All month I’ve been drawn to a rosemary bush in our garden. It’s covered in beautiful small lavendar coloured flowers. And I kept wondering what should I do with them. Perhaps dry them or add them to some lotion or oil? When I realised they’re edible and just as tasty as the leaves, if not sweeter, I decided they would be perfect as rosemary flower butter.
These fragrant florals would not go to waste.
This Mediterranean herb wasn’t introduced to England until the fourteenth century. By the later middle ages the leaves, stems and flowers of this aromatic evergreen shrub were widely used in cures for various ills. Rosemary flower tea was one popular remedy.
Luckily no one was around as I started clapping in delight when I spotted that the ground under the rosemary shrub is covered with strawberry plants. There were also some chives keeping them company. When the strawberries grow there’s going to be a heavenly scent around this bush. I just need to make sure we get all the fruit and not any visiting wildlife.
My daughter helped gather some sprigs covered in flowers for us to take inside for the flavoured butter. I made sure I bought a good quality creamy butter for the recipe. I used unsalted and then ground some sea salt into it. You could skip the salt or just buy a salted butter. 
ROSEMARY FLOWER BUTTER
INGREDIENTS
250 g unsalted butter (two sticks of butter)
rosemary sprigs with flowers
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
DIRECTIONS
Remove flowers from rosemary sprigs. Allow butter to reach room temperature.
Use a fork and mix a handful of rosemary flowers with the softened butter. Add a touch of freshly ground sea salt.
Put butter in small dish or decorative containers and refrigerate. Or roll into a log and wrap well. Refrigerate and then cut slices of rosemary flower butter as needed.
The butter was absolutely delicious spread on bread to eat alone, in a sandwich – especially ham – or on steamed vegetables. I also indulged myself and added the rosemary flower butter to a croissant baked with ham, Gruyere cheese and some Dijon mustard.
Meanwhile I need to go foraging in the hedgerows for elderflowers and fruits and berries to make some cordials and other delights for the home.
Any other suggestions for these herbal flowers while my wonderful bush is still abloom?
A fabulous recipe. I love floral flavours and will certainly try this with my flowering rosemary
what a great find (both the plants and the recipe!). I wonder if all rosemary plants flower, I have recently planted the herb in a pot outdoors, and will definitely try this if flowers appear at any time. It sounds delicious!
Oh my that looks and sounds good! I wouldn’t have thought about using the flowers like that. That’s the second time this week I’ve been left thinking having seen herbs used in ways I’ve not seen before. So nice to bring the outside in and be able to enjoy it even more. That’s it , we need a Summer holiday date!
Thanks for joining in again Kriss, apologies to not getting over here sooner but I’ve had the tummy bug that’s doing the rounds so have been feeling sorry for myself!
That looks great – and I never realised the flowers were edible too – thanks for that 🙂 #hdygg
i love the look and smell of the rosemary in the garden but it takes ages to remove the smell from my hands if i touch it
What a wonderful idea, that butter looks and sounds amazing!
Wow this is so amazing! I can already smell the butter! How cool to concoct your own butter flavor! You are so awesome =) #pocolo
I love rosemary, a beautiful shrub and I love watching the bees on it. I seem to always succeed in losing them though, perhaps too cold and waterlogged. How about lavender buttercream for a cake. Yum! The butter looks so pretty.
Ooh what a lovely idea! Would never have thought to use the flowers. We have two bushes in bloom right now so might have to go and give it a whirl!
I didn’t even realise rosemary had a flower (hangs head in shame). This is such a good idea and I bet it tasted so good.
Clare
#hdygg
I never really noticed them until we moved here and had this giant rosemary shrub.
Ooh that butter looks wonderful – I never knew that flowers were edible so will look out for some and maybe try making this myself.
The butter really is yummy – it just adds an extra but subtle oomph