*pic* Lime Verbena

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I bought my Lime Verbena last year from a nursery that has a great herb section. I had one in our first house for quite a few years, then a small break and now we have one again.

During the winter it is a shrub that goes very twiggy, like it is dead, then one day relief when little green shoots come. The other day my husband was gardening near it and he said it smelt so nice, and it does. Yesterday I was out there and it has flowers!

My first encounter with this plant was when I was little and I went to stay with my Grandma. She made lunches at a hotel and there was an older lady who did the gardens. She had a plant near the entrance, right near the bridge, so sometimes you brushed up against it, or could take a leaf to smell.

Usually it is called Lemon Verbena, not sure what the difference it. Beautiful!

Some very interesting uses here:

www.ageless.co.za/lemon_verbena.htm

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Here is an explanation of the beautiful smell and some wonderful recipes for Lemon Verbena.

www.seedsofknowledge.com/lemonverbena.html


It does survive frost, probably down to about -o5C or slightly warmer, I haven't grown it when we had those kind of temps, maybe -2oC.

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"When something, no matter how seemingly insignificant, turns out just right it lifts us up and makes our day.

Monday night my friend came over to make to make apple jelly. I had picked up some tart green apples at the Farmer's Market on Saturday. Sunday night I cut them up and boiled them with some water and let the juice drain off overnight. I read in several books to expect 1 cup of juice from 1 pound of apples. We started out with a little over 3 pounds of apples and ended up with about 11 cups of juice. I was certain the juice was too watery. I wanted to add just enough water to cover the apples, but of course the apples floated to the top (duh!) so I ended up with more water in the pot than I had intended.

We cooked some of the juice down some more and had 9 cups when we started making the jelly. We divided it into two batches and decided to make one batch plain and one batch scented with lemon verbena. We used three cups of sugar and one lemon per batch. Each batch yielded four jars of the most delightful jelly, with a perfect set and just sweet enough to bring out the fresh slightly tart apple flavor without overpowering it.

And the lemon verbena is so wonderful and subtle. I think the flavor of the verbena has changed over the summer. When I tried it earlier in the season (I used it for tea and for flavoring ice cream) it a somewhat coarser, more herbal flavor. Now its aroma is very light and heady. Some of that may be due to boiling it with sugar in jelly, but I noticed a difference even when I used it in tea.

I am so amazed that the jellies turned out so beautiful. It was easy and everything was just right. The hard part is reproducing the experience. It is impossible because there are so many unpredictable variables involved: how ripe are the apples and how much pectin do they have? How acid are they? How tart? How easily do they release their juice? And my lemon verbena will never be precisely the same.

With all of these variables, recipes can only be guidelines. I try not to use commercial pectin anymore, not only because I like a challenge and because, on a lucky day, the end result is superior, but because, paradoxically, using a jelling agent gives you less control over the process. You have to rely more on the recipe more and less on your instincts.

Instructions for Apple Jelly (with Optional Herbal Flavor)

Quarter or chop apples coarsely. Do not peel or core but cut off any brown spots. Put in large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes or until apples are soft and the skins come off. Pour apples through a fine sieve to collect juice. Let juice drain freely, do not push down pulp. Moisten four layers of cheesecloth or jelly bag. Fill remaining pulp in cheesecloth or jelly bag and find a way so that the bag can be suspended bag over a bowl and the juices can drain. For example, you can hang the bag from a cabinet handle and put the bowl under it. (There are also commercial stands for jelly bags you can buy.) Let juice drain overnight.

The juice you last drained will be thicker and has more pectin. If you have enough juice for several batches, make sure you mix all the juice together before to dividing it into different batches.

(The pulp that remains in the bag can be pushed through a food mill or strainer and used as applesauce. You may want to add some apple juice to it, or sweeten or season it, e.g. with cinnamon.)

Get canning equipment and jars ready. Put several small plates into freezer.

Measure the juice into a large heavy saucepan. Preferably, don't work with more than 6 cups of juice in one batch. Add a two-third (2/3) cup of sugar for each 1 cup of juice. Add strained juice of one lemon. If you want to flavor the jelly, tie about 3-5 large sprigs of herb (e.g lemon verbena, lemon balm, mint, lavender, rosemary etc.) into a bundle with kitchen twine. If using dried herbs tie ca. 2 tablespoons in a piece of cheesecloth or cotton tea bag. Add to the juice.

Bring juice to a boil over high heat. Stir and watch it closely. It should boil vigorously. When it gets thicker (it may take anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes) pour a small spoonful on one of the plates from the freezer and put it back into the freezer for a minute or two. Stop cooking when jelly on the test plate is only slightly runnier than you would like it (It will continue cooking in the pot a bit as it cools off). It should wobble a bit when you shake the plat and when you pull a finger through it it should not run together anymore.

Discard herbs if there are any. If there is a lot of foam you may want to skim it off and save it for immediate use. Pour jelly into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Adjust lids and process in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes.

Let jars cool off for at least twelve hours. The jelly should be jiggly but not totally firm. If it seems too soft give it some more time. It may take up to two weeks to completely set. Putting it in the refrigerator may help. If a batch is really too soft you can either use it as sauce on pancakes, ice cream etc. Or you can cook it again to a firmer consistency. It is better to err on the soft side though, because there is not much you can do if it is too hard.

Please familiarize yourself with basic canning procedures and food-safety guidelines. 10:29:06 AM
Comments [1]"

blogs.salon.com/0004392/

[lynn]

My mom loves lemon verbena.....

hey BR, do you remember in one of the Little House shows when Laura is admiring Miss Beetle, and tells her she smells good. Miss Beetle tells her she's wearing lemon verbena scent. LOL.

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Yes, I do remember that.

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"Lemon Verbena Panna Cotta with Green Apple Jelly

Ingredients:

Green Apple Jelly:
2 quarts water
2 Tablespoons Vitamin C powder
5 Granny Smith apples
¾ cups simple syrup
3 sheets gelatin

Panna Cotta:
3 cups milk
3 cups cream
1 ½ cups sugar
1 ounce lemon verbena
7 gelatin sheets
2 cups buttermilk
Method:
For Green Apple Jelly:
Whisk together water and vitamin C powder. Cut the apples into wedges and submerge in the water. Push the apples through a juicer. Add the resulting juice to simple syrup. Soften the gelatin in cold water. Warm one half of the sweetened apple juice until steaming, not boiling. Dissolve the gelatin in the warm liquid. Strain the juice through a fine mesh strainer. Mix with the cool apple juice and chill.

For Panna Cotta:
Bring milk, cream, and sugar to a boil. Infuse mixture with lemon verbena for about 10 minutes. Strain and reheat. Dissolve gelatin, then remove from heat and chill to room temperature. Whisk in buttermilk and strain. Pour into desired serving cups and chill for several hours.

To Assemble and Serve:
Divide panna cotta onto 10 dessert plates and top with green apple jelly."

From: starchefs.com/features/halloween/2005/html/panna_cotta_k_demasco.shtml

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This recipe sounds achievable, comes from a nice site.

Lemon Verbena and Passionfruit syrup
makes about 1.75 litres (7 cups) of syrup

Zest and juice of 2 large oranges
Zest and juice of 2 large lemons
1.25kg (5 1/2 cups) of sugar
2 generous handfuls of lemon verbena leaves
750ml (3 cups) boiling water
3 teaspoons Epsom salts
2 teaspoons tartaric acid
1 tablespoon citric acid
4 passionfruit

Combine the zest and juice of the citrus fruits in a jug with the sugar and verbena leaves. Add the boiling water and stir in the epsom salts, tartaric acid and citric acid. Stir well to mix. Remove the pulp from the passionfruit, mix into the liquid. Leave to cool. Pour through a strainer into sterilised bottles, pressing to get the passionfruit pulp through. If you wish you can either add a spoonful of the pips from the passionfruit, or discard them. Seal the bottles and store in the refrigerator (there are no preservatives). The syrup keeps for about a month. The recipe can easily be halved if you wish. To serve pour a little into a glass, add water and stir.

From: www.spicemagazine.com.au/journal/2005/12/lemon_verbena_and_passionfruit.html

[Admin]

I was just going to ask you if Lime Verbena was the same scent as Lemon Verbena. I grew Lemon verbena last year. It was so fragrant.

Good thread girls..

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I think they are the same.

Ours looks so dead after winter, then it comes good. We nearly got a photo of a butterfly sunning itself on it on the weekend, but it flew away. It is in flower at the moment.

[Admin]

Don't you just love butterflies!!

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The other day I figured that American lemon verbena is small whereas mine is tall. I haven't got to the bottom of that one yet. Any thoughts?

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Here is a very nice picture of what my lime verbena looked like when it was in the pot.

home.vtown.com.au/~dbellamy/contents.html

follow the herb link on the left.

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This is our bush, sprouting after winter. Later on it will have flowers.

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It seems it can also be used as a garnish, like mint.

www.dining-downunder.com/index.php?id=25

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This is an exciting find. I love scones.

Lemon Verbena Scones

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cold butter
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh lemon verbena leaves
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 425º F. In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and brown sugar. Cut in the butter with your fingers or a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the lemon verbena leaves; mix until combined. Make a well in the center of flour mixture. Add the egg, yogurt, and milk, stirring well. Mix in with the flour mixture to form a soft dough. Coat a12-inch cast iron skillet with a non-stick cooking spray. With floured hands, pat the dough into skillet. Cut with a sharp, serrated knife into eight wedges. (You can also pat the dough into a circle this same size on a baking sheet, and then cut into wedges.) Bake at 425º F for 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Serve warm. Makes 8 servings.

From: thesparrowsnest.typepad.com/the_sparrows_nest/spotlight_on_herbs/index.html