garnishes for savory salads and savory dishes.

Tips & Warnings

• Fresh lemon balm leaves are more flavorful than dried lemon balm leaves.

• Add the chopped lemon balm leaves to homemade salad dressings along with other savory herbs. Use the chopped lemon balm leaves to flavor vinegar by adding the chopped leaves to white wine vinegar and allowing it to steep for at least one week. Add chopped lemon balm leaves to many different hot and cold drinks. Steep the leaves in hot drinks to flavor hot water or milk and then strain the leaves out after several minutes. Combine the leaves with other herbs to make flavorful and delicious teas. Add the chopped leaves to granulated sugar, mix and allow the sugar to set for at least one month for a lemon sugar.

• Use the whole lemon balm leaves to garnish and flavor both savory and sweet dishes. Add the whole leaves to both leafy and fruit salads for a lemon taste. Add several lemon balm leaves to the water when preparing oatmeal. Allow the lemon balm leaves to steep in the water as it boils to flavor the water and then remove the leaves prior to adding the oatmeal. Add the whole lemon balm leaves to cold beverages such as juice or wine to add a hint of lemon flavor. After steeping the whole leaves for up to 30 minutes, remove the leaves and serve the beverage.

• Do not leave lemon balm leaves steeping in hot beverages for more than several minutes because the flavor may turn bitter.

References

• Using Lemon Balm