The Notable Native Herb of 2013: Bee Balm

Cambria Bold
Cambria Bold
Cambria Bold is the Executive Editor of Cubby, and one of Apartment Therapy Media’s first full-time editors from way back when. She was the founding Design and Lifestyle Editor for Kitchn and the Managing Editor for Apartment Therapy’s green living site, Re-Nest (RIP). After a few years offline and then working elsewhere, she’s back to share ideas about design, kids, and family life. It’s helpful that she now has two little kids and lots of thoughts about all those things. She lives with said kids and their father in St. Paul, MN.
published May 10, 2012
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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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farming
herbs