When you have a large crop of lemon balm from the garden or farmstand, you don't have time to casually include it in complicated recipes or to frantically figure out how to use it up before it goes bad without getting sick of it. You want to make the most of your harvest and to actually enjoy it.
Here at Plant to Plate, we like to keep things simple! Here are some of my favorite ways to use or preserve lemon balm:
- Use it as a lemon substitute. It won't work in everything, but its very similar, lemony flavor suits many of the same dishes -- great for those of us with citrus allergies!
- Add it to sautéed greens and garlic. This is an example of lemon balm standing in for lemon juice beautifully. This combination works with common greens like spinach as well as with lambsquarter, chickweed, purslane, and other wild greens, making for a great potentially 100%-foraged meal. Other edible alliums like wild leeks can also be substituted for the garlic to help with this, but garlic gives the most complementary flavor.
- Pair it with blueberries, as a standalone side or in a variety of dishes.
- Add it to soups and broths.
- Add it to smoothies for a zingy yet refreshing taste.
- Use it as Decor in an Interesting Salad. (Wondering why I capitalized those letters? Read more about Interesting Salads here!)
- Add it to infused water, alone or with almost any berries. Salmonberries and strawberries are especially good pairings for this.
- Add it to baked goods like quickbreads, muffins, cookies, bars, and tarts, alone or with lavender or strawberries.
- Bake it with chicken and rosemary.
- Bake it with salmon and parsley. It can substitute for lemon slices and lemon juice in most other fish dishes as well, but this combination really stands out.
- Make infused vinegar. If you like lemony dressings, this is for you! Infused vinegar can be used as a whole or partial salad dressing, among other uses. You can also experiment with adding herbs and veggies like spearmint or leeks to the lemon balm and vinegar while infusing.
- Make an herbal honey. This is a delicious way to preserve the herbal properties of your lemon balm, extend their shelf life, and enjoy the benefits of honey too.
- Make herbal candy.
- Make a tea with it, alone or with lavender and chamomile. It also makes a good blend with Camellia sinensis teas, especially green tea.
- Make a tincture. An herb:solvent ratio of 1:5 at 30% alcohol is suggested for a lemon balm tincture.
- Make lemon balm jam or jelly. It's especially delicious on sourdough toast!
- Dry or dehydrate it for later use. See our How to Dry Your Herbs articles here for more information.
- Make lemon balm ice cubes to add to beverages like water, iced tea, and smoothies later. Learn how to make herbal ice cubes in our Freezing Overview article here.
Further Reading
Growing lemon balm? Check out these quick facts like its best growing conditions, companion plants, and expected yields.
Lemon balm is also featured in these articles: