How to Use Lemon Balm in Cooking
A member of the mint family, lemon balm's flavor more closely resembles lemon than mint. Using lemon balm infuses your cooking with a light lemon taste and scent. Other names for lemon balm include melissa, balm mint, bee herb and honey plant. Lemon balm historically treated depression, colds, flus and digestive problems, but today many use lemon balm in cooking. Create your own recipes using lemon balm by adding it to dishes which benefit from this herb's lemony flavor. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Prepare a lemon balm tea to soothe jangled nerves by steeping 1 tbsp. whole, fresh lemon balm in 1 cup of boiling water for three to five minutes. Strain out the leaves and serve.
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Add one or two whole lemon balm leaves to a sauce for chicken, fish or vegetables during the last five to ten minutes of cooking.
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Toss 1 tbsp. of chopped fresh lemon balm into a fresh fruit or leafy salad for a lemony flavor without the tang of citric acid found in real lemons.
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Combine 1 to 2 tbsp. fresh lemon balm with the other herbs in dishes using basil, chives, mint or dill.
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Tips & Warnings
Use one-third as much dried lemon balm as you would fresh in your recipes.
