Lemon verbena substitutes

The best substitute for fresh lemon verbena is dried lemon verbena, and the easiest place to find it is the tea aisle, where it is sold as verbena, verveine or lemon verbena tea. Unlike most herbs, verbena holds its aroma remarkably well when dried.

Best for

infusions and syrups, custards and ice cream, poached fruit, tea and iced drinks

Slightly hay-like and less green than fresh, but the distinctive floral lemon note is all there. Split the bag and use the leaf loose if you want to control the amount. Check that the box is lemon verbena and not lemon-flavoured black tea or a mixed herbal blend, which will bring tannin or hibiscus tartness you do not want.

Neither on its own is convincing: lemon balm is mild, grassy and faintly minty, and lemon zest is sharp and oily. Together they cover most of the ground verbena occupies, with the zest supplying intensity and the balm supplying the soft herbal background.

Best for

sorbets and granitas, syrups, fruit salads, cold drinks and cocktails

The result is brighter and more straightforwardly lemony, without the perfumed length that makes verbena taste almost floral. Lemon balm bruises and browns quickly, so add it at the end of an infusion, and grate only the coloured part of the lemon peel to avoid bitterness.

The closest match in raw aromatic strength. Lemongrass has the same high, clean citral-driven lemon smell, which is exactly what makes verbena smell like verbena.

Best for

syrups, sorbets and ice cream, poaching liquids, panna cotta and custards

It carries a distinct gingery, grassy edge, so a lemongrass sorbet tastes Southeast Asian rather than Provencal. Smash the stalk with the flat of a knife, slice it, infuse it in warm liquid for 15 to 20 minutes and strain it out, because the fibres are woody and never soften.

Useful when the dish is savoury or when it is going near heat for a while, since lemon thyme survives cooking far better than verbena does.

Best for

roast chicken and fish, vegetables, shortbread, marinades

Resinous and woody underneath the lemon, so it pulls the dish towards herb rather than perfume. Use half the quantity or the thyme takes over, and strip the leaves from the stems. Not the choice for a delicate sorbet or a milk-based dessert, where the piney note will sit oddly.

Lemon basil is genuinely citrus-scented and, like verbena, is best used raw or barely warmed, which makes it a sensible replacement in cold desserts and salads.

Best for

fruit salads, granitas and sorbets, cold soups, cocktails

Adds a clear anise-basil undertone, so a peach and verbena salad becomes a peach and basil salad, which is delicious but different. Tear rather than chop, and add at the last moment because basil blackens fast.

A blunt but effective option when you want strong citrus perfume in something creamy or frozen and have none of the above.

Best for

ice cream and custards, syrups, poached fruit, rice pudding

Emphatically lime rather than lemon, and much more powerful, which is why the ratio is so low. Freeze the leaf and slice it paper-thin or infuse whole and remove, because the leaf itself is leathery and unpleasant to bite into.

When verbena is a supporting aromatic in a braise, a poaching syrup for a fruit that already has plenty of flavour, or a marinade, dropping it and finishing the dish with fresh lemon zest is a respectable outcome.

Best for

braises and stews, marinades, poached fruit, savoury sauces

Do not do this in a verbena sorbet, verbena ice cream or verbena tea, where the herb is the whole point and the dish becomes sugar and cream with a squeak of lemon. In those cases hunt down verbena tea bags instead, which most supermarkets carry.