German chamomile

Camomille matricaire

What it is

Slice a head down the middle and the difference from Roman chamomile is plain: German chamomile has a hollow, conical receptacle, the Roman one is solid and domed. German is the annual grown for the flower and its sweet apple note; Roman is the perennial, and it is the bitter one.

In the kitchen

Infuse covered, 90 °C, four minutes — the apple aroma is volatile and an open pot loses it to the room. For a sabayon or a poaching syrup, bruise the heads and strain hard; the yellow disc florets carry most of the flavour, and all of the bitterness if oversteeped.

Goes with

Honey Apple Lemon Pear Cream Lavender flowers

Also used with

Linden honey

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