It is usually the English Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) buds that are used in cooking. The English lavender is the preferred lavender of choice for cooking because of its sweet fragrance. There are two main types of Lavender used for cooking:

English Lavender known as Lavendula angustifolia officianalis (also known as True Lavender or Vera);

Lavendula x intermedia "Provence" (a hybrid).
We suggest "Provence"* as a culinary lavender as the most appealing as it has a lower camphor and resin content than "Officianalis".

There are four main types of lavender:

Lavandula latifolia, a Mediterranean grass-like, spiky lavender

Lavandula angustifolia, otherwise known as common or English lavender, which is a stockier plant with a full flower (also known as True Lavender or Vera)

Lavandula stoechas, or French lavender, which has butterfly-like bracts on top of the flowers

Lavandula intermedia, a sterile cross between Mediterranean and English lavender.

From everything I’ve read and researched, all lavender seems to be edible. The only lavender recommended for cooking is angustifolia, which has a light, sweet smell, whereas the others are all high in camphor oil, which is slightly bitter in food and is treated by the body as a toxin.

When cutting for color, lavender should be cut as the first flowers begin to open. When cutting for fragrance, the oil content actually increases if you wait until the majority of the flower buds have opened. However, waiting may cause considerable flower drop after the stems are dried.

 

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