What to use instead of lavender
Quick answer
The closest option is Rosemary with Thyme, rated poor. All three are Lamiaceae and all three are resinous, which is as far as the resemblance goes. Lavender is dominated by linalool and linalyl acetate and reads floral and sweet; rosemary is camphorous and pine-like and thyme is medicinal. Together they occupy roughly the same place in a dish — an assertive herbal top note over something rich — without tasting remotely like lavender.
It will not do for: Sweet uses — shortbread, syrups, custards — where the floral quality is the entire point; Any dish named for lavender.
All recorded options
Ranked by suitability. Ratios are given only where they are defensible, and always with their basis — by weight or by volume — because spice densities differ.
Use: ~0.5× by volume — Half the volume in rosemary with an equal part thyme. An approximation of the register rather than of the flavour.
All three are Lamiaceae and all three are resinous, which is as far as the resemblance goes. Lavender is dominated by linalool and linalyl acetate and reads floral and sweet; rosemary is camphorous and pine-like and thyme is medicinal. Together they occupy roughly the same place in a dish — an assertive herbal top note over something rich — without tasting remotely like lavender.
| Flavour | Aroma | Colour | Heat |
|---|---|---|---|
| different | partial | different | n/a |
Works for
- Savoury use on lamb or poultry, where lavender was an accent
- Herbes de Provence made at home, where lavender is optional anyway
Does not work for
- Sweet uses — shortbread, syrups, custards — where the floral quality is the entire point
- Any dish named for lavender
Why there is no second option: For savoury cooking these are the nearest neighbours and they are not near. For sweet cooking nothing works, and the record says so rather than offering something: rose was considered and is floral in a completely different register, and dried lavender is cheap and widely sold, so a substitution is rarely the right answer to this question. Note also that lavender is optional in herbes de Provence and a modern addition to it, so the commonest reason for asking may not need answering at all. Editorial judgement.