Long Live Lemon Balm: Herb of the Year 2007
(Page 2 of 3)
June/July 2007
By Pat Crocker
Lemon balm’s popularity continued throughout the centuries, and it was enjoyed as a tea to combat mental confusion and as an elixir thought to extend lifespan. So widespread was lemon balm’s reputation for promoting longevity and dispelling melancholy that by the 17th century, French Carmelite nuns were dispensing their Carmelite Water to a faithful following. The lemon-balm infused “miracle water” was thought to improve memory and vision and reduce rheumatic pain, fever, melancholy and congestion.
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Introduced into Great Britain by the Romans, lemon balm is now found in both England and North America, brought by colonialists who had come to rely on it for teas and flavoring. American Shakers grew lemon balm as a relief from mild fevers. One of the herbs grown in Thomas Jefferson’s gardens, lemon balm was well established as an important culinary herb, one especially suited to syrups and beverages.
Controlled Cultivation
Sun-loving and hardy, once planted, lemon balm can take over an herb bed if you let it, jumping about seemingly at will, so containers are one way of controlling it. If you plant it in the garden, keep your eye on it, harvest regularly, remove flowers before they spread their seed and take a shovel to the edges to make sure it doesn’t get out of bounds. The plant grows 2 feet high, bearing small, white, nondescript flowers in mid- to late summer. The square and branching stems support broadly ovate or heart-shaped leaves with scalloped edges. The whole plant smells delightfully lemony, with the scent being at its best when the tiny flowers begin to open.
Lemon balm has few known varieties, among them golden balm (M.o. ‘Aurea’), lime balm (M.o.‘Lime’), M.o. ‘Citronella’, and M.o. ‘Lemonella’, a more aromatic variety similar to ‘Citronella’.
Savor the Lemon Flavor
Light and fresh, lemon balm adds a splash of citrus and mint undertones to both savory and sweet dishes. Use the young tops of the plant for cooking and teas because the large, older leaves tend to have a soapy, musty flavor. It is best used fresh but can be dried quickly and stored carefully for use in teas and herb blends; on drying it will lose some of the nuance of its flavor.