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Flavour it up!

Lemon grass, synonymous with seafood preparations, is also used in cosmetics

LEMON GRASS The herb decoction is a tonic and digestive

Lemon grass, a.k.a Cochin grass and Malabar grass, is a tall, perennial tropical herb used in cooking and medicine throughout Asia. The herb originated in Asia and Australia. Lemon grass was one of the herbs to travel along the Spice Route from Asia to Europe. Europeans used dried lemon grass in the making of beer and spiced liqueurs.

Lemon grass flavours the meat, chicken and seafood dishes of South Asia and South East Asia. Lemon grass gives Sri Lankan, Thai, Malaysian, Vietnamese and Indonesian dishes their distinctive lemony tang. These countries on the rim of the Indian Ocean have seafood as a staple food, and lemon grass takes the edge off the fishy odour.

Essential herb

In Thailand and Indonesia, freshly ground lemon grass is added to spice pastes. The Vietnamese like to prepare their food at the dinner table, mixing meat with fresh herbs, and lemon grass is an essential herb at the table.

The Vietnamese add the fresh grass to broth in which mutton and beef are cooked. They also smoke meats with chopped grass.

The cuisines of Southeast Asia use coconut milk extensively, and lemon grass goes well with this and other commonly used herbs and spices like ginger, lime leaves, bay leaves, coriander, black pepper, mint and nutmeg. The herb's popularity comes from the mildness of its fragrance, which does not overpower the senses the way lime does.

The grass also spices soups and herbal teas. It is a popular flavouring in non-alcoholic beverages, baked foods and soft drinks. Citral, the essential oil in lemon grass, is commonly used in soaps, perfumes, detergents, cosmetics and candles. Most soaps and aftershaves with a fresh lime fragrance use citral.

RAJIV M

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