Many common herbs and spices can be used to create a subtly flavored sugar. Flavored sugars can be used in a variety of baked good and beverage recipes.
Flavored sugars can be used to sweeten hot and iced teas and in cookie, pie, cake and pudding recipes in place of plain granulated sugar.
Herbs and Spices Used to Flavor Sugar
- Lavender flowers
- Cinnamon sticks
- Cardamom pods
- Star anise
- Cloves
- Lemon or orange peel
- Vanilla beans
- Clove pinks
- Roses
Flower Sugar
Clove pinks are a member of the carnation family and have a mild, yet spicy clove fragrance. Clove pinks, which are also referred to as pinks, are available in all sorts of colors such as red, white, salmon and pink. Pinks make a wonderful aromatic and decorative addition to the garden. Other flowers, such as aromatic roses or lavender, can also be used to make flower sugar.
Ingredients for the Flower Sugar
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup clove pinks flower petals
- 1 pint canning jar or similar size container
Directions for the Flower Sugar
- Alternate layers of sugar and flower petals in the jar.
- Make sure to start and end with a layer of sugar so that all the petals are completely covered with the sugar.
- Close the lid on the jar.
- Shake the container once a day to help the aroma and flavor of the flowers to permeate throughout the sugar.
- At the end of 2 weeks, place a sieve over a bowl and pour the sugar through the sieve to separate out the petals.
- Throw out the petals and place the flower infused sugar back into the jar.
Cinnamon Sugar
Whole sticks of cinnamon can be purchased for use in culinary creations and potpourri blends. True cinnamon can be quite expensive and difficult to obtain, so many vendors substitute the bark from cassia shrubs. This same technique can be used with cardamon pods, cloves, star anise, and other spices.
Ingredients for the Cinnamon Sugar
- 1 whole cinnamon stick
- 2 cups granulated sugar
Directions for the Cinnamon Sugar
- Place the cinnamon bean into a glass jar and completely cover it with the sugar.
- Close the lid, making sure it is airtight.
- Shake the container once a day to help the aroma of the cinnamon permeate throughout the sugar.
- The sugar is ready to be used within two weeks.
- The cinnamon stick bean can be reused to flavor additional granulated sugar.
- Discard the cinnamon stick bean when it is no longer aromatic.
Additional Resources
Herb and spice infused sugar can be substituted in any recipe that calls for granulated sugar. See the article, Vanilla Bean Dessert Recipes, for three dishes that can be made using herb and spice infused sugar. The article, Sage, Lavender and Mint Desserts, also has three recipes that would work well with herb and spice infused sugar.
