Lavender – The Scent of Mediterranean

Lavender. Its smell will take you back to the Mediterranean summers no matter what the time of the year it is. Seeing a field of lavender is like a purple sea of magical smell that will calm your soul and relax your mind.

Lavender is indigenous to the countries bordering the Mediterranean but it can be found from Cape Verde and the Canary Island all the way to India. It is cultivated extensively for its aromatic flowers in various parts of France, Italy and England and even as far north as Norway, USA and Canada. It is also now being grown as a perfume plant in Australia. It grows like a bush up to 1.2 m high with specific flowers colored blue, violet or lilac. The word lavender probably comes from the Latin word lavare meaning to wash.

Lavender was very well known even two thousand years ago, back in ancient Egypt. They used it to perfume their bodies not just during their lives but also when a person died they wanted their dead to enter the underworld smelling good. During ancient Rome and Greece, bathing was an important part of people’s lives so they would put flowers in the bathwater. (You should try it too!) And they didn’t stop there! 

Even back then, the creative chefs used lavender in the kitchen preparing almost divine dishes. Today you can find numerous recipes where this flower was used as the main ingredient or as a garnish. Lavender will lend a sweet flora flavor to sweet or savory dishes – meat, fish, poultry, salads. As sugar and syrup, it will be used for flavoring baked goods, ice cream, sorbets and teas, in butter…

Lavender was also popular due to its medical benefits. Essential oils of different types of it were used for headaches, migraines, menstrual pain, relaxation, for stress and insomnia, for skin regeneration and body care, for stretch marks, acne. It is known to have antiseptic and antifungal effects.

Did you know? During the Victorian era in the 19th century one of the popular things was candied lavender flowers. Queen Victoria was a passionate user of this purple-blue flower. After she visited the distillery of Sarah Sprule in 1886, she granted her the title of Purveyor of Lavender Essence to the Queen.

More: History, Taxonomy, Production

Bite the Mediterrenean

We wanted to give you a touch of Mediterranean, to awake your senses and give you a tasteful and healthy experience. That’s why we made a perfect blend of lavender and cocoa creating a raw energy bar Mediterraneo. Mediterraneo B!TE ME Raw Bar contains bits of lavender flowers as well as other ingredients.