Labrador tea ✦

Thé du Labrador

What it is

It is a rhododendron, not a tea — long placed in the genus Ledum — and it carries ledol, the compound behind the warnings against drinking it daily. R. groenlandicum is the mildest of the three species sharing the name, and it is the one Quebec kitchens use, dried, in creams and game sauces.

In the kitchen

A level teaspoon of dried leaf per cup, five minutes, and not more than once a day — it is a seasoning, not a pot tea. Ten minutes in warm butter or a beurre blanc gives a fir-and-mint resin that suits venison and river fish; strain it out before any reduction.

Goes with

Venison Butter Cream Blueberry Arctic char Maple syrup

In season alongside

Lavender flowers Bog myrtle Bronte pistachio Crowberry Curry plant Epazote

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