Lemon verbena is a South American shrub whose narrow leaves have a vivid lemon sherbet scent. It is used mainly in teas, syrups, custards and other sweet infusions.
What it is¶
Lemon verbena is a deciduous woody shrub with narrow, rough, pointed leaves arranged in whorls of three or four. Brush past it on a warm day and the air fills with a scent brighter and purer than lemon peel itself; of all the lemon-scented herbs it is generally considered the strongest and cleanest.
The leaves are tough and slightly sandpapery, so they are almost always used for infusing, then strained out, rather than eaten. The dried leaves hold their scent unusually well, which is why lemon verbena is best known as a herbal tea: verveine in France, hierba luisa in Spain and Latin America, cedrina in Italy.
It should not be confused with vervain (Verbena officinalis), a different plant of the same family that has no lemon scent. French verveine on a café menu means lemon verbena.
Origins and history¶
Lemon verbena is native to the Andean regions of South America, where it has long been used as a tea. It was brought to Europe by the Spanish, most sources say in the 17th century, and was grown in botanic gardens before becoming a fashionable plant in 18th- and 19th-century European gardens and conservatories. Its botanical name, Aloysia, honours Maria Luisa of Parma, wife of Charles IV of Spain.
The Victorians valued it for its scent as much as for cooking, using it in finger bowls, sachets and pot-pourri, and it made its way into perfumery. Its culinary revival in Britain is more recent, driven by chefs using it to flavour ice creams, custards and syrups.
Flavour and aroma¶
The dominant note is sharp, sweet lemon, often described as lemon sherbet or lemon drops, with hints of lime, lemongrass and something faintly floral. It has none of the acidity of lemon juice and very little bitterness if not over-steeped.
Its intensity is its strength and its hazard: a few leaves go a long way, and prolonged heating or long steeping can turn it slightly soapy or medicinal.
In the kitchen¶
Think of lemon verbena as a sweet herb first. It excels wherever a flavour can be infused into liquid, fat or sugar.
- Custards and ice cream. Warm 500 ml of milk or cream with 10–15 fresh leaves, cover and steep for 20–30 minutes off the heat, then strain and make the custard as usual. Panna cotta and crème brûlée work the same way.
- Syrups and sorbets. Add a handful of leaves to hot sugar syrup, steep until cool and strain. The syrup is superb over strawberries, peaches and melon, in cocktails, or churned into sorbet.
- Sugar. Bury a few dried leaves in a jar of caster sugar for a week to scent it for baking.
- Tea. Three to five fresh leaves, or a teaspoon of dried, per cup of water just off the boil; steep for three to five minutes.
- Savoury. Used sparingly it suits fish, chicken and rice: tuck a few leaves inside a whole fish before baking, or add one or two to the water when poaching chicken. Very finely shredded young leaves can go into a fruit salsa.
💡 Pick in the morning, use gently
Aroma is highest in leaves picked on a warm morning before the plant has been baking in the sun all day. Steep off the heat rather than boiling: boiling drives off the more delicate citrus notes.
Buying and storing¶
Fresh leaves are hard to find in shops; most cooks grow it or buy dried leaves as tea. Fresh sprigs keep for a few days in a jar of water or wrapped in the fridge.
Lemon verbena dries better than almost any other soft-leaved herb. Hang small bunches upside down in a warm, airy place out of direct sun, then strip the leaves and store in an airtight jar; they keep a strong scent for up to a year. See drying herbs.
Substitutes¶
Lemongrass shares the same citral aroma and works well in infusions. Lemon balm is similar but much milder; use roughly twice as much. Finely pared lemon zest gives a good citrus note in custards and syrups but lacks the floral edge.
Pairs well with¶
Strawberries, raspberries, peaches, apricots, melon and rhubarb; cream, yoghurt and custard; honey; mint; vanilla; ginger; white fish, chicken and rice.
Growing your own¶
Lemon verbena is a tender to half-hardy shrub. In a warm, sheltered spot in southern Britain it can survive outdoors in free-draining soil at the foot of a sunny wall, protected with a thick mulch, but it is unreliable below about −5°C and dislikes winter wet more than cold. Elsewhere, grow it in a large pot and move it into a cool greenhouse, porch or unheated room for the winter.
- Position. Full sun, shelter and sharp drainage.
- Winter. The plant drops its leaves in autumn and looks dead. It is usually very slow to leaf up again, often not until May or even June. Do not throw it away; scratch a stem, and if it is green beneath, it is alive.
- Pruning. Cut back to a framework of woody stems in spring once new buds are visible. Pinch shoot tips through summer to keep it bushy.
- Propagation. Take softwood cuttings in late spring or summer.
Plants can reach 1.5–2 m in a good year. See propagating herbs.