Lemon balm

On Tue, 24 Apr 2007 16:31:55 -0700, "[email hidden]"
<[email hidden]> magnanimously proffered:

Quoted message said:

I've planted various herbs in a half wine barrel. Today I couldn't find
lemon thyme, so I found some lemon balm to plant. I've never grown this
before and am not sure how I can use it. Chicken? Fish? Anyone have any
experience with lemon balm?

Diane M

My wife grows it in our herb garden, but I'll have to ask her if she
ever uses it in cooking and what for. The leaves make a very nice tea
which I occasionally make. Pinch the leaves and enjoy the fragrance.

"[email hidden]" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I've planted various herbs in a half wine barrel. Today I couldn't find
lemon thyme, so I found some lemon balm to plant. I've never grown this
before and am not sure how I can use it. Chicken? Fish? Anyone have any
experience with lemon balm?

Diane M

I've grown it for years and it's nice and hardy. I think it smells like
furniture polish and I don't use it anymore. If you did use it, use it
sparingly, and use the tender young leaves, chopped fine. It does make a
nice tea, but also, use sparingly.
Lemon verbena, thyme, and basil smell nicer. Lemongrass is also nice, but
used differently because of the coarse texture.
Edrena

Quoted message said:

I've planted various herbs in a half wine barrel. Today I couldn't find
lemon thyme, so I found some lemon balm to plant. I've never grown this
before and am not sure how I can use it. Chicken? Fish? Anyone have any
experience with lemon balm?

Diane M

I've heard of lemon balm as a medicinal herb (eyewash, maybe?)
but not a culinary one. Of course that doesn't mean it isn't
used in food. I'd try Google.

gloria p

"[email hidden]" <[email hidden]>
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

I've planted various herbs in a half wine barrel. Today I couldn't
find lemon thyme, so I found some lemon balm to plant. I've never
grown this before and am not sure how I can use it. Chicken? Fish?
Anyone have any experience with lemon balm?

Diane M

I planted it in my garden once a long time ago. It was pretty invasive
IIRC. I'm not sure that it will not way outgrow a wine barrel fairly
quickly. It smells wonderful though.

Michael

--
This is how it works in my house. Click the pic to enlarge it:
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=42ko0mf
-remove "foodie" to email

The Joneses said:

"[email hidden]" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I've planted various herbs in a half wine barrel. Today I couldn't find
lemon thyme, so I found some lemon balm to plant. I've never grown this
before and am not sure how I can use it. Chicken? Fish? Anyone have any
experience with lemon balm?

Diane M

I've grown it for years and it's nice and hardy. I think it smells like
furniture polish and I don't use it anymore. If you did use it, use it
sparingly, and use the tender young leaves, chopped fine. It does make a
nice tea, but also, use sparingly.
Lemon verbena, thyme, and basil smell nicer. Lemongrass is also nice, but
used differently because of the coarse texture.
Edrena

I have to agree. I have lemon balm planted this spring, but I'll
mostly use it to keep mosquitoes away. (I rub it on exposed
skin--seems to work at least a little) For flavoring comestibles, I
much prefer lemon verbena.
--

modom

http://www.koyote.com/users/modom/home.html

Michael \'Dog3\' Lonergan said:

"[email hidden]" <[email hidden]>
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

I've planted various herbs in a half wine barrel. Today I couldn't
find lemon thyme, so I found some lemon balm to plant. I've never
grown this before and am not sure how I can use it. Chicken? Fish?
Anyone have any experience with lemon balm?

Diane M

I planted it in my garden once a long time ago. It was pretty invasive
IIRC. I'm not sure that it will not way outgrow a wine barrel fairly
quickly. It smells wonderful though.

At my previous house, it escaped the herb patch and invaded part of
the back yard. Mowing it was a treat to the nose.
--

modom

http://www.koyote.com/users/modom/home.html

In article <[email hidden]>,

Quoted post said:

I've planted various herbs in a half wine barrel. Today I couldn't find
lemon thyme, so I found some lemon balm to plant. I've never grown this
before and am not sure how I can use it. Chicken? Fish? Anyone have any
experience with lemon balm?

Diane M

Lemon balm or Melissa is more like mint IMO. I often put a small amount
of leaves in salads. They are excellent with melon and in tisanes. I
also find that they help to scent bouquets.

Emma

Emma Thackery <[email hidden]>
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Lemon balm or Melissa is more like mint IMO. I often put a small
amount of leaves in salads. They are excellent with melon and in
tisanes. I also find that they help to scent bouquets.

Emma

I never did use the lemon balm in food. I did use it in bouquets. I also
made a potpouri (sp) from several herbs a few years ago. I put some lemon
balm in and I really like the fragrance although it did not last very long
;( My favorite thing to do was crush the leaves when I was serving
afternoon cocktails on the patio for my neighbor gardening pals. After a
long, hot morning in the gardens we'd gather with a few pitchers of
electric lemonades. I'd smash some of the lemon balm around and it was
quite pleasant. We should have added the balm to the lemonade... maybe...
but the vodka would probably drown out the flavor <eg>.

Michael

--
This is how it works in my house. Click the pic to enlarge it:
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=42ko0mf
-remove "foodie" to email

modom (palindrome guy) said:

Michael \'Dog3\' Lonergan said:

"[email hidden]" <[email hidden]>
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

I've planted various herbs in a half wine barrel. Today I couldn't
find lemon thyme, so I found some lemon balm to plant. I've never
grown this before and am not sure how I can use it. Chicken? Fish?
Anyone have any experience with lemon balm?

Diane M

I planted it in my garden once a long time ago. It was pretty invasive
IIRC. I'm not sure that it will not way outgrow a wine barrel fairly
quickly. It smells wonderful though.

At my previous house, it escaped the herb patch and invaded part of
the back yard. Mowing it was a treat to the nose.

It is a mint and it will invade wherever it can. But I've put plugs of
it and thyme into my lawn, just for the joy to the senses of mowing it down.

Pennyaline <[email hidden]>
news:[email hidden]:

<snip for space>

Quoted message said:

It is a mint and it will invade wherever it can. But I've put plugs of
it and thyme into my lawn, just for the joy to the senses of mowing it
down.

Ohhh... I'll bet that is wonderful with the window open too. I never
thought about thyme in the actual lawn. That might be nice in the back
yard. I'll not do lemon balm in the garden or the lawn. Ever. Is the
thyme real invasive? I've got a chunk of creeping oregano that rooted in
the lawn and is very aromatic after mowing. It grows slowly and I can
control it.

Michael

--
This is how it works in my house. Click the pic to enlarge it:
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=42ko0mf
-remove "foodie" to email

Michael 'Dog3' Lonergan said:

Pennyaline <[email hidden]>
news:[email hidden]:

<snip for space>

Quoted message said:

It is a mint and it will invade wherever it can. But I've put plugs of
it and thyme into my lawn, just for the joy to the senses of mowing it
down.

Ohhh... I'll bet that is wonderful with the window open too. I never
thought about thyme in the actual lawn. That might be nice in the back
yard. I'll not do lemon balm in the garden or the lawn. Ever. Is the
thyme real invasive? I've got a chunk of creeping oregano that rooted in
the lawn and is very aromatic after mowing. It grows slowly and I can
control it.

Thyme is invasive as well, but not as aggressive as the mints. I sink
plugs contained in soup cans into the yard. As long as the roots and
runners cannot escape the containers, the plants will not invade. Be
careful about the mints, though, as they will push their runners up and
out of the containers and lay them directly on the ground -- this is
easy to spot and pull up, however.

"[email hidden]" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I've planted various herbs in a half wine barrel. Today I couldn't find
lemon thyme, so I found some lemon balm to plant. I've never grown this
before and am not sure how I can use it. Chicken? Fish? Anyone have any
experience with lemon balm?

Diane M

http://www.sallys-place.com/food/columns/gilbert/lemon_balm.htm

Thanks to all of you for the ideas. I think I'm going to like this herb.
It has so many uses.

Diane

"bob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Tue, 24 Apr 2007 16:31:55 -0700, "[email hidden]"
<[email hidden]> magnanimously proffered:

Quoted message said:

I've planted various herbs in a half wine barrel. Today I couldn't find
lemon thyme, so I found some lemon balm to plant. I've never grown this
before and am not sure how I can use it. Chicken? Fish? Anyone have any
experience with lemon balm?

Diane M

My wife grows it in our herb garden, but I'll have to ask her if she
ever uses it in cooking and what for. The leaves make a very nice tea
which I occasionally make. Pinch the leaves and enjoy the fragrance.

On Wed, 25 Apr 2007 14:50:11 -0700, "[email hidden]"
<[email hidden]> magnanimously proffered:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

"bob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

On Tue, 24 Apr 2007 16:31:55 -0700, "[email hidden]"
<[email hidden]> magnanimously proffered:

Quoted message said:

I've planted various herbs in a half wine barrel. Today I couldn't find
lemon thyme, so I found some lemon balm to plant. I've never grown this
before and am not sure how I can use it. Chicken? Fish? Anyone have any
experience with lemon balm?

Diane M

My wife grows it in our herb garden, but I'll have to ask her if she
ever uses it in cooking and what for. The leaves make a very nice tea
which I occasionally make. Pinch the leaves and enjoy the fragrance.

Thanks to all of you for the ideas. I think I'm going to like this herb.
It has so many uses.

Diane

Thanks for you thanks. I did ask my wife, and she said she doesn't use
it in cooking - even though I thought she might use it in some Asian
dishes. Turns out she just likes it in the herb garden.

Pennyaline said:

modom (palindrome guy) said:

On Wed, 25 Apr 2007 01:31:54 GMT, "Michael \"Dog3\" Lonergan"
<[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

"[email hidden]" <[email hidden]>
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> I've planted various herbs in a half wine barrel. Today I couldn't
> find lemon thyme, so I found some lemon balm to plant. I've never
> grown this before and am not sure how I can use it. Chicken? Fish?
> Anyone have any experience with lemon balm?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> Diane M
I planted it in my garden once a long time ago. It was pretty invasive
IIRC. I'm not sure that it will not way outgrow a wine barrel fairly
quickly. It smells wonderful though.

Quoted message said:

At my previous house, it escaped the herb patch and invaded part of
the back yard. Mowing it was a treat to the nose.

It is a mint and it will invade wherever it can. But I've put plugs of
it and thyme into my lawn, just for the joy to the senses of mowing it down.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

You aren't kidding- I can't get rid of it- it's everywhere!

merryb said:

Quoted message said:

modom (palindrome guy) wrote:

It is a mint and it will invade wherever it can. But I've put plugs
of
it and thyme into my lawn, just for the joy to the senses of mowing

Quoted message said:

You aren't kidding- I can't get rid of it- it's everywhere!

I grew it for the first time last year but yanked it part of the way
during the season - it quickly became a young bush and was taking over
the world one quick step at a time. I couldn't really find any good
cooking use for it - it just smelled delightful. I fight my mint patch
every year but at least I can use that in cooking and/or drinks.

Dora