Today inspiration came in the form of bread.
I am now living in a town that has a Great Harvest bakery and I must use restraint, needless to say I have a frequent flyer card with them. I LOVE their variety called Cinna Burst, especially made into french toast…..mmmmm….
We also stocked up on some groceries the other day and bought a tub of blueberries. After handfuls and handfuls, maybe even a bowlful in there too, I was blueberried out and needed to do something with the rest.
I decided to make a compound butter with the berries, and heck might as well add some lavender… cause that’s what I do.
How to make Blueberry Lavender Butter:
I don’t keep track of amounts so this is approximate:
2 cups blueberries
1/4 cup water
2 Tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons culinary lavender (I’m using Royal Velvet)
1 stick butter
I put all ingredients, except butter, in a saucepan and simmered it until reduced by half. I put the lavender into a tea-ball straining spoon and used that to stir the blueberry mixture, leaving it in the pan to steep the whole time.
After the blueberry mixture was cool I blended it up with 1 stick of butter.
Then I put it into a zip-lock bag pushing it down in the bottom to form a log, and back in the refrigerator it went until firm.
After thoughts–I loved the lavender and blueberry combination and will definitely do that again in other venues. I should have used more honey, as the blueberries were not sweet enough. I also should have used unsalted butter to realize more of the flavor from the berries and lavender with out the salted distraction, however that was all I had in the house. I also had to refrigerate the blueberry mixture for a bit while I ran to a meeting. Upon returning I just dumped the cold berry mixture in with the room temp softened butter and it made it so the butter didn’t whip properly, a little too cold, I should have left it at room temp too.
All in all, YUM! Compound butters are scrumptious–sweet or savory!
Get the handy print page and save this to your recipe box here:
Blueberry Lavender Butter.
Ann blogs at Lavender Bundle.
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Sheryl - Runningtrails says:
That sounds fantastic! What a great idea, mixing blueberries and lavender!! I have to make this and maybe some other butters too. I might make all kinds of butters this summer! I am assuming that they freeze well?
I have to get more lavender plants this year! I have only one small one right now and with all my plans for it, it’s not going to be nearly enough!
On February 26, 2011 at 6:58 am
Pete says:
Will someone please hand me a tissue, or towel, or something to mop the drool from my chin?
Yummy!! Thanks for sharing this with us!
On February 26, 2011 at 8:16 am
lisabetholson says:
Hum, this looks like my favorite color also, that makes it even more appealing.
On February 26, 2011 at 8:27 am
rileysmom says:
Hi Ann! I didn’t know that you could cook with lavender! Do you get that same lovely scent when you cook with it? And blueberries, too? Yummmmers!
P.S. We’re practically “neighbors!”
On February 26, 2011 at 12:51 pm
Astrid says:
mmmmI love Lavender, specially in cookies.
I might give it a try when the berries are ready to pick…after the 3 ft of snow melts..who is still blocking my view on anything.
I had a lavender bush but it can’t stand our winters.
On February 26, 2011 at 2:17 pm
Kathi N says:
I love lavender in cooking. This looks delicious, and I thank you for the recipe!
I once made tender little butter cookies with lavender and a nice lavender/lemon glaze. One person took one bite and declared that she was NOT going to eat something that tasted like she should have a bath with it.
More for me, ya know?
On February 26, 2011 at 7:52 pm
lavenderblue says:
Do you grow your own culinary lavender? Why is there a difference? I’ve had lavender lemonade and the little butter cookies Kathi N tells about. They were wonderful. There is a local herb club that has a plant sale and serves goodies of this kind.
On February 27, 2011 at 10:49 am
Ann Wurden says:
Hello all! Thank you for your questions and comments. Culinary lavender is just a name given to lavender that is palatable. Lavandula angustifolia or English Garden variety are mostly used in cooking. They tend to have a more floral, some even a citrus flavor. Many other lavenders are too strong, even camphorus, and you get the soapy strong taste. Every lavender has a different scent and taste, some palatable, some not. We grow Lavandula angustifolia, Royal Velvet for our culinary lavender, and that’s what is pictured.
As for winter hardy lavender, it also depends upon the variety. When I lived in Montana I grew a lot of Grosso, which is very hardy, and also the Royal Velvet. Some varieties can handle cold winters, many can not. If you have a lot of snow, that’s good, if you have a lot of snow, wind, freeze, melt and over and over, that’s really hard on them.
Compound butters can be sweet or savory, and freeze very well. Also, I’m made this blueberry/lavender combo and had it like a syrup.
Lavender compliments many fruits. I’ve got many suggestions on my blog and facebook page. One I really like is to add lavender sugar to fresh cut strawberries and let them juice. I then add a spoonful and some of the syrup to a light white wine, such as a Sauv Blanc or bubbly Prosecco – YUM!
Enjoy!!
On February 27, 2011 at 5:26 pm