The Grower's Exchange, a family-run farm in Virginia specializing in unusual and hard-to-find herbs, has chosen Bee Balm as the 2013 Notable Native Herb. If you're not familiar with the herb, it's actually gaining popularity as a culinary herb and makes a great substitute for oregano. (Bee balm pizza, anyone?)
The defining characteristic for the Notable Native award, as we learned from their press release, "is the herb's usefulness, including its value for culinary, medicinal, ornamental, economic, industrial, or cosmetic purposes." Bee balm (also known as Bergamot) also makes a great tea and a surprisingly excellent mouthwash, but the culinary uses are becoming the most popular: it's apparently "a wonderful addition to pizzas, salads, breads and any dishes that are complimented by the herb's minty, slightly spicy flavor."
Read More: Bergamot (Bee Balm) at The Grower's Exchange
(Image: The Grower's Exchange)
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I have had this plant in my garden for years and never realized I could cook with it. I'm excited to try. Thanks for sharing this nugget of information.
Bonus: hummingbirds love it!
There is no substitute for oregano.
It's one of my favourite herbs to use, both for culinary and medicinal purposes. The blossoms as a tea are quite heavenly, especially with a few rose petals and a dollop of cream.
I have tons of it in my yard and it grows naturally on dry roadsides around here. I am interested in using it other than for tea but it definitely has a musky note in there with the mint flavor that may be off-putting to some.
Mmmm.. I love bee balm. Every summer I make a bee balm infused vodka to make vodka lemonade. With pink lemonade of course :)