Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) is a lovely herb that can be easily grown in much of the Southwest. Dr. Jacqueline Soule wrote about growing lemongrass this week on Gardening With Soule. Now its time to share some of the many ways to use this tasty herb!

Lemongrass is Useful

Dried leaves of lemongrass add a zesty lemon taste to tea, handy when you don’t have a lemon in the house.  That said – it is often used in many commercially available herbal teas because it does impart a lemony flavor – but is far easier to process and safely store than lemon peel.

Cook much? Lemongrass is a featured herb in a number of Thai and other eastern Asian dishes. In the gardening article, we learned that lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) is a tropical plant native to South Asia and Maritime Southeast Asia, and is also called West Indian lemongrass.   East Indian lemongrass (Cymbopogon flexuosus), also called Cochin grass or Malabar grass, is native to Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, India, Sri Lanka, Burma, and Thailand. Both species (and are mostly are) used interchangeably, C. citratus is considered more suitable for cooking because it is considered less bitter.

The Columbian Interchange helped introduce both of these species of lemongrass to tropical regions around the globe – including into Mexico. There is now a Mexican musical group called “LemonGrass.”

Lemongrass is Considered Medicinal

This is for informational purposes only. Please see full disclaimer below.

Reputed medicinal uses of lemongrass are many.    It has been used traditionally to reduce fever by inducing sweating. It is used to calm upset stomachs, alleviate headaches, and relieve muscle spasms. 

An infusion (tea) of lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) has been proven to inhibit the growth of bacteria and certain fungi in the laboratory. Several studies done in India show lemongrass infusions to variously effective when used externally on humans to treat ringworm, athletes foot, scabies, and lice.   In India the grass is also used in creating perfumes.

In Brazilian folk medicine, lemongrass tea is made and drunk to reduce anxiety. Purified lemongrass oil contains linalool, which has been show to have a strong sedative effect when inhaled.

Wikipedia tells us that … “Samoans and Tongans use mashed Cymbopogon citratus (called moegalo and moengālō respectively) leaves as a traditional remedy for oral infections.”

In the USA, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has stated that lemongrass essential oil is generally recognized as safe in food.

Be safe! Remember that all things should be in consumed in moderation, especially herbs.

Cooking With Lemongrass

Since we are about using the products of the land, let me share an easy way to use lemongrass.  

First, note that one of the common names for this plant translates as “razor grass.”  This is NOT an herb you will be munching on.  It needs to be cooked in the food in large pieces and removed before eating – like a bay leaf. OR.  You can infuse the flavorful oils into something and then use that to prepare your meal.

 Easiest is to take the very flavorful lemongrass and infuse it’s flavorful oils into vinegar. This is why we covered “Infusing Vinegar” last week.  Lemongrass vinegar is entirely awesome for cooking, salads, splashing on a fish dish, and so much more.  First let’s make the lemongrass vinegar.  Future posts will focus on recipes to use this.

Lemongrass Vinegar

Take lemongrass leaves. Fresh juicy leaves.  Right down to the base – like you would buy in a store.

Dice them up. Note that if you cut across the stem (culm) you will get these cute curly-cues.

Place the lemongrass in a glass jar until the jar is three quarters full. Leave some “head space.” Over time some of the leaves may swell up. This is the reason for some extra head space at the top of the jar.

Add vinegar to almost the rim. Any vinegar with five percent acid.

Five percent acid vinegars includes: apple cider, white, wine, cane, nipa sap, coconut, and a host of others depending on country of origin. Notice that rice vinegar is not on this list. Rice vinegar is generally only 4 percent acid, which the USDA does not advocate. I will note that it is your kitchen and your rules.

I suggest avoiding strongly flavored vinegars like balsamic and malt vinegar. They already have distinctive flavors all their own.

Place out of direct sunlight (or cover with a bandanna). Shake your jar of lemongrass and vinegar once a day. Do this for a week. This is to make sure every micromilimeter (all of it!) of leaf surface is in contact with nice acidic vinegar and no bacteria or fungal spores can grow.

Add more vinegar as needed. Shaking the infusion up means that some trapped air may be released into the jar, and you may notice it.

Ideally wait at least 10 days before using.  Six weeks is better.  It needn’t be longer. The oils are mostly extracted out of the leaves and infused into the vinegar by then. This mostly occurs within the first ten days.

Lemongrass Mosquito Repellent

Since lemongrass oil is extracted for use in commercial mosquito repellents, I did a little experiment. I made a tea of lemongrass to infuse the oils into water for spray. That did not work very well (oil and water after all). The next experiment was to make a sort of tincture (but not one to take), I infused the cut fresh lemongrass into alcohol. That worked well – but now it was too drying to my skin. Added water to the infused alcohol (50/50) and that made a decent spray that did deter mosquitoes to a goodly extent.      

Be More Sustainable

Growing your own lemongrass helps you live more sustainably in a number of ways.  Instead of “sustainable” we used to say “green,” but that term was confusing.   

Most lemons are in season from November to March.    By using lemongrass as a flavoring in food when lemons are out of season, you reduce your carbon footprint.    By growing a natural mosquito deterrents, you reduce reliance on artificially manufactured compounds, again a greener way to go.

More Herbs of the Columbian Interchange

The last few copies of this out-of-print award winning Southwestern book are now for sale. Father Kino’s Herbs: Growing and Using Them Today   The review says:

“Award-winning garden writer Dr. Jacqueline A. Soule has pulled together a fascinating book on the life of Father Eusebio Francisco Kino and some of the plants that he brought to Southern Arizona and northwestern Sonora, and area called the Pimeria Alta.”

This link is to our sales site. The profits from the sale go to the local Horticulture Therapy non-profit Tierra del Sol Institute.  We hope you will help support this great Southwest non-profit!

Legal Notes

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Disclaimer

The authors of this website have researched the uses and edibility of the materials we discuss, however, humans vary in their ability to tolerate different foods, drinks, and herbs. Individuals consuming flowers, plants, animals or derivatives mentioned in this blog do so entirely at their own risk. The authors on this site cannot be held responsible for any adverse reaction. In case of doubt please consult your medical practitioner.