Great ways Hungarians use lavender
Change language:
It is lavender season, and these flowers not only smell delicious but also taste great and have amazing benefits.
Lavenders have many health benefits. They help with stress relief and relaxation as well as sleeping and headaches, they improve the immune system, and they can be used as a remedy for heart problems. Pour boiling water over a few teaspoons of dried lavender, leave it for 5-10 minutes, then filter it and enjoy.
Lavender syrup is getting quite popular, and here is how you can make some at home yourself. You will need a handful or two of dried lavender flowers, a litre of water, a kilogram of sugar, and the juice of two lemons.
Pour the water in a pot and put it on the stove, then add the sugar and bring it to a boil. Add the handfuls of lavender flowers and the juice of the lemons and let it all boil for another two minutes. Then leave it for a whole day to rest. Filter it after the day’s rest and pour it into bottles and store it in the fridge.
Lavender cookies are a delicious treat too. What you will need is a tablespoon of dried lavender flowers, 100 grams of softened butter, 50 grams of icing sugar, a packet of vanilla sugar, 150 grams of flour, one teaspoon of baking powder, and three tablespoons of vanilla extract.
Some extras to add: be sure that the lavender has not been chemically treated as in a lavender shop and already already dried. Dry it yourself from fresh. It could be non-ingestible if so. The syrup: it’s really good by itself with soda water or in a fancy mixed drink, maybe with a good gin, pink peppercorns or some other creative combination. And: here in Hungary, Lavender palinka is available. Also, take lavender and mix it with your favorite natural soap recipe. Heaven scent!