Over the last couple of days, I have been attacking my brothers Lemon Verbena bush, in an attempt to harvest as many leaves as possible before the first frost. My obsession with this plant is that it doesn;t grow well in San Diego (I killed 3 over the last 13 years in San Diego), and as soon as the first frost comes, all the leaves will die and drop to the ground like so much forest humus. So in essence, I am attempting to preserve their "essence".
Lemon verbena is a tiny leaf packed with great flavoring powers. Like the lemon, it contains Citral, (that Lemon smell in the thin outer peel) but unlike lemon peel, which only contains about 2-5% Citral, the Lemon Verbena leaf contains a whopping 30-35%. This, combined with other alluring compounds such as Nerol (also contained in the Orange Blossom) and Geraniol which is found in Roses and Geraniums. This gives Lemon Verbena a sort of "Green, Lemon, Floral" smell, kind of like a Linden Blossom, that totally rocks when one is making Crème Brûlée, Caramel or even a cup of Herbal tea.
So here are my frozen leaves. After being washed, dried and simply placed in Zip-Loc freezer bags. Patiently waiting for me to make something wonderful out of them.
I am pretty sure I know what I want to do, I just need a couple more things before I proceed. In the meantime, I will be attacking my brother's plant again tomorrow... :) Stay Tuned.Mangia!!
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